America: My Time

Chapter 817 Foolish Greed

Chapter 807 Foolish Greed

"John, you've arrived. Would you like to go and greet everyone first, or do your own thing and wait for everyone else to arrive so we can all sit down and talk?" At this moment, Akio Morita didn't make any arrangements for John directly, but let John choose for himself. He also needed to be careful about this matter, after all, it was no small thing. Even Akio Morita had to be careful and couldn't make any mistakes, otherwise the impact on himself would be significant.

John smiled calmly and said, "Mr. Morita, we all know each other, so there's no need for this greeting. Let's wait until everyone is here before we sit down and talk. Akiko and I will go sit over there first. You can go about your business. With Ms. Riko here, there won't be any problems."

At this moment, Riko appeared behind John. Although it was important to 'remind' those guys in the entertainment industry, it was even more important to entertain John and Hitomi Kuroki. She could still distinguish between what was important and what was urgent. She could delegate tasks to her subordinates, after all, she couldn't possibly control everything.

Akio Morita wasn't surprised by John's answer. He nodded and said, "Alright, Riko, you take care of John. I'll go and greet the others first!"

At this point, Akio Morita didn't hesitate and made his choice immediately. He still had many things to deal with, and it was the best choice for John to arrange for Riko to entertain him. Although Naoko wasn't with John, Riko had a good relationship with all the beauties around John, and even had a good relationship with Hitomi Kuroki. At least in this respect, Riko did a good job, which was what Akio Morita was most satisfied with about her.

"Mr. John, shall we go sit with Yasuko and the others, or shall we go sit over there?"

"Let's not disturb them. Let's sit over there and give them time to chat with their friends!" John was very pleased with Riko's kind offer. She was a woman who knew when to advance and when to retreat, who knew what she could and could not do, and who wouldn't make arrangements for others casually!
John doesn't need this kind of occasion if he needs to chat with Yasuko Sawaguchi and the others. He has plenty of time at home and there's no need to do something meaningless in this setting. He doesn't need to convey any information to these people, nor does he need to care about their opinions. At least for now, he has made all the necessary arrangements.

Now, these guys in Japan have different ideas. After seeing that John got some oil from the Middle Eastern tycoons, they couldn't help but have some thoughts. They felt that they could put aside signing more oil contracts for the time being. After all, a year is a lot of pressure for them. However, this did not reach a consensus among them. Most people still felt that it would be better to sign supply agreements as soon as possible, since oil prices had risen too fast and far exceeded their expectations.

"Do you all think that because we can get some extra oil now, we can stop for a while? What should we do if oil prices continue to rise? And we can't be sure that Mr. John will continue to supply us with oil. We can't take any more risks at this point."

In fact, when the price of oil reached $40, Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investments had already begun to sell off their oil futures and liquidate their positions. However, due to high market demand, the futures orders were snapped up as soon as they were placed, as these were recent orders and very tempting to everyone.

Because these were recent orders, they didn't have a significant impact on oil prices and didn't cause them to fall. Unfortunately, not everyone knew about Standard Chartered Bank and Hurricane Investment's actions, including the Japanese. After all, there weren't many orders in the futures market, so this almost spot transaction made them even more interested.

"I don't think we should risk betting on a market easing. Given the current situation, we can't pin our hopes on Mr. John, at least not on him supplying us with enough oil. Our best option is to sign a one-year contract. While there will be some pressure, we won't need to worry about energy shortages. If we abandon the previous agreement for a small price difference, it would be a huge loss if it impacts the overall Japanese economy." The Japanese officials naturally didn't want to take the risk and didn't think abandoning the one-year contract was the right thing to do. At this time, the priority was the Japanese economy; they couldn't allow it to suffer a severe blow. They knew the Japanese stock market had already been significantly impacted, and if an energy shortage crisis occurred, the consequences would be even more serious.

“Well said. We can’t abandon our previous agreement just because of the arrival of these tankers. That would be irresponsible to the Japanese economy. And do you think that if oil prices continue to rise, we can still buy Mr. John’s oil at the current price? You know, oil prices have already been pushed even higher. Some people said before that the purchase price of $40 was a bit high, but can they still say that now? If we delay any longer, I’m afraid the price will continue to rise. After all, we are getting oil that we can get in the shortest time, while futures take time, and most importantly, their price is not cheap at all.”

"I don't think so. I think the oil futures market has changed. Some people are selling off their holdings. We should wait a little longer. After all, everyone has secured some orders. If we just hold on a little longer, we might see a turnaround. The US and Europe can't just watch the situation continue like this!"

"How long do you think we need to hold out, a month or two? And we're not just one company, but the whole situation in Japan. If anyone thinks we can hold out, then you make your own decision. If problems arise, don't expect anyone to come to our aid. And we don't believe Mr. John will continue to supply us with oil indefinitely. You have to understand that the competition isn't just between us, but also between Taiwan and South Korea, and even Europe!"

The topic was rather heavy, causing a momentary silence to fall over everyone. They were all acutely aware of Japan's current situation and understood the dire consequences of continuing under these circumstances. There were plenty of others willing to sign, and time was running out. Missing this opportunity might mean far greater losses than just a small monetary one. These people were completely unaware that Japan had no chance of recovery; they were already in crisis. From the moment the Middle East war broke out, they lost the ability to decide everything; they were already caught in the middle.

Human greed is on full display in these guys; they always want more, they want more, but they forget that they can't do it. They never take the initiative; the initiative has always been in John's hands. Their desire to fight John and get more is just wishful thinking.

"I think it would be best for everyone to calm down and think things through carefully. Moreover, I don't believe that all of this is beyond your control. Mr. John has already done his best by getting Morita-san to step in. If you have any more ideas or demands, it just shows that you are too arrogant and self-righteous. Our situation in Japan is not ideal right now. Wall Street has its eyes on us. If Japan's energy sector has problems again, our stock market will collapse directly."

Everyone present was well aware of the tactics employed by those Wall Street guys. They all knew what those Americans wanted to achieve. Not everyone could accept such an outcome, so they didn't want to see the day the Japanese stock market collapsed, even though they themselves knew that the Japanese economy had a bubble. What they wanted was simply to squeeze out the excess from the bubble and bring the Japanese economy back to normal, not for the entire Japanese economy to collapse and for society to be in turmoil.

Is it possible that the actions of those guys at the Japanese central bank were not approved or agreed upon by the financial conglomerates? Impossible. The Japanese financial conglomerates are not completely unaware of the situation; it's just a matter of how much they know. They simply didn't expect the situation to spiral into an abyss. They forgot Japan's biggest problem: the madness inherent in its very being. This madness would lead Japan from one extreme to another, plunging it into even greater trouble.

No matter how much you scheme or how brilliant your plans are, you can't control all of this. The market is not something anyone can control, as can be seen from the appreciation of the yen. But these Japanese guys haven't learned their lesson. They're still doing crazy things and making all sorts of crazy plans.

To treat John as someone to be used is simply arrogance. They have no idea that they have already walked into John's scheme and are already trapped in his plan. Giving them time to discuss it now is just to make these guys feel better and think that John is a 'good person' to Japan!
"Accept it. Stop overthinking. A distant solution won't quench our immediate thirst. Solving the energy problem sooner is the greatest benefit for Japan. I believe none of you here want to see the Japanese economy collapse, none of you want to see those Wall Street lunatics ruthlessly destroy our market, or see our companies crumble. Now we must make choices, we must prioritize the greater good, and we cannot sacrifice Japan's overall interests for personal gain. Stabilizing the situation is paramount; otherwise, disaster awaits us—a terrible disaster. This opportunity is fleeting; we don't have more time, we don't have more chances!"

(End of this chapter)