When the U.S. stock market closed on the afternoon of August 15, the first trading day of the official listing, Verizon's stock price had skyrocketed 71% compared with the issue price of $10.75, and the closing stock price was $1.838 billion. Based on the total share capital of 3.973 billion shares after listing, Verizon's market capitalization rose from $42.7 billion before listing to $73 billion.

The last trading day of the week.

Verizon's share price not only did not show a pullback, but rose 51% again under the crazy pursuit of the capital market, quickly breaking through the $100 billion mark, with a closing market value of $110.9 billion, becoming another $100 billion market value giant in the Westeros system.

Not only that, Verizon's listing once again strongly drove the entire NASDAQ market up.

In just two days, the NASDAQ broke through two '5000' feat in one fell swoop.

The first was that the Nasdaq broke through 5,000 points, and at the close of trading on Friday, the Nasdaq finally reached a high of 5,073 points.

At the same time, the U.S. stock market also gave birth to the first $500 billion market value company, Eaglet, with a market capitalization of $513.6 billion on Friday afternoon, just one month after the market value of Igrett broke through $400 billion on July 15, once again showing the crazy state of the technology stock market.

In addition, as the world's largest network equipment supplier, Cisco's market value also closed as high as $436.5 billion that afternoon, becoming another $400 billion technology giant.

Cisco is actually the third.

Daenerys Entertainment, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has unexpectedly surpassed Cisco in its recent market value due to factors such as the group's performance, with a market value of $453.5 billion at the close of the afternoon of the same day.

In the entire NASDAQ sector, as the Nasdaq officially broke through 5,000 points, the total market value of all listed companies in the NASDAQ market also reached a new high of $5.96 trillion on the same day.

Among them, only the Westeros system has full control or absolute control of the six companies with a market value of more than 100 billion US dollars, such as Egrete (513.6 billion US dollars), Cisco (436.5 billion US dollars), AOL (296.5 billion US dollars), Tinkobar (263.7 billion US dollars), Verizon (110.9 billion US dollars) and Nokia (138.2 billion US dollars), which is listed in Europe and the United States at the same time, with a total market value of 1.76 trillion US dollars, accounting for 29.5% of the entire NASDAQ sector.

Close to 30%!

And if you include Microsoft ($267.1 billion), Intel ($134.1 billion) and other technology giants that prefer to invest rather than control, or relatively small technology companies with a market value of only tens of billions or billions of dollars, the Westeros system will have a significant increase in the proportion of the entire Nasdaq.

Even though the miraculous rise of the Westeros system over the years has repeatedly washed away the nerves of spectators, too many people have been numb, when the relevant statistics have been released with the listing of Verizon and the Nasdaq breaking through 5,000 points, it has still attracted widespread attention around the world.

In the midst of the great amazement, controversy inevitably arises.

And.

The traditional elite in the United States has become more and more red-eyed and jealous of the continued expansion of the Westeros system.

Washington.

Bill Clinton still didn't take a break after a busy week of dinner, but instead gathered two of his close aides, White House chief of staff Leon Panetta and campaign manager Chester Cavill, to discuss the potential impact of the last two days of Nasdaq hot topics on his upcoming campaign sprint.

Today is August 16, and the Democratic Party will hold its national convention in 10 days to formally determine the party's nomination for the 1996 general election.

Clinton has already made it a nail in the coffin.

After that, the final candidates of both parties were finalized, and the 1996 general election would enter the final sprint.

Although the current public approval rating is as high as 60 percent, Clinton still does not dare to take it lightly, after all, in the history of the US election, there are often cases in which the support rate was ahead in the early stage and finally reversed.

Looking at the Clintons, who were sitting side by side on the couch in front of them, but obviously distant, White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta handed over two identical documents and said, "Wright just met with Joseph Brown in the afternoon. Schlap has met with a public relations plan that will be launched in the near future, and the general public is most worried about the rise of the Internet at the moment will hit traditional industries and reduce job opportunities, and the Westeros system will launch a targeted campaign in the next few months to respond to public concerns with a large number of clear examples, and the document also cites detailed data. ”

The rise of the Internet industry can be said to be the most dazzling political achievement of Clinton since he took office.

It's just that this achievement is overshadowed by the Westeros system's occupation of too many interests in the Internet industry, although this matter has little direct relationship with Clinton, after all, before Clinton was elected in 92, the current series of new technology giants have been in the layout of that young man.

However, as the election rages on, the emotionally sufficient public and his campaign opponents ignore it.

Simon Westeros became a trillion-dollar super-rich during Clinton's tenure, and this serious concentration of wealth and the unfair social distribution represented in it is clearly the fault of Mr. President.

Looking at the public relations plan in his hand, which focuses on promoting the opportunities that the Internet industry brings to all walks of life in federal society, Clinton was about to speak, and Hillary Clinton next to him had already rushed to say: "This plan looks good, and it may bring some help to Bill's campaign, but this is obviously not the crux of the matter, and Doll will definitely only attack us for being too close to the Westeros system." ”

"In that case," said Chester Cavill, campaign manager on the other side, "perhaps we should respond in advance, as we did with the Cassebaum-Kennedy Act, and change our attitude towards the Westeros system." ”

In order to build momentum for the upcoming election, Clinton recently signed a number of new bills involving welfare reform, health care, environmental protection, etc., and the Cassebaum-Kennedy Act is one of the important ones, ensuring that the federal public can still have access to health insurance in the event of a job change or temporary unemployment.

The reason why Chester Cavill specifically mentioned this bill is mainly because it was actually 'snatched' from the Republican Party by Clinton, and the bill was originally proposed by two Republican congressmen, Nancy Cassebaum and Ted Kennedy, because this bill would significantly increase federal health care spending, Clinton did not agree to it at first, and Congress was also full of controversy, so it was stranded for a while.

However, when it was learned that the Republican side was recently restarting to push this bill, considering the pros and cons, and in order to prevent the Republican Party from using this to gain bargaining chips in the next election campaign, Clinton preemptively signed the bill in the form of a presidential executive order, directly shattering the wishful thinking of the Republican side.

Chester Cavill said this, and the meaning was obvious.

In the next election campaign, the Republican side will definitely make a fuss about the good relationship between the White House and the Westeros system, and if you don't want to fall into passivity, then the best way is to take the lead in changing your attitude and toughen the Westeros system.

After Cavill finished speaking, Clinton was deliberating, only to hear Hillary next to him already preemptively say: "This is a good idea, Chester, do you have a specific idea?"

Clinton frowned slightly, but still looked at the campaign manager opposite.

Chester Cavill pretended not to notice the first lady's continuous snatching of words, glanced at Mr. President, got permission from the eyes, and said: "Take Igrett and launch an antitrust investigation, after all, this company's monopoly tendency is too obvious, and as the company with the highest market value in the federation, launching an investigation against Igrett can also achieve the greatest impact in the shortest time." ”

As for the monopoly issue of Igret, as the company rushed to the first place in the market value of American companies after going public, there have been countless related lawsuits and disputes, but they have been deliberately ignored by Washington before.

Now, if you want to launch an investigation, all sorts of reasons are readily available.

This time, before the president and his wife could speak, Leon Panetta had already said, "Chester, have you considered what impact this might have on the Nasdaq stock market?"

The Nasdaq broke through 5,000 points, and the bubble in the technology stock market became more and more serious.

At this point in time, the rash initiation of an antitrust investigation into Igrete is likely to lead to the collapse of the Nasdaq market.

If this happens, Clinton's most dazzling achievement in his first term may be wiped out in the coming months. The most important thing is that investors on Wall Street, Silicon Valley and the world, who are bound to suffer huge losses in the collapse of technology stocks, will tilt their anger on the side of the White House.

No one can afford such a result.

The living room in the West Wing of the White House was suddenly silent.

Everyone remembers the excessive madness of Simon Westeros in the first half of the year who tried to suppress the Nasdaq index by continuing to reduce his holdings and some other actions, however, in the face of strong pressure from all sides, even the super-rich man with a net worth of trillions of dollars had to stop.

Now, the White House is even less daring to take that risk.

Think about the Republican side, and it's almost a dead knot.

If it wants to gain the initiative, the White House must strike first. In contrast, on the Republican side, Bob Doerr, who has already confirmed that he will be nominated by the party, only needs to emphasize that he will take tough measures against the Westeros system after being elected, as for whether he will really do this in the future, who knows?

After a moment of silence, it was Hillary Clinton who spoke first, looked at her husband and said, "Bill, you have to make a decision to take action against the Westeros system." ”

The attitude of the first lady is obvious.

Leon Panetta and Chester Cavill looked at each other in silence.

Clinton, who was repeatedly weighing with his fingers on his knees, couldn't help but feel a little angry when he heard his wife's words, and he knew that Hillary's thoughts were not so much for his re-election, but rather for his own political future.

Initiating an antitrust investigation into Ygritt Co., once it is screwed up and bursts the technology stock bubble, whether it is Wall Street or Silicon Valley, it will only put the blame on him, the president, and for the first lady, even if it has an impact, it will probably be resolved in a few years. As for him, even if he wins a second term because of this, he will definitely not have a good time in the future.

Not to mention after stepping down.

The first lady can continue to grab political capital and build up deeper political connections through her second term.

Although he thought so, Clinton was not a person who lacked decision, so he quietly made up his mind in his heart, and then looked at his chief of staff: "Leon, what do you think?"

Leon Panetta pondered for a moment and said, "Even if ...... The bubble has really burst, and on the part of the electorate, I think they would be more than happy to see that. ”

Oh, yes.

If you offend capital, the impact will not be immediately apparent, after all, even campaign funds have been raised enough at the moment.

If the bubble does burst, the effect will be immediate on the part of the electorate.

The mentality of ordinary people is very easy to understand, and what they can't get is also a very pleasant thing to see destroyed. In addition, the antitrust investigation of Igrett was initiated, and Dole's side, in the next few months, it will not be easy to attack himself on this topic.

At the end of the day, the fight for re-election is the first order.

Now that the decision had been made, Clinton commanded, "Then, Leon, let Jenny come to me tomorrow morning." ”

Clinton was talking about Janet Reynaud, the current attorney general.

In order to maximize the initiative, the antitrust investigation of Igrett must be initiated by the Department of Justice, which is part of the presidential cabinet.

Leon Panetta agreed, thought for a moment and said, "Bill, this matter ...... Need to talk to Westeros ahead of time?"

Clinton thought about it for a while, and was about to say something, but Hillary Clinton had already said: "No, if it is detected by the Republican side, this matter will be meaningless, and it will become a lever to attack us......

Seeing that Hillary Clinton was going to continue, Clinton finally interrupted and said to Panetta: "I'll make a decision tomorrow after discussing these details with Jenny." ”

"Well, I'll let Jenny know later. ”

After talking about this matter, Clinton did not give Hillary a chance to interject, turned to his campaign manager, directly changed the subject, and said: "Chester, tell me about the situation of the major newspaper unions." ”

The rise of the Internet industry has been able to withstand the TV industry, and the impact on the print media in recent years has been very serious.

Involving millions of jobs in the print media industry, the major newspaper industry unions in the United States are also quite active in this election.

Although everyone understands that the rapid rise of the Internet and the rapid decline of the paper media industry are almost as irreversible as the textile factories that used steam engines to replace handicraft workshops, whether it is to draw a big pie or write empty checks, it is also a key point of this election to win the support of the paper media industry, which is still very influential at this stage.

Speaking of which, in the final analysis, this matter has a lot to do with the Westeros system.

The thought came to this, and while continuing the discussion, Clinton couldn't help but think, I don't know what the young man is doing at this time?

Thinking that the other party is in New York at this time, at least one point, it must be surrounded by everyone.

This is also the point that Clinton envies someone the most.

Yanfu is too deep.

Manhattan.

Having participated in Verizon's listing ceremony during the day, Simon didn't leave immediately, still staying here to arrange some follow-ups.

On the other hand, in Los Angeles, Janet has already flown to Melbourne with her two older children, Nick and Seattle, and Jennifer will follow her with the two little ones tomorrow.

Simon departs on Sunday.

In order to avoid something from happening to the greatest extent, Simon personally made the decision that the family would not fly on the same plane as much as possible, and Janet was reluctant to do so, and there was a desire to die with Simon if she wanted to, but most of the time it was in accordance with the man's wishes.

Unlike Clinton's conjecture in the White House, which was also busy all day, Simon was not surrounded by crowds at this time, but attended a gathering of the top circles of the Westeros system at James Raybould's house.

Because of Jennifer's relationship, although Eileen Lauder was pestered by her side throughout the day, the girl did not insist on coming over with Simon to join in the fun.

"I've always admired Warren Buffett's saying: I'm afraid when others are greedy, and I'm greedy when others are fearful. Wray, although Verizon has just gotten a lot of money, I want to understand that with the current overheated market, the time has come for us to start to dread. Next, in addition to the deep cultivation in the field of mobile communications, I don't want to see Verizon irrational follow-the-trend investment in other aspects. ”

Simon's beating is very straightforward, but Raymond Smith's expression is not the slightest displeasure, the young man in front of him who has carried a series of miracle halos has impressed too many people over the years, and Raymond Smith is also one of them.

"Simon, I understand," Raymond Smith said as he reassured, "Also, Simon, speaking of which, don't you think it would be a good thing for AOL and Verizon Telecom to merge?"

Simon didn't expect Smith to mention this, looked at the 61-year-old man in front of him, who didn't look old at all, and smiled: "Let's not mention the obstruction over there in Washington, Ray, have you talked to Steve about this?"

Raymond Smith nodded, of course understanding Simon's subtext, and said, "Actually, I have always had a good relationship with Keys, and, although I am very reluctant to admit it, my age ...... So, if we can merge, I hope to be the chairman and CEO of the new company, with Case as my deputy. In fact, in my opinion, Keith is still not stable enough, and he is young enough, it should be okay to wait for about 5 years. ”

If AOL and Verizon Telecom can merge, it will definitely be a strong combination.

Simon had the idea early on.

However, the idea is one thing, the feasibility is another, and one of the more important issues is how to redistribute the leadership of the management once the two companies merge.

Now it seems that the problem is not much of a problem.

Raymond Smith is 61 years old this year, although at this level, the legal retirement age in the United States is no longer valid, but it is impossible to continue to work, and the time point for taking a back seat is about 65 years old.

However, although the problem of power distribution can be solved, there are too many obstacles to be overcome before it can be implemented.

After all, the current volume of the Westeros system is too large, even if AOL and Verizon Telecom are enterprises under the absolute control of the Westeros system, but many people obviously do not want to see the two companies merge into one, after all, with the scale of the two companies at this time, once merged, it will be almost stronger than the AT-T of the year.

In addition, there is the most immediate aspect of interest.

The two companies will inevitably waste redundant resources by maintaining their own efforts, but they will also be able to make more money in their respective businesses, and there will be fewer barriers to developing new businesses such as cable television.

With the integration in mind, Simon also prefers a merger of the two companies if possible.

However, while it is not known that Mr. President on the White House is already planning to take action against Igret, the fact that the Westeros system is bound to increase significantly as it continues to grow in size is certainly not in dispute.

To put it bluntly, the merger of AOL and Verizon Telecom is not a question of whether Simon wants to do it at all, but whether it can or not.

There are just too many obstacles.

James Raybould, who had just finished talking to Goldman Sachs' latest CEO, Henry Paulson, also came over at this time, and the three of them discussed the issue for a while, but there was no result for a while.

It is only possible to think in the long run.

In short, things can start to be pushed, whether it is success or failure, but it can't be too forced.