"That equity subscription contract is not going to cause any trouble for Yahoo," Eric said, shaking his head, "and I'm more worried about how Microsoft's reaction will affect Yahoo's stock price and even the entire Nasdaq stock market." Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Although Eric was only halfway there, Frank Wells understood immediately.

In recent days, the Nasdaq index has rushed to a high of 4,700 points, and the slightest stimulus to the heavily frothy technology stock market could trigger a crash of the entire Nasdaq stock market.

While Firefly Investment's new tech companies are ready for the bubble to burst, Clover will need at least two weeks to clear its technology holdings.

At the current share price, the total value of the final batch of tech stocks is more than $6 billion. Even if Clover has successfully cashed out most of its shares, Eric definitely doesn't want this huge amount of money to evaporate due to the early collapse of the Nasdaq.

Due to Eric's strict secrecy measures, Frank Wells does not know the specific situation of the Clover Fund, but he understands that the longer the Nasdaq Index lasts, the more beneficial it will be for the Clover Fund to reduce its holdings.

Although he was very curious about the operation of the Clover Fund, Frank Wells still couldn't help but ask, but said: "In that case, Eric, you didn't need to quarrel with Gates just now, even if it was good to perfunctory him for a while." ”

"That's what I was going to do," Eric shrugged, "but Microsoft has been doing a lot of things over the years, but it's been a big loss here at Yahoo." It is estimated that the depression in Gates's heart has accumulated for a long time, and the request he just made has not been met, and there is no way to break out. ”

Frank Wells thought for a moment and said, "I think Microsoft should also not want to see the Nasdaq collapse, and probably won't react too violently." ”

Eric nodded in agreement: "Gates is a very smart person, I just said that I have been giving him the feeling that Yahoo really wants to continue to cooperate, he calms down, and he will not be willing to give up the equity subscription agreement for nothing." So, it will definitely drag on for a while. ”

Amy brought another lunch to Eric, and Frank Wells picked up the coffee cup and waited for a moment for Amy to walk away before continuing: "Eric, according to the current trend, where do you think the limit of the Nasdaq should be?"

"The Nasdaq has long been at its limit," Eric said, picking up the cutlery, "and what is missing now is just the fuse that will burst the bubble in tech stocks." ”

With that, Eric's movements suddenly stopped.

If Yahoo and Microsoft can't reach a further cooperation agreement, then, once the two sides part ways, Yahoo Browser loses its status as the default browser of the Windows system, which is undoubtedly a major negative for Yahoo and will definitely stimulate Yahoo's stock price to fall.

As a leading stock in the new technology sector, Yahoo's share price has fallen, which can easily cause a chain reaction of the overall downward trend of technology stocks.

This is one of the potential triggers that Eric wants to avoid as much as possible today.

In addition, in the following July and August, if new technology companies successively report large-scale losses in their second-quarter financial reports, then this is likely to become another trigger for the collapse of the Nasdaq.

Eric is also prepared for this, Yahoo will be the first to report second-quarter earnings before most new technology companies by July 15, and with Yahoo's excellent financial data, the losses of other technology companies will no longer be so glaring.

However, just now, Eric suddenly remembered one of the most important triggers that could lead to the collapse of the Nasdaq, Microsoft's antitrust case.

In the past two years, the U.S. Department of Justice has been conducting an antitrust investigation into Microsoft.

By this time, the Department of Justice had already listed Microsoft's main crimes: illegally erecting barriers to prevent other competitors from entering the market, linking the purchase of Microsoft Windows systems to other Microsoft software, and forcing computer manufacturers to sign exclusive agreements.

Last week, one of Bill Gates' lovers, Stephanie Zeuhel, suddenly appeared and accused Microsoft of paying a 'reverse bounty' to motivate enterprise users to exclude other competitors.

The so-called 'reverse bounty', which sounds better like kickbacks, is actually bribes.

Moreover, the reason why Stephanie Zeucher was able to stand up was because Gates took the initiative to take her to Microsoft's very confidential reverse bounty meeting. Although there are many women around him, Eric has always put the girls in the vase where he should be, and never let them come into contact with the core secrets of the Firefly system.

Therefore, hearing the news, Eric really didn't know whether to evaluate Daimon-san's arrogance or stupidity. Recently, the North American media once again pulled Clinton out of the alongside Gates, ridiculing them as 'two unlucky Bills' planted on their lovers together.

Stephanie Zeuhel's testimony is undoubtedly a big step forward in the Justice Department's investigation of Microsoft.

Sorting through the memories in his mind, Eric gradually recalled.

One of the most critical triggers for the collapse of the Nasdaq in the original time and space was Thomas Jackson, a federal judge in charge of the Microsoft antitrust case, who suddenly announced that he had key evidence of Microsoft's monopoly at the critical moment of the deadlock in this case, and would soon make a final ruling on Microsoft.

Thus, at the sensitive moment when the NASDAQ index had already broken through 5,000 points, Thomas Jackson's statement became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Immediately after Thomas Jackson's statement, Microsoft's stock price fell, which in turn triggered the overall collapse of the Nasdaq stock market. Then, as a series of annual financial reports of new technology companies with huge losses were released, the Nasdaq index continued to fall in the following year, and even fell back to a low of 1,000 points at one point.

Thomas Jackson was subsequently dismissed from his post due to the adverse impact of the illegal release on the entire Nasdaq market, and the federal government finally announced a settlement with Microsoft for the sake of the overall situation, canceling the antitrust investigation, and Microsoft avoided the fate of being broken up.

At this time, in the middle of the game, Eric gradually realized that there were many strange things.

Thomas Jackson knew that violating the judicial process could even terminate his entire career, but he still very suddenly revealed the inside story of Microsoft's antitrust case to the media, and then Microsoft's stock price began to fall, which led to the overall collapse of the Nasdaq index.

It seems to be accidental, but it seems too coincidental.

You know, even if the federal court makes a decision to split Microsoft, Microsoft can still appeal.

Therefore, if you want to destroy the entire Nasdaq index, when Thomas Jackson announces Microsoft's bad news, you will definitely need a large number of stock orders to suppress Microsoft's stock price, so as to achieve the ultimate goal.

Now, as the Nasdaq is approaching the 5,000-point high, while many investors who were originally bearish on the Nasdaq have begun to turn to buying technology stocks, there are also more short-selling funds that continue to enter the market in an attempt to make huge profits after the Nasdaq crash.

According to the profit-seeking nature of capital, in the face of the predictable tens of billions of dollars in huge profits, it is enough for many people to take the initiative to destroy the NASDAQ index.

In this way, the appearance of Stefanie Zeur, like the Lewinsky scandal, is clearly not an accidental event.

After all, even if there is no affection for each other, it is difficult for ordinary people to make such a choice that may affect their lives if a small employee wants to jump out and point out his former boss, without any behind-the-scenes promotion or profit drive.

Stephanie Zeuhel's testimony did cause Microsoft's stock price to fall in a wave, but it did not trigger the results that some people wanted.

So, what's next?

After a quick calculation and a casual lunch, Eric called Kelly Haynes and asked her to sort out the relevant information about the Microsoft antitrust case and rush to Firefly Studios as soon as possible.

A few hours later, while Eric was discussing the details of the film's soundtrack tweaks for some of the film's shots, John Williams, Eric's studio door was knocked on, and Kelly, dressed in a light gray professional suit, came in and whispered hello to Eric.

Eric nodded in response, and discussed with John Williams for a few more moments before exiting the studio.

As soon as she went out, Kelly, who was sitting on the sofa outside, got up and walked over, handed a folder to Eric, and said, "Eric, time is a little rushed, I don't know if these are enough?"

Eric took the folder in his hand and said, "Let's go to my office and talk." ”

Kelly nodded, and followed Eric out of the post-production center to his office in the borough.

Walking into the office, Eric motioned for Kelly to be casual, then sat down behind the desk and flipped through the materials in his hand.

Kelly didn't care about Eric's casual attitude, on the contrary, she liked it in her heart, she knew that Eric would only behave like this to the people closest to her.

After a few happy nights, the two have maintained a very special intimate relationship over the years. Moreover, because of the shadow of her former marriage, Kelly did not have the heart to find a partner again, and unknowingly pinned some emotions on Eric.

Gently brewing coffee, and quietly placing a cup of coffee next to Eric, who looked focused, Kelly sat down across from the desk, quietly watching Eric's readings.

Kelly didn't have a lot of information to gather in a short period of time, but it was enough for Eric to get all the information he wanted.

History has not changed much, the judge in charge of hearing the Microsoft antitrust case is still Thomas Jackson, the other party is a very old federal judge, and, judging from the information in hand, Thomas Jackson is not a hardliner who is determined to split Microsoft, and even took the initiative to facilitate a settlement negotiation between Microsoft and the federal Department of Justice last year, but no agreement was reached.

Well, this information undoubtedly proves some of Eric's guesses once again.

After turning the last page of information, Eric looked up and happened to notice Kelly's gaze on him, so he smiled, "Am I handsome again?"

Peeking at the little man in front of her being caught, Kelly's face was slightly red, and she said, "I just think that you must have forgotten to shave these days." ”

Recently, focusing on the final editing of "Gravity", I unconsciously ignored these details of life, Eric touched his chin with an extra layer of stubble, and said with a smile: "No way, the life of a bachelor is always so bleak, you don't care about me." ”

"Where's my turn," Kelly gave Eric a light glance before she said, "Eric, what do you suddenly want this information for?"

Eric picked out Thomas Jackson's information and handed it to Kelly, "Have you noticed anything about Stephanie Zeul lately?"

"Yes, I think this should be similar to the Lewinsky incident," Kelly took the pages of information handed over by Eric, and glanced at them again, with a teasing and admonishing tone, "So, Eric, you'd better be careful on weekdays." ”

"Of course, I'm definitely not going to do something stupid like Gates. ”

"Who knows, you men," Kelly said again, then raised the information in her hand and turned to the point, "Is there anything wrong with this man?"

"I don't know," Eric shook his head, "that's why I came to you, I want to see if there's something wrong with this person, or if there's anything wrong with him." ”

Kelly realized Eric's intentions, but was a little confused: "Eric, I have been following the investigation of the possible firefly system by the Department of Justice and the SEC, and there is nothing special for the time being. Microsoft's case, we don't seem to have to intervene?"

"Of course we're not going to meddle in Microsoft's case," Eric nodded, "I'm just worried that Thomas Jackson will become another Stephanie Zeuhel." Imagine what would happen if Thomas Jackson suddenly made some unfavorable remarks against Microsoft during this sensitive period recently, coupled with the covert cooperation of some people?"

Kelly's thoughts turned, and she said, "The Nasdaq has collapsed." ”

"That's right, those people pushed Stephanie Zeur out, and they didn't achieve their goal, and they will definitely do it again. I think the breakthrough point must be in the Microsoft antitrust case, and Thomas Jackson happens to be a key figure in this. After Eric's explanation, he no longer concealed his intentions, and said bluntly: "So, I hope to arrange a monitoring of Thomas Jackson, if I can get something useful, not only can we prevent the premature collapse of the Nasdaq and damage the interests of the Firefly system, but we can also have an extra bargaining chip with Microsoft, I still hope that Yahoo can continue to maintain the status of the default browser of Windows." ”

"Eric, monitoring such a government official is very sensitive, and it takes at least a week to prepare for it. According to you, we probably don't have that much time. ”

Eric sensed something in Kelly's words and said, "So what?"

Kelly continued: "Cromwell has just recently purchased a batch of listening and anti-listening equipment, and you should have seen the purchase list. So, if you trust him enough, this matter should be a very simple job for him. ”