America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 60, 61.16% (Today is really important, please continue reading)

On January 18, despite the Hassenfield family's desperate efforts to support the stock price, numerous media reports shattered the confidence of many investors.

By 4 p.m. that day, Hasbro's stock price had fallen by 10% by the close of trading, having experienced two circuit breakers in between.

Fortunately, it held up until the market closed in the afternoon; otherwise, it would have fallen even more sharply.

But that's just the beginning. After the news of the Transformers movie was announced, Hasbro's stock had already increased by 21% in just a few months.

Furthermore, news is currently only disseminated online, and print media haven't yet made a significant impact. Most stock market participants are office workers, and some are still relatively unfamiliar with online surfing.

Therefore, the impact has not yet exerted its true power, and it is foreseeable that Hasbro's stock price will continue to fall tomorrow.

As the sun rises, newspapers from all over the United States are delivered to every household. The entertainment section is always a favorite gossip item for people to read during breakfast, and the interview with Eric naturally catches their eye.

There's not much to say. After the NYSE opened at 9:30 a.m., Hasbro's stock price started to fall again, and shareholders who held on to their shares yesterday became panicked.

A few hours later, the glaring red graph had jumped down a few times before it crashed again.

The stock price had now reached $30.3 per share, almost the same as it had been a few months earlier.

At Sweetwater Estate, Eric lay in bed enjoying Colossevini's services.

"Eric, Sergei Hasenfield can't find me, so he'll definitely come looking for you. I think he's probably already in Park City, and he's probably asking around about your whereabouts. They're extremely anxious right now."

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm hiding in a safe place. He won't be able to find me. Besides, even if he does, he can't do anything to me. We're all people of status and position. We're not like petty thugs who don't follow the rules."

"Well, anyway, be careful. Hasbro's stock price has already fallen back to its original level. Even if they still follow the rules, they're probably ready to eat you alive right now."

"Hahaha, I'm just a spoiled kid who wants to fulfill his dream of becoming a director. That's what the media says. He should blame those tabloids!"

At this point, Charlie Cooper's voice trembled with concern as he tentatively asked, "By the way, speaking of which, were those interviews you gave a joke? Deliberately released false information?"

Eric knew that nobody believed he could be a director, even his father thought it was just a ploy, since that's what any normal person would think.

If there is one person in this world who trusts you unconditionally, it is probably your mother. This lovely woman will support you in doing anything without reservation.

"Of course not. We mean what we say. Even if it's just a game, we'll play it to the end. Otherwise, Sergei and Allen might really stab us!"

"But what are you going to do? That's a $1.5 million production, Eric, this isn't a joke!"

"Dad, have you forgotten? I've already hired an assistant director and several assistants. I'm just a figurehead on set; they'll take care of everything for me."

The person on the other end of the phone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now that you have a plan, I won't interfere with the movie matters. Hasbro's stock price is expected to continue to fall by a few percentage points tomorrow, but it's about time to close the net."

"How much money can we use now?"

"11 billion US dollars, this is already the maximum amount. We also need to reserve funds for this year's projects, since this money will not be effective until at least the end of the year."

"Another 11 billion? This seems to be my lucky number, oh dear!"

"Eric, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just a mosquito bite."

"Dad, I'm hanging up now, I need to swat some mosquitoes."

On the other end of the phone was Charlie Cooper's puzzled voice: "Mosquitoes at this time of year?"

"Yes, it was a very big mosquito."

"Then what will you use to fight?"

On January 20th, at the New York Stock Exchange, a new round of market activity began, and as expected, Hasbro's stock price continued to decline.

However, the rate of decline slowed significantly today, continuing in a leisurely manner until noon when it had fallen by 6%, seemingly having bottomed out.

As time passed, the rate of decline slowed further, until 1 p.m., when it fluctuated up and down like a wave, and after falling by 6.6 percentage points, it seemed to have an upward trend.

The curve then began to rise slowly, recovering by 1.5 percentage points after half an hour.

Then the upward momentum gradually accelerated, and by 3 p.m., Hasbro's stock price had been pulled back to near its original level, with the chart fluctuating more dramatically than a heart rate chart.

This situation clearly indicates that someone is supporting the market, and the public naturally thinks of the Hassenfield family.

Perhaps they really are involved, but the Cooper family's role is clearly greater. No matter how much these retail investors sell, Harry Cooper secretly directs them to buy it all. The current price is much lower than it was a few days ago.

In just a few hours, he had already spent over $6 million.

However, in the stock market, there's a saying that confidence is more important than gold. Once investors' confidence falls, it's not so easy to get it back.

At this point, many retail investors were still selling. Their thinking was simple: if I don't sell now, what if the stock price falls further later? Will the market give me a second chance?

Moreover, it was already past 3 p.m., and the market would close in less than an hour.

If the stock price continues to fall tomorrow, and the major players have run out of ammunition, then no one will come to support the price. Selling now might result in a small loss, but waiting until tomorrow could lead to even greater losses.

So, in the half hour before the market closed, the chart began to fluctuate rapidly, until nearly four o'clock, when Harry Cooper's funds were completely exhausted.

With a total of $11 billion poured in, Hasbro's stock price was finally brought back to its original level, and even rose by 2%.

These $11 billion worth of shares, in terms of value, represent approximately 16% of Hasbro's market capitalization.

In other words, if the Cooper family were to consolidate all these scattered shares into their own hands, they could very well become Hasbro's second-largest shareholder.

As for the issue of paying taxes during the process, the method of gifting is adopted to achieve legitimate tax avoidance by utilizing the tax exemption.

As the closing bell rang, the stock market game ended, and the Cooper father and son made a phone call.

"Don't worry, Dad, I know. It's my turn to perform again."

"Let's wait and see tomorrow."

Today's data will determine the next round of recommendations, so please be sure to read on! Thank you so much!

Thank you Baiye Yongshu for the 333 coins reward, thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)