America: My Time

Chapter 792 The Layout Exposed
Chapter 782 The Plan Exposed
John had no time to celebrate his victories in the Middle East, as he was currently entangled with the Japanese. Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, oil prices had skyrocketed, and everyone was frantically buying up oil. Suddenly, they discovered that the recent oil futures contracts had disappeared; someone had taken them. Who took these oil futures contracts? John, of course.

Hurricane Investments and Standard Chartered Bank are both active, as are investment companies in Japan. They all hold a large amount of crude oil futures, leveraged by tens of times. You can imagine how many oil futures they hold. With oil prices soaring, profits are rolling in.

"Damn it, who took away the recent oil futures? Have they found out yet?" The entire Wall Street was in shock, searching for who was behind this, because this was not something that could be done in a day or two, but rather something that had been planned for a long time.

"Boss, it's Hurricane Investments and Standard Chartered Bank. They've been laying the groundwork for months, and they both hold huge amounts of oil futures!" At this moment, a bitter expression appeared on Jimmy's face. Who would have thought that John's methods were so formidable, from shorting gold prices to shorting the Japanese stock market, and now increasing his holdings of crude oil futures.

"Are you sure it was John who did it? Where did he get so much money? Hurricane Investment and Standard Chartered Bank were targeting the Japanese stock market, so how come they also made moves in crude oil futures? Why didn't you notice it beforehand?" When he heard these words, the Morgan tycoon was shocked. This move was too crazy. Did they go all out and bet all their funds?

"It's not that we didn't notice, but the crude oil futures at that time were not worth paying attention to. After all, the price of crude oil has not fluctuated much, and the other party was prepared in advance. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for us to notice. Most importantly, he only received recent crude oil futures, so naturally no one paid attention. What everyone was concerned about was that little fox John's crude oil reserves."

Yes, John not only controls a huge amount of crude oil futures, but also has a huge amount of crude oil reserves, and these reserves have a longer holding period. At this time, he is really going to make a fortune. Some people were mocking John's layout in Western Energy, but now they are dumbfounded. They said they were losing money, but in the blink of an eye, they have multiplied their money several times.

"A monster, truly a monster. To be enemies with such a guy is tantamount to suicide. Some people were mocking John before, but now they're dumbfounded. This is several times the profit, not to mention that this guy is also making moves in the futures market. Jimmy, what's the current state of Western Energy? Any plans to expand?"

At this point, Morgan thought of John's Western Energy, but Western Energy has completely changed. It has been split up and only has US assets left. It has already been severely damaged. Now that oil prices are rising, Western Energy may see a turnaround.

"No, there's been no change at all. It's still developing as before. There's no idea to expand production capacity, nor does it seem like there's the capacity to increase it. After all, it takes time."

"So, does this mean John isn't optimistic about oil prices continuing to rise, or does he not want to invest any more money? Did the breakup of Western Energy make him wary?" At this moment, Morgan frowned. If it was the former, it would be fine, as the fluctuations in oil prices were caused by the war in the Middle East and could still be kept under control. But if the consequences were different, it would be a big problem. This would mean that John would choose to continue expanding overseas instead of focusing his efforts on the United States.

"I don't know. Everything is just beginning now, and no one knows what it will be like. As for the breakup of Western Energy, it would be a lie to say that John has no resentment. He will naturally be wary of being forced to break up. At least in my opinion, he will not invest so much in such infrastructure in the United States. Otherwise, the gas-fired power project would not have stopped."

"It's all because of the stupidity of those Rockefeller guys. Now, although they've stopped John's expansion in the energy sector, it's limited to the United States. Now that everything has come to a standstill, John is focusing his energy overseas. It's been confirmed that John's first stop in Japan was his oil refinery, and he intends to increase investment in chemicals. It's clear he wants to increase research and development in this area in Japan. He's more trouble than he's worth!"

"There's nothing we can do about it. If I were John, facing such resistance in the US, I would naturally choose to expand overseas as well. Japan's chemical industry is also very strong, so John's choice is understandable. However, if he really wants to accelerate his chemical layout, it won't just be in Japan. I'm afraid he'll increase R&D in his refineries in Asia, and also in Europe. If this continues, Western Energy won't see much development for a long time, only focusing on oil field extraction instead of further chemical manufacturing. Given Western Energy's current situation, it will gradually stagnate." "Forget it, let's ignore this for now. Any problems are Rockefeller's and his group's business. We won't get involved. Besides, that old man is too cunning and not on our side. We don't need to help him! What we need to do now is figure out how to extricate ourselves from Japan as soon as possible. If we drag this out any longer, the consequences will be serious. Japan is heavily dependent on foreign energy. Without enough energy, their situation will be dangerous."

Without sufficient energy, the state of Japan's economy is predictable. Moreover, with the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the pressure on them due to rising oil prices is even more unimaginable. Most importantly, even if you have money, you can't get oil now. John has almost all of the recent crude oil futures contracts in his hands, which has become a huge problem.

"The situation in Japan is indeed not good, but other countries will also be affected. After all, rising oil prices are troublesome and stressful for all companies. Perhaps only Russia is in a better position, as they have sufficient oil production capacity."

Hearing Jimmy's words, Morgan shook his head and said, "The situation in Russia is not going to improve. Even if they want to export crude oil, it will take time. Their crude oil has become John's reserves. Even if they expand production capacity, how much supply can they provide? And do you think those European guys will buy Russian crude oil at this time? They dare to give Russia a chance to breathe. Absolutely not. Even if oil prices rise, Russia's situation will not improve much! Let's not worry about the crude oil issue. It's better to keep an eye on those guys in Japan, after all, it concerns our interests."

"Boss, I think John has a deep understanding of the Japanese economy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withdraw completely before we even got out, and without giving anyone a reason. He was 'forced' to leave by those guys in Japan, and even if Japan wanted to find an explanation, they wouldn't have one. Also, this guy is very knowledgeable about the situation in the Middle East. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to position himself in the oil market months, or even longer, in advance. Whether it's crude oil futures or his crude oil reserves in Asia and Europe, it's enough to bring him huge profits. It can be said that only Western Energy didn't benefit this time. Well, it's not that they didn't benefit at all; Western Energy's benefits were limited. But the oil companies he spun off overseas are completely different. It's certain that these oil companies in Asia and Europe will develop rapidly in the future."

Morgan nodded and said, "You're absolutely right. John, that little fox, has an unimaginable understanding of the situation in Japan and the Middle East. That's why this guy's vision is so sharp, giving him another opportunity to make a fortune. The Japanese stock market, crude oil futures, and so on will bring him astonishing profits. I don't know how many people will be begging him for help, especially in Japan, where they need John's oil reserves! Now, those guys from Rockefeller are probably getting anxious, after all, they weren't prepared for this huge change."

Morgan could ignore the issue of crude oil futures and focus their energy on Japan, but Rockefeller could not. They needed to pay attention to changes in crude oil futures. If oil prices continued to rise, it would be very beneficial for them, as it would provide an opportunity to expand production capacity. However, no one knew how long such oil prices could be sustained after expanding production capacity.

Rockefeller is now completely bewildered. He didn't expect the war in the Middle East to break out so suddenly, nor did he anticipate such a change in the situation. Increasing production capacity is not impossible, but it takes time, and he doesn't know how long this war will last. So, he is caught in a dilemma, which is a true reflection of the current situation of many oil companies.

Needless to say, Japan was in a similar situation. Akio Morita had originally planned to hold a party in a few days, but the sudden outbreak of the war in the Middle East caused crude oil prices to skyrocket. Japan was now feeling immense pressure, especially the oil companies and the Japanese government. They were worried that their crude oil reserves would not be enough to cope with the crisis. After all, once the war started, no one knew how far it would go. Naturally, they started to target John.

John's refineries have huge crude oil reserves in Asia, and they also hold a large amount of crude oil futures. This makes them have to consider how to persuade John to hand over those crude oil reserves to them, even if it costs a lot of money, since it is crude oil that they can get their hands on at any time.

Strike first and you'll be strong; strike later and you'll suffer. You have to understand that it's not just Japan that's short of crude oil; South Korea and Taiwan are also short of crude oil, not to mention Europe. Crude oil prices are skyrocketing right now. The only one without pressure is John, who currently holds the crude oil that everyone needs most.

(End of this chapter)