I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1075 The Worst News
Bolton took a deep breath and continued, "If we start developing it now, how long will it take to manufacture this pressure gauge?"

Technician Bell looked down at his toes: "Maybe three months, maybe six months..."

He couldn’t give an exact timeframe because the entire Bolton-Watt company had never paid attention to this readily available component from the beginning.

"Can I buy it from somewhere else?"

“France should have it,” Bell said. “They say their high-pressure steam boilers are already close to 0.6 MPa.”

Bolton nodded: "Go to France immediately to purchase more."

The company has plenty of funds, with £37 in cash on hand. As long as the problem can be solved by spending money, it's not a big deal.

He then looked at Watt: "You'll have to take some time to work on the development of the pressure gauge. I know this little thing won't be a problem for you."

A strange sense of comfort welled up in Watt's heart. He had never received such attention since Sandel arrived.

He nodded proudly: "Leave it to me. In three months at most, we'll be able to use our own pressure gauge."

Finally, Bolton added sternly, "You must never tell anyone about this, not even your families. Anyone who dares to utter a single word will be fired!"

However, that very afternoon, major London newspapers learned that Bolton-Watt was facing a shortage of pressure gauges due to the bankruptcy of its supplier.

The message was naturally leaked by people from the French security services.

Joseph had the Haasmann machine manufacturing plant established in the Netherlands in order to "detonate" the Bolton-Watt company.

The so-called fire was actually just the security bureau burning down some empty houses.

Montes and Graby emerged from Jonathan's Cafe looking radiant, discussing recent stock price trends.

They are now celebrities in the stock trading world because they accurately predicted the crash of Bolton-Watt, saving their clients from huge losses. They are so busy handling trading orders that they can't keep up with the demand.

Nearby, a newsboy waved a copy of The Times past the two men, shouting: "Breaking news! Bolton-Watt may stop delivering steam engines due to a shortage of parts."

Montes paused, tossed a few pennies to the newsboy, and snatched the newspaper, flipping it open.

When he saw the words "the sole pressure gauge supplier has no alternative," "bankrupt due to fire," and "affects almost all models of steam engines," his pupils suddenly contracted: "Oh no!"

He grabbed Grabby and ran frantically back to the London Stock Exchange. Before they even entered, they heard a cacophony of curses and wails from the lobby.

Then he saw on the bulletin board that Bolton Watt's share price had fallen to £33 per share.

Compared to £57 per share a week ago, it has fallen by a full 42%!

Immediately, exchange staff changed Bolton-Watt's share price to 32 pounds 7 shillings.

Stock prices in this era don't fluctuate as frequently as they did in the 21st century. Due to cumbersome transaction procedures and poor information flow, sometimes there are no changes for several days.

But at this time, the stock price jumped every few minutes.

This indicates that there is currently a large volume of stock transactions involving Bolton-Watt. When Montes saw that Bolton-Watt's share price had risen to £32, he suddenly felt a jolt, rushed to the Bank of England clerk, pushed aside the people in front of him in line, grabbed the clerk and shouted, "Taren, has Lord Sesker's contract been settled? The one from 96-1458."

Stock transactions in this era are not completed in real time—bank transfers are not efficient enough to support real-time transactions of large sums of money—the actual settlement usually takes 2 to 5 days after the contract is signed.

Upon recognizing an old acquaintance, the bank clerk named Talen quickly rummaged through the documents in his drawer. After a dozen seconds, he pulled out a document, shook his head, and said, "Unfortunately, Lord Sesker has opted out of his bail."

Montes wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow and stammered, "Then Mrs. Hubert's, and Sir Lesfort's... oh, the contract numbers are 96-1461 and 96-1463."

Taren adjusted his glasses, helped him find the two contracts, and shook his head again: "Sorry, they also chose to waive their insurance."

Montesquieu felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

Anyone engaging in stock trading must deposit a margin with the exchange to ensure they will execute the contract and complete the settlement.

However, if they find that the stocks they bought have fallen too sharply, which could lead to huge losses, they may choose to default and not settle the transaction, even if this results in the loss of their margin and even penalties such as being unable to trade stocks in the future.

Montes has been gloating these past few days about how he swiftly sold all his shares before Bolton-Watt's stock price plummeted, saving his clients tens of thousands of pounds in losses. That included over a thousand pounds of his own money.

But after Bolton-Watt's stock price plummeted by 42%, the buyers of these contracts all opted to default.

He and his clients have now received a margin of approximately £3,000, but their losses have exceeded £23,000!
Moreover, the stock price continues to fall...

Of course, he could choose to sue the defaulting buyer, but such lawsuits usually drag on for years, and if the compensation amount is too large, the other party may resort to underhanded tactics or simply flee overseas.

Before long, Grabi also walked over, looking ashen-faced; clearly, his contract had also been abandoned.

Montes mustered his courage and reassured his friend, "Don't worry, things might still turn around."

"Bolton-Watt will definitely be able to find a replacement part, and then the stock price will recover."

half a month later.

In Bolton's office, Hope pressed his hands on the table, staring intently at Bolton, and said, "You assured me that there would be no problem with the steam engine supply!"

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent someone to France to purchase them. There are many similar pressure gauges there,” Bolton said with a smile. “Mr. Watt will complete the component matching as quickly as possible, and supply will be restored before the end of the month, no, next week.”

Hope nodded with a gloomy face: "I'll trust you one more time."

"I can help you delay the civilian paddle steamers for a while, but you know the consequences of failing to deliver the naval orders on time."

"I swear, that will never happen!"

Less than two hours after Hope left, a purchasing agent who had traveled to France knocked on Bolton's office door and entered with his head bowed. "General Manager," he said, "I met with the people from Lyon Mechanical Manufacturing Company, and they refused to sell the pressure gauges, even though I offered them £20 each."

Previously, the Dutch company sold pressure gauges for just £1.70 each.

(End of this chapter)