America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 640 Open and aboveboard extortion

The news of Ernst's assassination sent shockwaves through Wall Street, and countless people on the Wall Street must have been secretly delighted.

Even on the night the news broke, upscale hotels, private clubs, and mansions on Long Island were filled with revelry, and people couldn't help but smile when they saw the news.

But after a night of revelry, when the morning sun shines through the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers into this financial center, the exhilaration of the previous night has vanished, replaced by a chilling atmosphere that permeates the entire financial district.

The long-term capital crisis was completely detonated, and MGM's CNBS news channel grabbed the attention of the entire United States from the moment dawn.

Ernst Asset Management launched a frenzied short-selling campaign, targeting the foreign exchange systems of emerging markets worldwide.

Stock markets in the affected countries plummeted, and panic in global financial markets surged dramatically, as if it were dragging the entire world's economy down with it.

This is not what Wall Street fears most. As long as the Federal Reserve provides a safety net and its core support remains, long-term capital will not bring down the economic empire of the United States.

But in the afternoon, the situation suddenly changed.

The entire Wall Street, and even the entire American capital market, felt a chill run through them.

Because Ernst Asset Management's short-selling operations suddenly expanded, rapidly spreading from the foreign exchange futures market to the internet sector, a sector that Wall Street considers a cash cow but also harbors a huge bubble.

In the CEO's office at Morgan Stanley headquarters, the coffee had already been refilled three times, but CEO Philip's anxious heart still hadn't calmed down.

"Haven't you found the killer yet?" Philip's voice trembled uncontrollably as the secretary pushed open the door. He abruptly raised his head and stared intently at her.

The secretary shook her head slightly, her face showing a hint of helplessness and gravity. "The police have informed us that the two assailants at the scene were shot dead on the spot by Ernst's security team. However, according to eyewitnesses we contacted privately, there were three assailants involved in the attack."

"Clearly, the third murderer is now in Ernst's hands."

He paused, then hesitated before continuing, "Is it possible that Ernst already knows the identity of the mastermind?"

"Does it matter?" Philip glanced at him. "What if he knows? What if he doesn't? The key now isn't whether Ernst knows the real killer, but whether we can find the killer and shut him up."

He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked out at the endless stream of cars and the towering buildings, and said in a heavy tone, "As long as the murderer can't be found, the entire Wall Street will be implicated, just like we are now."

"Don't forget, the Kennedy family is also there. The Boston consortium won't let this opportunity pass them by, and they will definitely help Ernst withstand the pressure in Walton."

Ernst Asset Management turned its attention to the internet sector, precisely hitting Wall Street's weak spot.

And this is precisely what the entire Wall Street community fears most.

No one knows better than these financial giants whether tech stocks are in a bubble.

In short, the valuation is severely detached from the fundamentals.

Many internet companies rush to go public with only a concept and a business plan. They have neither a stable profit model nor sufficient cash flow, and they don't even have core technology.

Even so, the stock prices of these companies have still been driven to an outrageous level. They are no longer playing the price-to-earnings ratio game, but rather a distorted valuation based on pure wishful thinking.

And the instigators of all this are none other than these Wall Street financial giants.

Brokerages offered retail investors leverage of several times or even dozens of times, encouraging them to flock to the technology stock market.

Venture capital firms blindly pursued these startups, resulting in the creation of thousands of startups lacking any real business logic within a single year.

Major investment banks not only actively participate in the underwriting of IPOs of Internet companies and earn huge commissions from them, but also hold large amounts of technology stocks through their proprietary accounts, while having their hedge funds bet on the continued rise in technology stock prices through complex derivative strategies such as short selling options.

This crazy leverage game is like a castle built on the beach; it looks magnificent but is actually very fragile.

However, with global capital now pouring into the United States, it's not time to burst this bubble yet.

If Ernst drags down tech stocks, they won't be able to reap global wealth; they'll even face massive bad debts and margin calls on derivative positions, all of which will require them to sell off high-quality assets to cover their losses.

At that time, a crisis that triggers cross-market liquidity will descend.

But the question is, what is the current state of the foreign exchange and futures markets?

Even if they sell off other assets, it's not just a matter of selling them at a bargain price; it's also a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

If other capital shorts tech stocks, Wall Street will only open its jaws wide and teach them a lesson.

Even if Wall Street fails, the Federal Reserve will not stand idly by.

But Ernst is different; he now has a legitimate reason, and the Boston consortium is giving him time in Washington.

And in his hands, he also possesses nuclear weapons that others lack. A large number of high-quality, even top-tier, technology companies in various sub-sectors of the internet industry.

While suppressing stock prices in the financial markets, if these companies release some financial reports that reveal significant problems, those leveraged retail investors will definitely flee in a frenzy, and the entire tech stock market may collapse.

Looking for Ernst?

He is not answering any calls from the outside world right now, and the news released through the media is that he is seriously injured.

But now everyone understands that even if he is injured, it is definitely not serious. Otherwise, would Ernst Asset Management and MGM's actions be spontaneous?

"Now things are very simple. He wants everyone who might be involved in this attack, or rather, Wall Street, to pay for his attack." Philip's voice carried a hint of coldness. "Unless we find the real killer, hand him over, and shut Ernst up, this crisis will not end."

The secretary's expression turned grim. "Are we really going to let him continue this extortion? Are we going to let the whole of Wall Street appease his anger?"

"What else can we do?" Philip's tone was full of helplessness. "The initiative is completely in Ernst's hands now, and we have no choice."

In fact, Philip knew very well that not only him, but the entire Wall Street community, and even Ernst himself, understood that the mastermind behind this attack was most likely Zionist Jews.

But understanding is one thing, without concrete evidence, it's all just empty talk.

"He's framing me, this is blatant extortion!" the secretary couldn't help but say.

Philip nodded in agreement. "You're right, this is a frame-up, this is extortion."

But then his tone suddenly turned cold: "So what?"

That's how it is: the victor is king, the loser is villain. If given the opportunity, Morgan Stanley wouldn't let go of such a chance to extort money.

"If it weren't for all the mess that China Telecom has made, we might have been able to stand by and do nothing."

"But now, they can legitimately smear us."

It's like splashing dirty water, but everyone is helpless.

Henry Paulson sat at his desk, looking at a report on it, the data of which was alarming.

The entire US stock market is falling. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen by more than 300 points, and the S&P 500 has fallen by more than 3%. These are indices, after all.

Even the internet industry, which was not impacted by the Russian debt default, has now seen the entire Nasdaq index fall by more than 2% due to short selling by Ernst Asset Management.

What if Ernst's tech companies were colluding to release some unfavorable news?

He couldn't even imagine the consequences.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die." Henry's eyes hardened. "Immediately contact major mainstream media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and release Goldman Sachs' official statement, clearly stating that we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects of technology stocks, and that the current market decline is just a short-term adjustment, which is an excellent opportunity to buy on dips."

"In addition, notify the trading department to withdraw $30 billion from the company's liquidity reserves and immediately enter the market to provide a safety net."

Paulson paused for a moment, then said, "Focus on buying leading tech stocks with core technologies, such as Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco. Tell the trading team that a decline is acceptable, but we absolutely cannot allow retail investors to panic and create a stampede effect."

"We must stabilize market confidence and defend the technology stocks."

"I'll go and inform them right away." The secretary nodded.

"Wait a minute," Henry Paulson called after him, adding, "Also, keep a close eye on Ernst Asset Management and Ernst's other businesses. If they release any negative news, report to me immediately."

"Okay, I'll pay close attention."

Meanwhile, in the conference room at Lehman Brothers headquarters, the air was thick with smoke, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Richard Fuld sat at the head of the conference table, irritably smoking a cigar, his eyes fixed on the large screen in front of him, his brows furrowed in a frown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 300 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index is approaching a 3% drop, marking its biggest single-day decline in nearly a decade.

The commodities market is in chaos, with crude oil prices fluctuating wildly and gold prices soaring to record highs.

"The situation is worse than we thought." A gray-haired executive rubbed his throbbing temples, his voice filled with exhaustion and anxiety, as if he had never had such a headache before.

"The panic in the market is now close to getting out of control. Retail investors are selling off, and even some institutional investors are following suit and fleeing. This is not a problem that one or two of us can solve."

He paused, glanced around, and finally looked at Richard Fuld. "At this rate, the Nasdaq market may face a crash soon. I estimate that the Federal Reserve will convene an emergency meeting with major financial institutions tonight to discuss countermeasures."

"If there's really no other way, we'll just have to cut off a piece of our own flesh to feed that guy."

The whole situation is now out in the open: it's extortion from Ernst.

If there is no other way, then we can only accept his blackmail.

The Nasdaq must never collapse.

"Damn those Jurchens who seek to restore their kingdoms!" someone said fiercely.

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room became somewhat awkward.

Richard Fold's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong.

Although Lehman Brothers' influence in restoring Judaism was small, it didn't mean it was nonexistent.

Moreover, he was also Jewish, and at that time, Jews were very united.

Sure enough, no sooner had he finished speaking than a Jewish executive stood up, his face grim, and said, "Michael, you better explain yourself! What makes you say you're a Zionist Jew? Do you have any evidence?"

"Evidence?" Michael stood up as well. "Besides them, who else would have the motive to plan such an attack?"

Richard Fuld rubbed his temples. It was no longer just an external problem; Lehman Brothers was clearly experiencing internal issues as well.