America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 613 Peace talks? Dream on.

Inside the trading room, an array of high-definition displays covering an entire wall emits a cold blue light, dividing the space into countless pulsating financial data modules.

On the left side of the main screen, the announcement of the Russian debt default is prominently displayed in bold black font. Below it, the latest credit rating downgrade reports from rating agencies such as S&P and Moody's are scrolling and refreshing, with the red CCC+ rating lettering glaringly obvious like an alarm.

The central area is dominated by real-time holdings data of major Wall Street financial stocks. The bond holdings, stock positions, and derivatives exposures of institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch are updated in real time in the form of dynamic charts. There are very few green numbers representing unrealized profits, while red unrealized loss data flashes wildly on the screen.

On the right-hand display cluster, the candlestick charts of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite Index, and S&P 500 Financials Index all declined, while the volume bars on the intraday charts showed a significant increase.

At the very bottom is the Ernst Asset Management leverage meter dial.

O'Shea Ricardo stood in front of the control panel in the trading room, his arms crossed over his chest. The index and middle fingers of his right hand were unconsciously tapping rapidly on the fabric of his suit jacket on his left arm, and his eyes scanned back and forth between the various display screens.

After a long pause, he finally broke the silence in the room, "Pete, what is our current margin adequacy ratio?"

O'Shea was promoted to vice president of the company and also took charge of the alternative investment business.

Although the formal appointments have not yet been made and the company has not yet undergone expansion and reform, the company's internal organizational restructuring and personnel expansion plan has been officially launched, and the handover of business has been put on the agenda.

For example, Ralph Payton's private equity division had a brief exchange with him after the meeting just now regarding the handover of work.

From now on, the private equity division will be transferred to his alternative investment business segment and placed under his leadership.

He also has his own hedging department, which he is preparing to delegate authority to. In the future, the head of the hedging department will be his deputy, Pete.

此刻皮特迅速调出数据「我们当前的初始保证金帐户余额为4.8亿美元，前期针对金融板块的做空头寸已实现浮盈超过8000万美元，浮盈率达到16.7%。整体槓桿率也提升到了21倍，已经非常接近证券交易所规定的1：22的预警线。」

Rob Mario stood next to O'Shea Ricardo, his brow furrowing instantly, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. He looked at him and said, "Isn't this too risky? With 21 times leverage, if there's a forced market intervention and the stock price rebounds by 5%, we'll be forced to liquidate."

"Could we conduct sell-offs in multiple phases and at different times, flexibly adjusting the size and price of sell orders based on real-time market reactions? This would gradually release short-selling pressure while effectively controlling risk and avoiding being caught off guard by a sudden market reversal."

o

Although Rob Mario has been appointed as the COO, he is still the head of the risk control department and will continue to manage it until Ernst appoints a new head.

O'Shea Ricardo shook his head, glanced at the time, and said, "There are less than two hours left until the US stock market closes."

His voice was calm, yet it conveyed an unwavering determination: "Robb, do you think those Wall Street giants, given the chain reaction triggered by the Russian debt default, will still have the time and energy to raise large sums of money to bail out the market?"

"Currently, major institutions are busy dealing with the issue of liquidating their Russian bond holdings. The Central Bank of Russia has stopped making payments to foreign accounts, so they are unable to sell their Russian bonds, and their cash flow is already in a tight state."

"If we choose to dump our shares in batches, it will give them a chance to breathe. They will use this time to urgently allocate funds, unite to fight against our short-selling offensive, and may even turn around and go long, putting us at a disadvantage."

O'Shea's tone grew increasingly forceful: "Therefore, we must strike hard all at once, dumping all the sell orders with lightning speed to completely destroy the market's confidence in taking over, causing the stock price to plummet and leaving them no chance to fight back."

At this point, O'Shea's lips curled into a slight smile, a mixture of excitement and cruelty, his eyes gleaming with an air of certainty. "As for tomorrow, that will be the real hell."

Rob Mario seemed to realize something, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "Do you really believe what Ernst said?"

O'Shea's gaze instantly became incredibly firm, even carrying an almost devout persistence.

"At least since I joined Ernst Asset Management, everything he has told me, whether it's market trend judgments, policy change predictions, or the core logic of the underlying assets, has been accurately confirmed."

"He is a financial genius with a keen sense for the financial industry. If he had focused on finance, I believe he would have become a Wall Street king like J.P. Morgan."

O'Shea turned his attention to the area where the trading team was located. "Pete, I need you to make sure that all the sell orders for 3.2 million shares are placed within ten minutes, and that they precisely avoid the market maker's acceptance range."

"No problem." Pete patted his chest, his face beaming with confidence. "I've secretly contacted three international clearing houses and successfully bypassed the major market makers by setting up cross-trading channels."

"At that time, these sell orders will go directly into the retail trading pool and the passive fund pool, that is, the passive holding accounts of index-tracking ETFs and quantitative hedge funds. Their capital size and reaction speed are simply unable to handle such a huge number of sell orders, and the stock price will inevitably plummet."

Seeing O'Shea's decisive attitude, Rob stopped worrying about the veracity of Ernst's information and quickly switched to the role of risk control manager, beginning to comprehensively review all kinds of risks that might arise during the operation.

"O'Shea, there's another crucial issue to consider." His tone turned serious. "If the exchange suspends trading due to excessive stock price fluctuations, a large number of our sell orders will go unexecuted, potentially attracting the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission and even leading to an investigation into possible market manipulation."

O'Shea Ricardo shook his head. "I've already consulted Chris Mead. The Russian debt default was a spontaneous market reaction caused by force majeure. Our transactions comply with SEC rules, and they have no right to suspend our transactions."

He glanced at his watch again; the hour hand pointed to 2:15 p.m.

"It's almost time," O'Shea's voice became more impassioned.

"2:20, execute the avalanche plan precisely on time!"

"Short positions in the three core stocks—Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch—were all subject to margin calls, and a no-limit sell-off strategy was implemented. Sell orders for other financial stocks were adjusted flexibly based on real-time market volume and price fluctuations to maximize profits."

The trading team members immediately perked up, each quickly entering battle mode, their fingers flying across the keyboard, constantly adjusting and confirming the trading parameters on the screen.

As time ticked by, the tension in the trading room reached its peak, with everyone's eyes fixed on the time and price data on the display screen.

At 2:20 PM, Pete slammed the confirmation button on the trading terminal and shouted, "Execute the avalanche plan! Place all sell orders!"

In an instant, countless trading orders, like a barrage of bullets, rapidly shot into the trading matching systems of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

On the display screen, the number of sell orders for the target stock surged at a visible rate, and the stock price curve plummeted like a kite with a broken string.

Five minutes later, Lehman Brothers' stock trading department was the first to detect the abnormal trading signal and immediately reported it to the president's secretary, Humphries.

Ten minutes later, the entire Wall Street was in an uproar.

Everyone knows that Ernst Asset Management is launching a massive short-selling attack on Wall Street's financial giants.

60 Wall Street, Citibank headquarters.

Because of the Russian debt default, the Russian central bank stopped making payments to foreign accounts, making it impossible for major Wall Street institutions holding Russian debt to liquidate their positions.

This is also the main reason why the financial sector fell today.

Now, with Ernst Asset Management dumping its shares, Citigroup's stock price has plummeted, with a drop of more than 8%.

Inside the CEO's office, Sandy Weir sat behind a large mahogany desk, staring intently at the computer screen, with Jimmy Damon standing beside him.

"What exactly is he trying to do?" Jimmy Dimon was also full of questions. "The panic caused by the Russian debt default is still spreading, and he actually dares to take the opportunity to short financial stocks at this time. This is not a wise choice, and it can even be said to be playing with fire."

At this moment, Jimmy Dimon's thoughts were exactly the same as those of Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld.

This is a thankless task that may even cost you money.

Market sentiment is already fragile at this time, and governments or regulatory agencies around the world cannot stand idly by and will definitely intervene. The Federal Reserve will also definitely rescue the market.

This will cause the stock price to rebound quickly, and short sellers will face huge losses.

"Short-term arbitrage?" Jimmy Damon muttered to himself, then shook his head. "But that's not like Ernst."

o

What is Ernst's style?

Jimmy Damon's conclusion about him was that he was all about bold and unrestrained style.

They're all playing big games and implementing grand strategies.

This kind of opportunistic, underhanded behavior is not his style.

Even if it was an internal decision made by Ernst Asset Management, it should have been kept secret so they could profit discreetly.

They're clearly playing their cards upfront now; it must have been Ernst's decision.

Sandy Weir didn't care, and there wasn't even a hint of panic on his face. "Whatever the purpose, this is Ernst's revenge."

"Revenge?" Jimmy Damon's eyes lit up as he instantly realized what he meant.

Sandy Weir is right, this is retaliation, retaliation for John Reed's previous short selling of Jump Games.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs was in complete disarray.

"What exactly is he trying to do?" Henry Paulson's voice was almost a growl.

The Russian debt default has triggered a chain reaction in global financial markets and the economy.

Wall Street institutions are now focusing all their attention on this.

Henry Paulson no longer has the time or energy to fight Ernst; he wants to end the battle between bulls and bears in the Jump Game as soon as possible and help Goldman Sachs close out its positions.

But before he could even approach Ernst, the other party pressed his advantage and began relentlessly attacking Goldman Sachs.

"This can't be as simple as short-term trading profits." Henry Paulson shook his head vigorously, his eyes filled with doubt. "As far as I know Ernst is concerned, he would never make such a hasty trading move. There must be a bigger plan behind this. His goal is not just to short the stocks of Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs."

He had dealt with Ernst extensively on Wall Street and knew him well.

He didn't believe the other party would make such a foolish move; there must be some hidden card they hadn't used yet.

Thinking of this, he hesitated for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed the number.

The call was quickly connected, and Ernst's voice came through the receiver.

"So, is Goldman Sachs now trying to show its sincerity and renegotiate?"

Hearing Ernst's slightly mocking tone, Henry Paulson's face instantly darkened, forcibly suppressing his anger. "Ernst, with your Level 1 dealer qualification, you're tasked with closing out Goldman Sachs's positions related to the Leap Games, and you are not allowed to use any of Goldman Sachs's funds..."

Sheng's own stock.

In a luxurious estate on the North Shore of Queens, Ernst was reclining on the sofa in the living room, gently playing with the breasts of Monica Bellucci beside him with his left hand.

When he heard the conditions Henry Paulson proposed, his large hand tightened instantly. The sudden force caused Monica a slight pain, and she couldn't help but groan.

She raised her hand and patted Ernst's hand, her eyes filled with a hint of reproach.

Seeing the apologetic expression on the other party's face, she looked at the handprint on it and thought to herself: Thank goodness it's the original. Ernst came to his senses. He really didn't expect that Goldman Sachs would actually make such a offer. It really surprised him.

He would definitely agree if it were before the Christmas dinner.

But now...

"not enough."

"What did you say?" Paulson's voice was filled with disbelief. "Do you know what a primary dealer represents, and what it means to your financial company?"

"Of course I know," Ernst said confidently. "But the situation is different now; it's no longer just about liquidating positions in Leap Games."

"That's why I said your sincerity is insufficient."

"You'll understand what I mean after the market closes."

After saying that, he didn't waste any more words and hung up the phone.

Paulson, listening to the busy tone on the receiver, felt a pang of anxiety.

The unknown is always the most terrifying, and the phone call with Ernst made him even more convinced of his judgment.

The short-selling actions of Bonnster Asset Management are not as simple as they seem.

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