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

Chapter 249 Suspicious Operations

Monday, October 4.

As soon as it was light, Larry and Mr. Dunbar arrived at Paine Weber Securities Company.

Remarkably, Mr. Porter also arrived at the sales department early to continue serving as its general manager.

Larry gave Mr. Porter a wry smile. "Weren't you busy checking the accounts last night?"

Mr. Potter nodded. "Yes, it wasn't finished until after 3 a.m.

"Then why are you here so early again today?"

"Before the company fired me, I was the general manager of the New York branch."

After Mr. Porter finished speaking solemnly, a smile appeared on his face, and his expression turned sincere. "The key is that I was so excited yesterday looking at those fund subscription agreements worth more than 400 million US dollars that I couldn't sleep!"

Larry burst out laughing.

The three of them had breakfast together in the sales department's restaurant. During the meal, Mr. Potter asked why the meal, which was supposed to be at the Waldorf Hotel on Sunday, had been changed to the Astor family's estate at the last minute.
Larry and Dunbar exchanged a brief glance, then Larry smiled and said to Mr. Potter, "It's mainly because King Astor IV couldn't refuse..."

Mr. Porter nodded in agreement, but later added that it was actually thanks to the roadshow being held at the Astor family's estate that they were able to raise so much money.

After finishing breakfast, Mr. Potter left the table to attend to his work.

Larry sipped his morning tea with sugar cubes and milk, watching the direction Mr. Potter had left in, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Mr. Potter was unaware of what had happened at the Waldorf Hotel. His cousin, George Potter, was now also under the protection of the Astor family.

This matter concerned the family's reputation and the trust the Waldorf Hotel enjoyed among New York's wealthy elite. King Astor IV was extremely cautious and would not tolerate the slightest risk.

This isn't actually a good thing for Larry. If it weren't for the need to block the news, he would have definitely used this opportunity to first spread false information to make those shorting the Astor family's assets think he had succeeded, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If this plan is followed, Larry can drive the stock price down to an extremely low level, and then, combined with the release of news, cause the short sellers to be crushed by the long positions.

Just like the time I piloted the Colt.

But since the Astor family cannot cooperate, the only option is to implement the second plan: open high and continue to rise to directly squeeze the short sellers. However, this approach is far less effective than "luring the enemy in deep."

However, Larry had also thought about this issue very carefully and rationally—even if the person who set up this scheme wasn't Jay Gould, they must be someone of a similar level.

If the man did not receive any news from his subordinates on Sunday, he would naturally know that his conspiracy was about to be exposed, so he would not linger in the fight.

Such a master swindler is ruthless when he strikes; but if his plans fail, those people will not hesitate to cut off their own arm to save their lives.

Therefore, Larry couldn't easily lure the other party into a trap.

Larry felt unsatisfied that he couldn't get revenge by beating the dog when it was down.

Just then, a carriage pulled up at the entrance of the Paine Webber Securities Company. King Astor IV, surrounded by several bodyguards, stepped down from the carriage and walked toward the business department.

Larry raised an eyebrow. It seemed that Astor was quite serious about the agreement to work with him to deal with those who were shorting the stock.

King Astor IV entered the sales department, glanced at Larry sitting at the dining table, pointed to the third floor, and then, surrounded by people, went directly to his family's private room.

Larry put down his teacup, took a towel to wipe it, and then went up to the third floor. In the distance, he saw a dozen bodyguards and servants surrounding the door of a private room.

Astor's bodyguards and security chief were already very familiar with Larry. Although they didn't know that he was the mastermind behind the Waldorf Hotel operation, they knew he was very important when they saw him standing with his master.

"Young master, Mr. Livingston has arrived!"

"Let him in!"

Upon hearing Astor's order, the bodyguard immediately opened the door and let Larry in.

This is the exclusive family office of Paine Weber Securities in New York City. New York City's most distinguished clients often handle stock market-related matters here.

When Larry entered the office, it was like a suite in the Waldorf Hotel, not only was the decor exceptionally luxurious, but it also had its own order-taking telephone system and a separate telegraph room.

Here, in addition to buying and selling stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, one can also buy and sell futures, as well as some British or European stocks, enabling a late 19th-century version of global trading.

It can be said that the facilities are complete.

Astor was looking down at the report. Hearing Larry enter the room, he smiled naturally and said, "Interested in a counterattack with me?"

With me...

Larry pondered the two words the other man had said, thinking to himself that he had thought the man would ask him to handle the trading.

I didn't expect this big shot to be so brave as to not place the order himself.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. In their eyes, I'm just a nobody who occasionally makes a little money. They don't know my capabilities, so naturally they can't entrust me with anything important.

Larry looked at King Astor IV and decided to give him a chance. He then asked, "John, you said I was here, and I'm in charge of delivering the final blow to them."

King Astor IV frowned and said, "Larry, I don't doubt that you also want revenge, but this deal involves a lot of money, and I need to choose a better time to deal with them. You might not be able to do it." Larry thought to himself: Here we go again! The same old script. The arrogance deeply rooted in the hearts of this top New York family.

Since the other party doesn't agree, there's no need for me to volunteer.

Larry smiled and stepped aside, pointing ahead and letting him handle it himself.

Astor nodded without hesitation and immediately began preparing for the market opening.

Larry smiled as he watched Larry intently, flipping through his notes and analyzing closing prices.

Larry suddenly realized that if he had created the candlestick charts in advance, he should have sold them to someone like Astor IV, because he was genuinely analyzing them with great seriousness.

After studying the situation for a while, King Astor IV looked up and said to Larry with great confidence, "My plan is to let those stocks fall for a while after the market opens, and then I will make my move after 11 o'clock... This way I can accumulate as many shares as possible."

Larry was stunned, thinking, "You've been researching for so long and this is all you've come up with?" The problem is, before you could even start your so-called "accumulation of chips," all those short sellers had already run away.

But thinking about it, Astor IV was such a confident and determined young master. He hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society, nor would he have truly experienced the deceit and treachery of the secondary market.

It's already quite remarkable that someone could come up with such a step.

Larry was somewhat helpless. He also had some money in his own account, and since King Astor IV was not cooperating with his actions, he had no choice but to do things his own way.

Larry carefully observed those stocks and found that New York Central Railroad stock fell the most on Saturday, but then saw a surge at the end of Sunday's trading session.

It makes sense, considering that railway stocks are currently in a period of high growth due to rising orders. How could such stocks be easily suppressed?

Once the restrictions on such stocks are lifted, they will definitely rebound first.

Larry made the decision: Go for it!
Larry stepped out of the private room and summoned the traders from the third-floor sales office.

"Please prepare the transaction order for me!"

The trader recognized Larry and quickly ran to retrieve his trading order. The trader also thoughtfully told Larry that in addition to 8000 shares of General Electric stock, he had $84 in margin in his account.

Larry knew, of course, that he had $84 in margin in that account, but that margin no longer truly belonged to him. $20 was pledged for investment in the "Progress Partners Fund," and he also needed to prepare the initial capital for acquiring Bausch & Lomb.

Previously, the fund had not been formally established, so the money had not been transferred out for formal capital injection. But now that everything is ready, the money should be transferred out.

However, I can also take advantage of this special opportunity to make a good short-term trade.

After thinking for a moment, Larry turned to ask, "What's the stock price of New York Central Railroad?"

“$102 exactly, that was the closing price on Saturday,” the other party replied.

Larry did a quick mental calculation: his account had five times leverage, which would allow him to buy approximately 39,000 shares at this price. However, Larry would never gamble everything. Even with the advantage of winning, he would only buy one-third of the shares of a stock with an uncertain future.

"Buy 10,000 shares of New York Central Railroad, pre-market order, market price!" Larry instructed simply and clearly, signing his name on the transaction form.

Unlike other branches, the traders here were used to large-scale transactions, so they didn't react at all. They respectfully took Larry's order form and went to place the order.

King Astor IV didn't stop his busy analysis until almost 10 a.m., when the stock market opened.

At this point, the NYSE had already begun pre-market trading.

King Astor IV was getting restless. He went to the window of the box himself to see where the initial prices of the stocks were set.

As he reached the door, he saw Larry there. Astor greeted him and said, "I've found the right opportunity. I'll be trading insurance stocks in a bit."

Larry nodded. Actually, insurance stocks had the best fundamentals, after all, that unknown competitor was shorting insurance stocks because of the Waldorf Hotel bombing.

At this point, the possibility of an explosion has been ruled out, so there is no logical basis for a price drop.

The two were chatting when the clock struck 10 a.m.

The stock that Larry and Astor IV were most interested in was quoted: "New York Fire Insurance, $16 and three-eighths!"

This price is a full 1.5 points lower than the closing price on Saturday noon.

Larry frowned. The other party should already know that his team is in trouble, but why is the stock still opening lower as planned?
Is the mastermind behind this having other plans?
Larry then looked at stocks such as New York Central Railroad, American Cotton Textiles, and United Gas Corporation, which had opened high, indicating that the other side was already actively retreating.

In particular, the price of the New York Central Railroad stock I placed an order for this morning was already $105 and a quarter. If my pre-market order goes through, my cost basis for today should be around that level.

King Astor IV was delighted to see the insurance stocks open lower, as this meant he could begin accumulating shares at a lower price. He then turned to his trader and instructed him...
"Please help me buy 2 shares of New York Fire Insurance!"

Larry turned to look at the stock quote for New York Fire Insurance. He still found the price very strange.

Larry wanted to stop Astor IV and tell him to wait and see. But after thinking about it, 2 shares wasn't a large sum, so he let him have his way.
.
Meanwhile, on the East River in New York, a steam barge was wobbling along, as if it were a drunkard unable to walk straight.

Upon reaching the banks of the East River, near the harbor and Fulton Fish Market, the boat adjusted its course, turning its bow directly towards the harbor, and continued onward...

(End of this chapter)