Starting with a fully invested A-share portfolio to become a capital...

Chapter 276: Alarming Wall Street Giants, China's Economy Continues to Recover
During winter time in the United States, the sunrise on the eastern coast comes earlier, but it is accompanied by a biting chill, while the sunrise on the Midwestern plains is made even colder by the reflection of the boundless snowfields.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein was unaware that his Hong Kong branch had just lost 1.85 million yuan. At that moment, he was humming a tune as he drove an extremely low-key Ford Mustang to the company.

(And I said)

(Romeo take me)

(somewhere we car be alone)

November 11, 2009, was not only a turning point for Taobao's e-commerce business, but also a watershed moment for the career of the talented singer Taylor Swift.

At the 43rd Country Music Association Awards, which concluded yesterday, she won four awards: Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Music Video of the Year, becoming the youngest Artist of the Year winner in the history of the awards.

It's no exaggeration to say that 80% of people in Europe and America now know this "newcomer" singer.

Huffing a little tune, Lloyd Blankfein soon returned to the company. As usual, he greeted each employee warmly, clearly in a good mood today.

Back in his office, he picked up the landline on his desk, pressed the speed dial button, and said, "Liss, could you please bring me a cup of milk coffee and two packets of sugar? Thank you."

"Yes, Mr. President, have a nice morning."

"You too."

After hanging up the phone, Lloyd Blankfein opened the right drawer of his desk, took out a small mirror, and tidied his hair.

Every "Mediterranean man" seems to have an inexplicable obsession with the hair on the sides and back of his head, and Lloyd Blankfein is no exception.

As he tidied his sideburns, his secretary, Liz, brought in a cup of hot milk coffee and two packets of sugar.

"President, your coffee."

"OK, thanks."

Lloyd Bellanker thanked him and accepted the coffee and sugar packet.

He skillfully tore open the sugar packet, poured all the sugar inside in at once, and then stirred it evenly with a spoon.

In Europe and America, "sweetness" is an almost instinctive need for intake. Many white people have a diet high in sugar, and once they stop exercising, they become abnormally obese. Even Wuxi, known as the "sweet city" in China, has to admit defeat when it comes to sugar consumption.

"suck--"

Lloyd Blankfein took a small sip of his milk coffee, the sweetness instantly hitting him like a rocket. He nodded in satisfaction, then put down his coffee cup and waited for it to cool.

After refreshing himself, he turned on his computer and checked his work email.

Sudden.

His expression changed.

"According to Goldman Sachs Hong Kong Branch, President Lloyd Blankfein, the over-the-counter options and short positions in China Unicom that were opened on November 2nd have been settled, resulting in a net loss of US$2708 million."

"Gift crab!"

Lloyd Blankfein's good mood vanished instantly, replaced by a string of curses: "Fuck, how could China Unicom's stock price drop so much? It actually suffered a direct loss of $2708 million! David Smith has to give an explanation. If it affects the Final Chapter Project, everyone will be in deep trouble!"

The reason he arranged for David Smith to be stationed at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong was because the latter had an extremely impressive resume. In addition to being one of the top ten fund managers on Wall Street in 2007, David Smith was also a genuine Jew.

Jews in the European and American financial circles are similar to the Celestial Dragons in "One Piece," enjoying extremely high levels of convenience.

Are non-Jews trying to squeeze into the financial circles of Europe and America?

Two approaches.

1. Marry a Jewish woman.

2. Marry a Jewish husband.

This is why many upper-class people in Europe and America have Jewish partners; they are not just companions, but a ticket to high-end status.

"no!"

"We must find out clearly!"

Lloyd Blankfein grew increasingly angry and quickly took out his cell phone from his pocket to make an international call to David Smith.

"Dududu-"

After a long busy signal, the call was finally connected.

“President…Blankfan.” David Smith sounded somewhat unsure of himself.

Losing $2708 million in ten days would be enough to shut down any investment bank on Wall Street.

However, considering David Smith's family, Lloyd Blankfein suppressed his anger and asked, "Why such a large loss? Didn't China Unicom have expectations of launching the iPhone 3GS? Who exactly is profiting?"

The three questions made David Smith swallow hard. He quickly gathered his thoughts and replied, "China Unicom made a mistake in pricing the iPhone 3GS. The price difference between the mainland China version and the Hong Kong version reached $290 to $430. In addition, the 3G application ecosystem in mainland China has not yet been built, resulting in insufficient domestic demand. Even if there are consumers who still buy it, they will choose the Hong Kong version of the iPhone 3GS."

"As for the beneficiaries..."

David Smith paused, seemingly trying to recall their names.

"His name is Lin Guangchang, Liao Guopei, and there's also a Mr. J. Mr. J is the mastermind. He's been hiding behind the scenes, and we don't know his identity."

As David Smith finished speaking, Lloyd Blankfein frowned. He seemed to have heard of "Mr. J" somewhere before, but couldn't quite place him.

"Mr. J."

"Mr. J."

Lloyd Blankfein thought for a few more times but still couldn't remember. He gave up and instead asked the other two for information: "Have you found Liao Guopei and Lin Guangchang's personal information?"

“We’ve found out. Both of them are well-known speculative investors in the A-share market. Liao Guopei is known as the ‘Shadowless Kick of Chancheng’ and was born in Chancheng, eastern Guangdong. Lin Guangchang is known as the ‘Stock Speculator’ and was born in Shanghai.” David Smith stated the information he had found.

Lloyd Blankfein thought carefully for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Both of them are speculative investors, so this Mr. J behind the scenes is probably also a speculative investor. You need to keep a close eye on their movements. Also, next time you encounter a situation where you need to open a multi-billion dollar options contract, you must call me for instructions, understand?"

"clear."

David Smith nodded.

He continued, "These three individuals not only opened options contracts and short positions with us, but also with Citibank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and several local financial institutions in Hong Kong. Our analysts predict that they have profited more than $2.92 million from this round of short selling."

"!!!"

Lloyd Blankfein was startled.

Even after years of experience on Wall Street, he was still astonished to see that someone could earn $2.92 million in just 10 days. Is this really the behavior of an ordinary investor?

After briefly composing himself, Lloyd Blankfein asked in a deep voice, "So, the total amount of their options and short positions reached $14.7 billion?"

"It should be about the same."

David Smith nodded in response.

"..."

Lloyd Blankfein fell silent for a moment, then touched the top of his slightly pointed and smooth head, guessing, "Could it be insider trading?"

He focused his energy on Europe and America and didn't really pay much attention to the Asian market.

But after listening to David Smith's account, he felt like he had been set up.

"It's possible."

David Smith continued the conversation.

He's happy to lie as long as he can shift the blame.

“Alright, I understand.” Lloyd Blankfein shook his head and said in a deep voice, “It must be very late over there. Go and get some rest. Don’t make the same mistake again. Focus your energy on implementing the Final Chapter Plan.”

"I will work hard."

"Yeah, see you at Christmas."

See you at Christmas.

After hanging up the phone, Lloyd Blankfein placed it on the table and muttered to himself, "Liao Guopei, Lin Guangchang, and that Mr. J whose identity I don't know—where did all these people come from? Could it be that the higher-ups in China have discovered that we're accumulating A-shares at low prices?"

He doesn't understand.

He wasn't able to figure it out either.

To the West, China is a mysterious country; trying to get their hands or money in is harder than climbing to heaven.

"I'm not sure if any Chinese officials are involved in this round of China Unicom. I should inform BlackRock and Vanguard first, and let them make the arrangements," Lloyd Blankfein muttered to himself.

The loss of over $2700 million in 10 days not only caused some anxiety for Lloyd Blankfein, but also for other Wall Street heavyweights such as Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, and HSBC CEO Michael G. G. Kin. They were aware of the losses incurred by the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary and, like Blankfein, were somewhat anxious. It is unclear whether the Chinese leadership discovered their A-share investments and thus issued a warning.

However, Wall Street tycoons such as Lloyd Blankfein, Michael Ghichen, and Vikram Pandit could not have imagined that the "Mr. J" who made them uneasy and was hiding in the shadows was someone they had actually met before, but at the banquet at the time, no one paid any attention to him.

……

And on the other side.

Omaha.

Berkshire Hathaway headquarters.

Looking at the BYD documents handed to him by his partner Charlie Munger, Buffett was quite puzzled: "A Chinese automaker? Are you sure this company has investment value?"

It's not that he looks down on Chinese car companies; he's just wondering why, if he's going to invest in car companies, he wouldn't choose Japanese companies like Toyota and Honda.
Even if we don't invest in Toyota and Toyota in Japan, wouldn't investing in Hyundai or Kia in South Korea have more potential than BYD?
If Buffett remembers correctly, the main reason why Chinese automakers adopt the joint venture model is that they cannot produce important components such as engines and transmissions independently.

Buffett couldn't understand investing in Chinese car companies, his eyes filled with confusion.

“I don’t know much about BYD, but my friend Li Lu said that BYD’s research and development team is very strong, especially in the field of vehicle batteries. I think if we have time, we can go to China and visit their production plant in person.”

Charlie Munger made the suggestion.

His persistence in choosing BYD stemmed primarily from his previous misjudgment of the company.

In 2003, Charlie Munger publicly expressed his disapproval of BYD's acquisition of Qin Chuan Automobile, advising them not to do anything foolish.

At the time, it wasn't just Charlie Munger; almost everyone was skeptical of BYD's foray into the complete automobile manufacturing industry.

But the result?

Six years later, BYD's total revenue for the first three quarters reached 263.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39%. In the third quarter alone, revenue reached 102.56 billion yuan. Revenue from the automotive business accounted for 55% of the group's total revenue, surpassing the mobile phone components and battery business for the first time.

“Yes, that’s perfect. I need to research the Japanese and Korean markets, and it would be good to learn about the Chinese market as well.” Buffett nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right."

He thought of something and asked, "How is that little girl doing lately?" The little girl Buffett was referring to was Xu Zhiruo, whom Zhang Yang had sent to Berkshire Hathaway for further studies. She was one of only two Asians in the company at present.

"Her? She's probably tinkering with quantitative analysis. That quantitative expert from Singapore is quite capable; the program has already started running and generating profits," Charlie Munger chuckled.

"Does he/she have talent?"

"Above average."

“Okay, I understand.” Buffett was about to tell him to leave when Charlie Munger seemed to remember something and said with a smile, “Buddy, I have something to tell you that will definitely surprise you.”

"whats the matter?"

Buffett was somewhat puzzled

He was much slower than others to get industry information; often, Buffett only found out when Charlie Munger told him.

“Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and other institutions suffered losses in Hong Kong. I heard that a mysterious team shorted the market with HK$10 billion, causing them to lose an average of over US$27 million,” Charlie Munger shared with a laugh.

"Which ticket?" Buffett asked.

Charlie Munger: "China Unicom".

“I remember.” Buffett thought for a moment and then said, “There is an old Chinese saying, ‘If you walk by the river often, you are bound to get your shoes wet.’ I am a little curious about who that mysterious team is.”

"That's unclear. Some say it's China's own operations team, while others say it's China Unicom. Who knows?"

Charlie Munger shrugged.

If it weren't for his investment in BYD, he wouldn't have paid any attention to China's capital market.

Buffett picked up the Coke on the table, took a sip, pondered for a while, and said, "It's interesting that so many Wall Street analysts have been put in such a difficult position. It seems that I have no choice but to go to China."

“Then you arrange the time,” Charlie Munger replied smoothly.

"Ah."

Buffett responded.

As the two finalized their trip to China, in the quantitative trading office not far away, Xu Zhiruo, with her hair in a single ponytail, wearing a brown-colored cardigan and her eyes shining, exclaimed, "Holy crap, Sister Shanshan, you're amazing! The program runs automatically and trades automatically. You're practically the Queen of Quantitative Trading on Wall Street!"

Sitting in front of her computer, Yun Shanshan, arms crossed, said smugly, "Manual stock trading is too slow. The future definitely belongs to quantitative trading. How about it? Want to learn?"

"miss you!"

Xu Zhiruo nodded repeatedly.

"Come to my room tonight, and I'll teach you step by step." Yun Shanshan stretched out her long, slender, fair hand and pinched Xu Zhiruo's buttocks.

"Stop messing around, I really want to learn." Xu Zhiruo pushed away Yun Shanshan's groping hand.

"I'm serious." Yun Shanshan puffed out her chest; her E-cup breasts were so full that even through thick clothing, their magnificence was palpable.

"..."

Xu Zhiruo remained silent.

She treated Yun Shanshan like a good friend, but the other girl actually wanted to sleep with her?

"Forget it, I'm straight, straighter than the steel bars that built the Empire State Building." Xu Zhiruo didn't have that many quirks, and silently admired Yun Shanshan for her cleverness.

"Pfft."

Yun Shanshan couldn't help but laugh out loud. She crossed her arms again and looked at the quantitative trading program that was automatically trading, saying, "I'm just kidding. Who would want your small breasts and small butt?"

"Oh, right." She suddenly thought of something in Hong Kong and said, "When I was deploying quantitative trading in Hong Kong, I heard that someone had taken down several financial institutions on Wall Street. Your China is truly full of hidden talents."

Although the two communicated in Mandarin, Yun Shanshan is not a Chinese citizen, but a Singaporean Chinese whose ancestral home is Fujian.

There's nothing wrong with Singaporeans using the term "your country of China."

Upon hearing the news that "someone has taken over multiple financial institutions on Wall Street," Xu Zhiruo's mind immediately conjured up Zhang Yang's face, and she muttered to herself, "Could it be him?"

"Who is he?"

Yun Shanshan became somewhat interested.

"He's my college classmate, and also my dream guy (*I`*)." Xu Zhiruo chuckled foolishly.

Yun Shanshan: "My idol? Let me see what he looks like?"

"Here."

Xu Zhiruo took out her phone, and the screen saver she had set was a picture of Zhang Yang.

When Yun Shanshan saw Zhang Yang's features, her heart skipped a beat, and she muttered to herself, "He's so handsome, like a celebrity. No wonder he can steal my woman."

"How's it going? Are you handsome?"

"Um, it's alright."

"What do you mean 'not bad'? He's really handsome!"

"So handsome, so handsome that I'm tempted to make a move on him. Can you give me his contact information? I want to have a litter of his kids."

"Stop, stop! If anyone's going to give birth, it'll be me!"

"I come!"

"I come!"

Just as the two were arguing, Todd Combs, the hedge strategy guru at Berkshire Hathaway, knocked on the door.

"咚咚-"

His eyes were sharp, and he had the typical features of a British white man. He looked at Xu Zhiruo and said without any politeness, "You're slacking off again. Come back with me and learn hedging. Quantitative trading is a side path that can't be taken seriously."

In the eyes of conservatives, quantitative trading is just a rigid program, and once the program goes wrong, the losses are immeasurable.

Seeing Todd Combs deny his quantitative process, Yun Shanshan was about to scold him when Xu Zhiruo quickly smoothed things over, saying, "No, no, I didn't slack off. I combined the strengths of many schools of thought, knowing myself and my enemy, so that I could win every battle."

Immediately afterwards, she hurried toward the door, not forgetting to say goodbye to Yun Shanshan, saying, "Sister Shanshan, let's meet again after get off work."

"Go."

Yun Shanshan nodded.

After watching Todd Combs and Xu Zhiruo leave, Yun Shanshan looked serious as she stared at the quantitative program she had written.

Most Wall Street institutions have already deployed quantitative trading, but its harvesting efficiency is still not as good as manual trading. Moreover, some people have developed reverse harvesting programs to counter quantitative trading.

……

Thursday, April 11th.

At 8:00 a.m., the National Bureau of Statistics had already released the CPI and PPI data.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.5% year-on-year in October. Although it remained in negative territory, the decline narrowed further from -0.8% in September. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, continued its moderate rebound for the sixth consecutive month, indicating a gradual recovery in domestic demand.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial products fell by 5.8% year-on-year, a significant narrowing from -7.0% in September, reflecting easing deflationary pressures in the industrial sector and support from stabilizing raw material prices for manufacturing.

In addition to macroeconomic factors, news from the capital market is also worth paying attention to.

For example, after the listing of 28 companies on the ChiNext board, they experienced a "frenzied speculation". As of November 11, the average stock price had fallen by 18% from the high point on the first day of trading, and the total market value had evaporated by 16 billion yuan.

The government summoned major coal companies for talks, demanding a direct reduction in pithead coal prices and strictly prohibiting speculative trading. This move aims to address the rapid rise in coal prices during the winter heating season and stabilize energy costs.

In addition, Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Chan Ka-keung announced in Tokyo that Hong Kong is revising its laws to achieve tax equality between Islamic bonds and traditional bonds, and plans to issue its first Islamic bond to attract investment from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.

In addition, two unverified rumors were circulating in the market.

1 is the sales license for Xueyu Securities, which is scheduled to be auctioned in Yanjing in mid-December.

2. Someone posted a message alleging that Zhang Yang had used the Fuchun Road trading seat and even attached Hongyue Investment's transaction slip. Currently, neither Hongyue Investment nor Caiyan.com has responded.

Amidst a mix of true and false information, the A-share market quietly opened its doors on November 12th.

Perhaps influenced by CPI and PPI data, both major A-share indices opened higher. The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 3175.19, up 0.2%, while the Shenzhen Component Index opened at 13135.91, up 0.22%.

China Unicom's stock price has not stopped falling. The closing price on the previous trading day was 6.44 yuan, and the current price is 6.39 yuan, a drop of 0.77%.

The main reason why China Unicom's stock price has not stopped falling is because of Taobao's Double 11 shopping festival.

After Ma Yun's massive spending on promotion over half a month, the total sales volume of Singles' Day 2009 reached 780 million RMB, far exceeding everyone's expectations.

Perhaps seeing the potential of the internet, leading financial websites such as Eastmoney, iFinD, Caiyan.com, Sina Finance, and Tencent Finance have all received notifications regarding the review process for their fund sales licenses.

Once approved, financial websites will no longer be limited to revenue from memberships, research reports, and advertising, but will be able to develop a fund-related revenue stream.

Don't underestimate fund income; the number of fund investors is much larger than that of stock investors.

If one person contributes one yuan, then 100 million fund investors will contribute 100 million yuan in revenue.

At this moment, on the 7th floor of Building A in Changtai, in the open-plan trading and office area, Chen Xiaoqun, Feng Weiqiang, and Zeng Lingshan were on high alert.

"Joker and the others are still in Hong Kong. They want us to sell off our Haitong Foods inventory. Do any of you guys have a way to maximize your profits?"

Feng Weiqiang inquired.

"It's a pity we're out of funds, otherwise we could have pretended to raise the price and seen their reaction." Zeng Lingshan shook his head, clearly having no good ideas.

"I have a plan!"

Chen Xiaoqun chuckled and explained, "We can sell some other chips first, exchange them for funds, and then lure A-God and the others."

Which one to sell?

Feng Weiqiang inquired.

“Selling those two IoT junkies should net us around 1000 million, what do you guys think?” Chen Xiaoqun asked.

Zeng Lingshan: "Okay."

Feng Weiqiang: "No problem."

"Also, I'm going to post now and spread rumors about Haitong Foods and Yijing Optoelectronics, so that God A will obediently submit!"

He has been studying with Zhang Yang for more than half a month and has gained a new understanding of the mantra of "emotions create premiums" for market control.

(End of this chapter)