America: My Time

Chapter 776 A Probe from the Enemy

Chapter 766 A Probe from the Enemy
"George, Ms. Laura, could you please look after Jennifer and Christie for me?" Just as John was having a lively conversation with Little Bush, he saw Jimmy walking towards him. Morgan's party had already ended, and it was obvious that Jimmy had come to see him. Morgan had something to discuss with him, or perhaps it was related to the Gijo Economic Club that had been mentioned earlier. At this point, John had no choice but to give up his conversation with Little Bush. Fortunately, he had said everything he needed to say, and there were no major problems.

"Go ahead and get busy, we'll take care of them, they'll be fine!" Little Bush also saw Jimmy and nodded. For a big shot like John, appearing at such a party meant he had a lot to do.

John got up and left with Jimmy, and his every move was being watched by those who were interested. Many people sighed when they saw this. Although they also wanted to talk to John, they had no chance. Even Buffett didn't have such an opportunity. As for getting something out of John, not just anyone could do that.

“John, please sit down. Let’s talk about the Economic Club of New York. Although I’ve heard your views on the economy before, there are still many things I don’t quite understand. Let’s all sit down and discuss them!” As soon as Morgan finished speaking, John couldn’t help but sigh. Although there were no financial tycoons present, and they were all economists, these guys all had the shadow of financial groups behind them, or rather, they were all serving the interests of those around them.

John smiled calmly and said, "Joining the New York Economic Club is no problem for me. As for my views on the economy, that's not up to me. The market is the foundation of everything, and the market decides. I can only offer my own opinions. I've also heard that many people want to support neighboring countries, especially Mexico. I actually have the same idea and have even taken action, but I'm not too optimistic about their future. These countries have too many internal problems, and they can't possibly meet our needs."

"Mr. John, why can't Mexico meet our needs? Haven't you already invested heavily in them, increasing investment in automobiles and mines? Why do you think this way?"

"It all depends on how we position them. In my opinion, Mexico is supposed to be a supplier of our cheap goods, but unfortunately they can't do that, at least not in my view. After all these years, frankly, their capabilities worry me. Look at those guys in Japan, and you'll understand why I'm not optimistic about them. Since the yen appreciated, those Japanese conglomerates have shifted their production locations, turning their attention to Southeast Asia and China to reduce their costs. Today, Japanese products still dominate the US market, nothing has changed, even their cars. Bentley Motors' investment in Mexico is increasing, and production capacity is also increasing, but the gap between what was originally envisioned is too large. If these guys had even half the enthusiasm of the Japanese, things wouldn't be like this now. You should know that our car factory in Mexico has been operating at full capacity, but its production capacity is far behind that of Japanese cars."

John was also powerless to help Bentley Motors in Mexico. No matter how much he invested, their production capacity was simply no match for that of Japan. Moreover, they were too disorganized and inefficient. Otherwise, Bentley would have already surpassed Toyota in Japan and seized a larger share of the North American car market.

"John, do you think we should set our sights on Asia?"

"My choice is Asia, or more precisely, China. My investments there have always been very successful, at least a hundred times better than those guys in Mexico. I believe you all understand that the reason Bentley Motors' retail business is number one in North America is because we have reliable and inexpensive parts, which are more reliable than second-hand parts. In fact, I'll be blunt: don't even think about relying on them; they don't have that capability. You're all familiar with Australian shipping, with its astonishing trade volume with Russia, yet most of the products are made by ourselves. Just from this, you can understand how much potential Asia has, and most of our goods come from China."

"Mr. John, I have a question about investing. You seem to be avoiding India. Why is that? They are also a populous country, and many people think they have a good market!"

When this guy mentioned India, John shook his head and said, “Indeed, I’ve been avoiding them, and I avoid investing there whenever possible because I’m worried about their investment environment. The fact that you can say something like that clearly shows you know nothing about the situation there. If you had experienced it firsthand, you wouldn’t say such things. You may not know that I’ve sent people to investigate several times, but the result has always been the same: give up if possible. It’s too shady there; there’s no fertile ground for business growth. Their market is indeed large, but the risks are also greater. Investment requires caution. I prefer to cooperate with China; at least the risk assessment is minimal.”

"Is India too dark? Mr. John, can't you go into details?" "That's a long story. Actually, no matter how much I say, it's useless. It's better for you to go there and investigate for yourself. You don't need a comprehensive investigation; you just need to travel there and you'll understand. Then go to China and investigate for yourself. The comparison between the two will give you a satisfactory result."

John's comparison of India to China is a clear case of "dimensionality reduction." India's situation is simply incomparable to China's. India lags far behind China in every aspect, a fact John understands deeply. Moreover, anyone who dares to invest in India should be prepared to be scammed, and John doesn't want to be scammed.

"Mr. John, what's your opinion on the US economy? These days, US manufacturing is relocating overseas, which is extremely dangerous for the US economy and could lead to its hollowing out?" This guy seemed to have ill intentions. The current situation in the US is caused by a variety of factors, and this guy was digging his own grave. I wonder if this bastard is a member of the White House, one of those old guys, or connected to oil and capital.

"Hehe, this is an interesting question. The relocation of American companies is an inevitable trend that no one can stop. It's because the production costs in the US are too high, making it unsustainable for many, especially the semiconductor industry, which is in a very precarious situation. Without relocation, they're facing certain death. They haven't received US subsidies, and they're already facing competition from Japanese semiconductors, and now they have to contend with the Koreans. The situation is predictable. For the US, developing high technology is the best way forward. Technology changes the world, technology creates profit—that's my choice."

John's answer made Morgan nod, but he wasn't entirely convinced. High technology alone wasn't enough; there was also finance, though he remained silent. John's choice from the beginning was clear to everyone: invest in China and Asia. While John had considerable investments in Europe, they couldn't compare to his investments in Asia. As for finance, Morgan was wary of John; John's financial acumen was formidable, and he didn't want John focusing his energy on it. If he had a choice, he'd prefer John to concentrate on real industries, not finance.

In the eyes of Morgan Stanley's bigwigs, if John focused all his energy on finance, he would soon overtake one of the top ten investment banks and become one of the giants. For Wall Street's giants, no one wanted to see John make a major foray into the financial markets; it would be a disaster, a threat.

"Everyone has their own ideas and ideals. We can't ask others to do things according to our own ideas. I think Mr. John's choice is very good. But Mr. John is not only optimistic about high technology, you are also optimistic about the retail industry. You now control a considerable amount of retail in the United States, from supermarkets to restaurants. It is no exaggeration to say that you are a retail giant. Your layout in the retail industry is very admirable."

"Indeed, I am optimistic about the retail industry. After all, the United States is the world's largest consumer country and has the world's largest consumer market. If I don't pay attention to it, it would be self-deception. However, retail also needs goods, especially inexpensive goods. This brings us back to the previous topic: the United States needs a huge amount of inexpensive goods, which Mexico cannot provide for us. China is the best choice."

Although John offered this explanation, not everyone present agreed. Some thought John's words made sense, while others thought he was exaggerating. Morgan, however, sneered inwardly, knowing that John's investments in China were not limited to cheap goods but also included high-tech investments, particularly in semiconductors. Many people knew this, but no one dared to say anything at the moment, as the two sides were still in a honeymoon period.

John sneered inwardly at these guys' probing. He was now certain that he was still being targeted by those damned bastards. They were still plotting against him, and Morgan wasn't unaware of this, but simply hadn't informed him. This made John wary of Morgan. What was Morgan up to? Was he trying to scheme against him, or were they forced to do so under pressure from the other side? If it was the latter, it seemed that his joining the Federal Reserve had made some people uneasy!

(End of this chapter)