Chapter 24: The Big Short (11)

PS: Ask for a monthly pass, if it exceeds 1200, come again at night......

See you on Monday, September 16th!

When the morning light dispelled the last rays of darkness, New York was bathed in a free sun.

But for the American people crowded at the gates of the branches of the Union Bank, they could not care whether the sun was strong or warm today, whether the weather would be sunny or change their faces today, they only waited anxiously for the moment when the Union Bank opened at 8:30, and the crowd at that moment stretched its necks like countless ducks in anticipation of the moment when the feed was delivered.

On Friday evening, Union Bank issued a statement that it would close its doors on Sunday for one day and reopen on Monday, and if necessary, it would be open 24 hours a day. This has caused great concern among the public: while it is normal for banks to be closed on Sundays, the word "rectification" is very unexpected. Rectify what? Why the sudden rectification?

At noon on Sunday, numerous gossip began to spread: The Federal Reserve issued a solemn statement, naming and calling depositors and other stakeholders to pay attention to protecting their rights and interests. Although the news did not appear on Sunday because of the schedule, a well-developed media industry and faster radio stations have spread the news widely. The radio host on Sunday night even went so far as to go uncharacteristically and began to seriously analyze the Union Bank affair in a program that was supposed to discuss social life, inviting scholars with many ties to Wall Street or well-known investors.

"Mr. Bob, what do you think of the statement from Union Bank and the-for-tat statement from the Federal Reserve?"

"It's complicated, and the version I've heard is this: the draft Fed statement was first revealed, then there was the Union Bank statement, and today we saw the Fed's official statement."

"You mean the Fed first?"

"No, no, no...... President first...... The president scolded the Fed for being a stupid fork. ”

The host laughed: "Okay, let's not talk about who comes first and who comes later, you analyze it from a professional point of view, is there a problem here, if not, how will it end, if so, how big will it be?" ”

"It's hard to say ...... thing" Bob considered the words, looking cautious and cautious, whether it was the Federal Reserve or the Union Bank, he couldn't afford to offend, the Fed needless to say, people are quasi-official institutions, and he has also seen the prestige of the Union Bank, how can he dare to fight the president with a group of bodyguards, isn't that impatient?

However, it was not possible to make a name for himself, this was a good opportunity for him to make a name for himself, so he took a deep breath and said: "It is really difficult to judge whether the Union Bank can withstand it, it depends on how much motivation the people have to withdraw money." Personally, I can't jump to conclusions until I've seen the numbers and the spectacle, but one thing is clear – if you're worried about your savings, go and get them out on Monday as soon as possible, Union Bank says there's $1,000 per person at a time, which I think is enough for the vast majority of people. ”

"There are also some listeners who call in to hear the news of the stock market, what do you think about the market outlook?"

"As for the stock market, I think it's a definite thing to see some twists and turns on Monday...... If you feel that you are not safe, you can first throw out and wait and see, especially those stocks that have risen too much in the early stage, it is recommended to fall into the bag first, of course, I am still optimistic about the long-term US stock market, in November last year, this year in March The stock market has fallen sharply, and then each time it has recovered its losses and created a higher number of points, those investors who are afraid of risk are unfortunately lost the opportunity to continue to get on the car and even have to be forced to chase back high, so if this week can smash out of a gold pit, I believe it will be a rare opportunity to enter, Aggressive investors can enter the market after a rally, and conservative investors can pick up after a complete calmdown......"

"Thank you! Then we'll see you on Monday! ”

"See you on Monday!"

On Sunday afternoon, Contini actually received several phone calls, all from the top of the major conglomerates, urging him not to quarrel with the Fed, and if necessary, they could provide opportunities to mediate, and even invite him to have a drink with the Fed officials in the evening, but Contini rejected the offer, speaking in a very polite but cold tone: "I personally reviewed the statement of the spokesman of the United Group, I have had enough!" "Now everyone has nothing to say, and the Fed can't do the first statement.

Someone also called the Italian ambassador and asked him to persuade Contini, who spread his hands very shamefully: "Persuade him? What shall I persuade him? In Italy, the eldest of the heavens, Mussolini's second, his third, and his father Ciano the old sometimes don't work, who can he listen to? Did you know that the Italian Socialist Party annoyed him, and he finally uprooted people - the old party, which had had three prime ministers and more than 20 ministers, was finally beaten to the point that it was almost impossible to get 200 members...... The Fed really didn't take it seriously, and I didn't want to touch it. ”

"Where did he come from?"

"He's rich."

"If you have money, you can deal with political parties?"

"No, no, no, you don't understand how rich he is, he stipulates that he will not do business with any enterprise that has members of the Socialist Party, and that he will not do anything with the banks that provide accounts for the companies that are members of the Socialist Party, and he will not allow the employees of the United Group to deal with these banks......" the ambassador sighed, "On the surface, it seems that you can just do business with the United Group, but you must know that the entire Italian heavy industry system is all involved in the United Group, and if you want to avoid the United Group, you must avoid the whole industrial chain- You say, is it easier for you to avoid the Socialist Party or the whole industrial chain? ”

"It seems that money can really do whatever it wants."

Although the ambassador did not touch his head, these words were later shaken out and reached the ears of Contini, and 13 days later the ambassador received an order to return to Rome for the reason of simplicity and age. But the insider told him that there was only one real crime: ****!

-- Banning the Socialist Party is a fascist strategy, and the president is only the executor, so what is the use of you, an ambassador stationed abroad, who cannot maintain a high degree of consistency with the party, who cannot perceive the intentions of the leader, who cannot consciously implement the party's line, principles, and policies, and who criticize the major policies of the central authorities? Of course, the only way to let you stand aside is to finally hold other parties accountable, and simply let you retire.

This episode is just a frenzy of capital that is coming, and it is really a small wave that cannot be smaller......

Countless people waited for Monday, and Contini was no exception — he said he was staying at Union Bank's U.S. headquarters, so he didn't stay at a fancy hotel.

Is he really in command on the spot, and responds in time to prevent accidents? Of course there is this consideration, but more importantly for safety. The U.S. headquarters of the Union Bank is a newly built building, with a solid concrete defense layer and embedded armor steel - just when the U.S. imperialists dismantled an old battleship with armor steel and retreated, all of which were used in these places, and a total of 2 battleships' horizontal and side armor belts were consumed, and the standard was that the French 75 Miss was only worthy of scratching, and the American 155 howitzer could not penetrate at all.

The entire Union Bank building is 12 floors high, 3 floors underground, it seems to be inconspicuous in Manhattan, where there are many high-rise buildings, but only people who really understand fortifications can see the power of the United Bank headquarters in the United States, and the surrounding land is full of annexes or podiums of the subordinate systems of the Union Group, including the Union House, the Union Trust, the Union Newspaper, etc., all gathered here, the standard Zimu Dark Fort + Central Fort pattern, that one by one is full of ancient Roman style windows as long as a little transformation is a good Browning heavy machine gun shooting hole, If light and heavy firepower is poured out, the entire block is under control.

The wide asphalt road in the middle was just right for tanks and armored vehicles. Behind a false wall is a heavy equipment storage garage that can be used to run away in an emergency, and some explosives are buried in the foundations of the wings next to it, and once the tanks escape, these buildings will explode and form ruins to block the pursuers.

In short, the building was built with the need for armed robbery in 1929 in mind, otherwise how could it be so strange and expensive? Contini thought that it could only be destroyed unless it was accurately hit with a train gun of more than 203mm, a naval gun or a bomb of more than 2,000 pounds, but if these weapons were to be used in the United States, it would probably be about the same as the probability of destruction in the United States, so he was very confident in saying the word solid, but this was his miscalculation, his old friend Hoffman had done this kind of thing, and more than once! So never underestimate human imagination and destructive power.

The surface building is so strong, not to mention the underground vault, all the walls around it are piled up with side armor belts, not to mention the explosives blasting, even the 305mm naval guns can't penetrate it! A large amount of food, water and other necessities had already been stored in the bank according to Contini's request, and not only Contini was in the bank, but all the bodyguards, guards and even the relevant figures of the associated group were in the bank.

However, with the exception of Contini and Francisco, who have special rooms, everyone else just sends out sleeping bags to spend the night - extraordinary times can only be taken very seriously.

In the underground warehouse of the headquarters, there are still neatly parked tanks and armored vehicles, which are used to break out of the encirclement at a critical moment, Contini has long inquired, at present, the United States does not have any weapons that can block the M1 combined tank, unless the anti-tank defense line is deployed in advance, but that is not afraid - it can be bombarded by naval artillery! If the 305mm shells really fell on Wall Street, then it is needless to say how far the US stock market has fallen.

"Open the door!"

As the big iron door of the Union Bank slowly opened, countless people poured into the business hall, ostensibly opening the door of the Union Bank, but actually opening the door to the abyss!

Union Bank opened half an hour before the stock market opened, and looking at the crowd of people under the black, Contini nodded to Livermore and spat out a single word: "Attack!" ”