Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 189 De Beers
Monday, October 4.

Early in the morning, Mr. Porter rushed to the Upper East Side branch to prepare for the new day's trading.

Once inside his office, Mr. Potter noticed it was still early, so he asked a waiter to bring him a cup of black tea, intending to take a sip to refresh himself.

He's been incredibly busy these past few days.

Before Larry went to Washington, he entrusted Mr. Porter with many matters, including the renovation of the property. Mr. Porter also planned to vacate the top floor of his four-story house, renovate it, and then move in.

It's already April, and April is usually the peak season for renting in New York.

Mr. Potter wanted to renovate the vacant houses before the end of April and then rent them out during the peak season.

The problem is that one of the tenants in Larry's street-facing shops, who occupies two large shops, suddenly wants to terminate the lease, so the lease has to be terminated again. A new notice needs to be posted, and the shops need to be sublet.

In short, during this period, Mr. Potter spent all his time outside of work hours at the sales office dealing with the complicated matters of the two properties and the street-front shops.

Yesterday afternoon, after cleaning the vacant shop, he personally posted a sublet notice on the glass window, with his office phone number listed.

Mr. Potter is getting on in years and has unknowingly developed neurasthenia. When he's busy during the day, he inevitably gets anxious and stressed, which makes it even harder for him to sleep at night.

Back in his office, he had no other thought than to take a break while the waiter served him some black tea.

Mr. Potter leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and was just feeling a little sleepy when he heard the office door being gently pushed open. A person tiptoed in, placed a cup of black tea on the table, and said softly, "Mr. Potter, please enjoy your tea!"

Mr. Potter waved his hand, and the waiter left the office.

After a while, the aroma of tea wafted into Mr. Potter's nose. Mr. Potter rubbed his nose, but the drowsiness still made him not want to open his eyes.

"Ring! Ring!"

The phone on the table suddenly rang, making an annoying ringing sound.

Mr. Potter frowned, struggled to get up from his chair, grabbed the phone, and called out, "Hello!"

"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Potter. I'd like to rent his street-front shop on 34th Street!" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded a bit weathered, and the intonation of his English was also a bit strange.

Mr. Potter rubbed his eyes and said into the microphone, "Yes, we have two shops for rent. Do you want one, or both?"

The person on the other end of the phone paused for a moment before saying, "Is this shop for sale? I'd like to buy it right away!"

Mr. Potter chuckled coldly, then said firmly, "Not for sale! If you just want to buy, then go ask other shops!"

"Well, never mind then... I'll just rent them. I'd like to rent both shops. What price are you offering?" the other party replied helplessly.

Mr. Porter thought for a moment and said, “Well, it’s not clear over the phone, so let’s talk in person. If it’s convenient for you, you can visit the New York branch of Paine Weber Securities on the Upper East Side. When you arrive, just tell the clerk at the door that you’re looking for Mr. Porter.”

The man agreed, saying he would be there within an hour.

Mr. Potter put down the phone, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then frowned.

"This guy forgot to add sugar again...really."

Then Mr. Potter noticed the office door was half-open and muttered, "He didn't even close the door before leaving..."

Just as Mr. Porter was frowning, one of his traders knocked on the open office door and walked in.

"Manager, the stock you asked me to keep an eye on, that new stock called New England Railway, has been rising sharply recently. It closed at $40 on Saturday."

Mr. Porter raised an eyebrow, put down his tea, and asked in surprise, "Really? I remember this stock was only $16 earlier last week?"

The trader nodded and said, "The entire railroad stock market saw a surge on Friday and Saturday morning. This stock, being a new listing, took advantage of the opportunity to climb to a high of $40."

Mr. Porter was somewhat bewildered. He suddenly remembered that before Larry went to Washington, he had asked him to sell the stock after it exceeded $30. But at the time, he thought that the stock was only $15, so how could it possibly climb to $30 so quickly?

As a result, on Saturday, the stock price not only climbed to $30, but even soared to $40.

Recalling how Larry had spoken to him, Mr. Porter's face showed a complicated expression. He thought to himself, "No wonder Larry was able to make so much money in such a short time. His market sense and his analysis of stock price fluctuations are simply terrifying."

The trader was waiting for the manager's reply, but seeing that the manager was focused on thinking about the problem and didn't answer, he could only cough lightly.

Mr. Porter snapped out of his thoughts and nodded to the trader, saying, "When the market opens, if the stock can stay above $40, you can look for an opportunity to sell, and remember to try to sell at a high point."

The trader nodded in agreement, but added, "Also, those Edison Electric Light Company bonds you entrusted have been purchased. The stock allocation will take place after the market opens today..."

Upon hearing this news, Mr. Porter straightened up and asked, "Is it confirmed that this newly issued share is General Electric?" "It's definitely General Electric. This stock was created through the merger of Edison Electric Light Company and another company, and it's being managed by JP Morgan," the trader replied.

Mr. Porter nodded slowly, then asked, "What was the offering price of this share?"

The trader flipped through his notebook before answering, "This is a stock swap merger. The original shareholders of both companies can exchange 2 shares for 1 new share. In other words, you can exchange 2 original shares with a face value of $30 each for 1 new General Electric share."

"How much can my two clients redeem? Considering they are converting debt into equity, will it be even less?"

The trader nodded and said, "Yes, all in all, they are all $10 accounts, and each account can exchange for about 3500 new shares."

Mr. Porter nodded. "Alright, then after the market opens today, convert all those bonds into stocks. Once you've done that, remember to tell me the average cost per share."

The trader agreed to withdraw.

After all that work, Mr. Potter was no longer sleepy. He took out his pocket watch to check the time, then took a sip of black tea and quickly got back to work.

At 10:00 AM, the stock market opened for trading.

Mr. Porter made a special trip to the trading floor to see what the latest offer from Union New England Railways was for the day.

Less than three minutes later, the first batch of offers appeared, and English Railways, as a currently popular stock, received offers right away.

"New England Railroad, $43.25!"

Upon hearing the offer, Mr. Porter raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself that the price was quite outrageous, jumping by another $3 so easily, which was equivalent to a 10% increase.

Needless to say, there must be a stock manipulation group behind this kind of stock driving up the price.

Mr. Porter then recalled that when Larry was leaving, he had told him that New England Railroad was Mr. Morgan's stock and that he would definitely be anxious.

Now that I look, it's true!

If New England Rail can maintain its strength today, it may reach a new high in the closing minutes.

Thinking of this, Mr. Porter hurriedly went to the trader and told him to wait until the stock hit $50 during the trading session before selling, and not to rush into it now.

The trader nodded in agreement.

Mr. Porter then went to observe the performance of other stocks and also greeted several major clients.

Just then, the doorman/waitress hurried over and said to Mr. Potter,
"Sir, a foreigner has come looking for you, saying he wants to rent a house?"

Mr. Potter looked out in the direction the waiter pointed and saw a short, stout middle-aged man in a sharp suit standing in the doorway, constantly peering inside.

This must be the tenant!

Mr. Potter walked over in a few steps, extended his right hand, and introduced himself.

"Hello, this is Potter. Are you the one who just called me?"

The short, stout middle-aged man nodded and then said, "Yes, my name is Cecil John Rhodes. I'm from South Africa, and I'd like to rent your house."

Mr. Potter nodded and asked, "What do you intend to do with the house you're renting?"

The man smiled and softly uttered a single word, "Diamond!"

Mr. Potter raised his eyebrows, a slight look of surprise on his face, and said with a smile, "Wow, that's wonderful! Please come in and sit in my office, Mr. Rhodes, let's talk!"

Mr. Rhodes entered the service hall, first curiously observing its layout, before slowly nodding and asking,
"Can you trade British stocks here?"

Mr. Porter smiled faintly and said, "We are a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and we trade stocks of American listed companies!"

Mr. Rhodes nodded again and then said, "I don't understand this. You are a professional. So, in your opinion, is it better for a company to go public in the United States or the United Kingdom?"

Mr. Porter paused for a moment and said, “Each has its advantages. Relatively speaking, there are more technology companies listed in the United States, especially railroad companies. Moreover, we have many new technology stocks here, such as electrical companies.”

Mr. Rhodes thought for a moment before saying, "In that case, it would be better for my company to list in London."

Mr. Potter, curious, looked down and asked, "You just said your company sells diamonds, so what is the name of your company?"

The short, stout Mr. Rhodes seemed to have been waiting for someone to ask him that question. He then flashed a boastful smile and raised his voice, saying, "De Beers! We are a South African diamond company."

(End of this chapter)