The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 185

185. Autumn Storm (3)

Terra.

They were the most agile and swiftly moving fund in the world.

What made Terra famous was how they made money. They stopped at nothing if it meant making money. When wars broke out, they profited from defense companies, as well as energy, raw materials, food, and essential medicines.

Rumor had it that they incited corporate strikes and even civil wars and riots in developing or underdeveloped countries for their own benefit.

And in some cases, movements close to the truth, not just mere suspicions or rumors, were captured, leading to international condemnation.

“Ferman, who is responsible for this matter?”

Sitting in front of Damon Ferman, a key figure in Terra, was Terra’s CEO, Kin Shevchenko.

“I know Canny is taking responsibility.”

Canny Paul.

She was an ambitious woman who rebelled against the Giannini family. However, she failed to achieve her goals and was eventually ousted from Bank of America.

“She’s taking responsibility alone?”

Damon Ferman straightened his shoulders and responded to Kin Shevchenko’s words.

“It wasn’t an investment we wanted in the first place.”

“Who else can move you besides me?”

“This matter was carried out under the instructions of Mr. Morgan.”

Kin Shevchenko clicked his tongue at Damon Ferman’s reply.

“Tsk, Mr. Morgan moved you without even going through me.”

“Isn’t that what he usually does?”

Kin Shevchenko narrowed his brows.

‘If Arthur Morgan intervened in Bank of America’s internal strife, did he genuinely want to bring down Bank of America? Or was he just excited to see the fire in the neighbor’s yard?’

Arthur Morgan was one of the three people who actively participated in the creation of Terra.

“I understand. Announce that this was our mistake.”

“Do we have to make a public announcement?”

“It’s a case involving several big names on Wall Street. Shouldn’t we send them a message?”

Damon Ferman bowed deeply.

“Understood.”

Kin Shevchenko raised his right hand and said,

“There’s one more thing.”

Damon Ferman raised his head and asked.

“Is there a war or something?”

Profiting from war was Damon Ferman’s specialty.

“It’s not a war. The finance ministers of England, France, Germany, and Japan will be arriving in New York next week.”

The finance ministers of Western developed countries gathering in one place.

If this didn’t make your heart race, you weren’t a financier.

“You mean there’s a big event.”

Kin Shevchenko asked.

“What do you think?”

Damon Ferman answered immediately without hesitation.

“It’ll be a meeting to improve America’s trade deficit.”

“The content of the meeting?”

“Cessation of protectionist trade and active market opening, wouldn’t it be?”

Damon Ferman’s answer was exactly what Wall Street financiers thought.

“I think a little differently.”

“Yes?”

Kin Shevchenko was a man with the talent and sense to be the CEO of Terra. His judgment and thinking far exceeded the average Wall Street financier.

“What we need to consider importantly this time is each country’s fiscal policy.”

“Fiscal policy, you mean…….”

How much money to release into the market?

Or how much to raise interest rates?

How to approach foreign exchange policy?

Damon Ferman narrowed his brows as he continued thinking.

‘Can that alone solve America’s trade deficit?’

He thought they needed to pressure France, England, Germany, and Japan more aggressively.

“Damon, it seems you don’t understand me.”

“It’s not that I don’t understand. It’s just that I have questions about why America has to make such a choice.”

“America wants a fundamental solution.”

A solution to the fundamental problem.

If possible, this was the best option.

However, the current recession in the American economy was something no one could easily solve.

“Then what should we do?”

As a hedge fund manager, he couldn’t just let this big event pass by.

“I’ll leave the response to you.”

Kin Shevchenko wanted to see Damon Ferman’s skills by entrusting this matter to him.

‘Whether the results so far are a coincidence or not will be judged by this matter.’

Damon Ferman narrowed his brows at the words that he would entrust everything to him.

“You’re testing me.”

Kin Shevchenko smiled.

“Think of it as an opportunity, not a test.”

Damon Ferman unfolded his narrowed brows and said.

“If this is successful, I’ll take 10% of the profits.”

In the case of investing billions of dollars.

The profit amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Damon Ferman demanded tens of millions of dollars, which was 10% of those hundreds of millions of dollars, as a success bonus.

Kin Shevchenko nodded without erasing his smile.

“So be it.”

Damon Ferman couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly when he readily accepted the offer.

‘Mr. Shevchenko isn’t someone who agrees so easily.’

In other words, this investment would be more difficult than he had anticipated.

* * *

John Pierre headed to Henri Arnault’s office in the morning.

“Did you call for me?”

Henri Arnault put down the documents he was looking at and asked.

“Is what I received true?”

“What report are you referring to?”

“I heard that Mr. Chung and Victoria Corporation poured all their surplus funds into Japan.”

John Pierre nodded and replied.

“It’s true.”

Henri Arnault let out a long sigh.

“Haa……. It’s Charlie Chung and Victoria Corporation again.”

He thought that those two names always appeared whenever there was a problem.

John Pierre asked him.

“Do you think there’s a problem with this?”

Henri Arnault asked him back.

“Then do you think there’s no problem?”

John Pierre replied with a calm face.

“There were no flaws in the procedure.”

He had obtained Jung Hyun-woo’s consent and proceeded with the investment, so there were no problems with the procedure.

“The finance ministers of each country will be gathering here in New York next week. And yet you proceeded with this investment?”

John Pierre realized why Henri Arnault was taking issue with this matter.

“I sufficiently informed Charlie Chung that this investment was risky. However, his will was too strong, and I couldn’t stop him.”

Henri Arnault listened to his answer and supported his chin with both hands.

“Charlie Chung has always been like that. He invested against our wishes and made considerable profits. So at one point, I even thought his investment was the right answer. But you know, isn’t this a meeting where the intentions are obvious?”

The Reagan administration had called the finance ministers of France, England, Germany, and Japan to New York for the benefit of the United States.

Instead of answering Henri Arnault’s question, John Pierre asked him a question in return.

“Could it be that Charlie Chung thinks this finance ministers’ meeting might fall through?”

The breakdown of the five-country finance ministers’ meeting.

That meant the start of an economic war between Western developed countries.

Henri Arnault’s eyes widened at John Pierre’s answer.

“No way!”

John Pierre said calmly.

“Wasn’t it Charlie Chung and Victoria Corporation who made that ‘no way’ happen every time?”

Henri Arnault groaned lowly at John Pierre’s answer.

“Ugh……. It means he’s caught some clue again.”

If, by any chance, the five-country finance ministers’ meeting fell through, the aftermath would be enormous.

‘Charlie Chung might be more deeply connected to the political world than we are.’

Being more deeply connected to the political world than JP Morgan.

That meant Jung Hyun-woo’s identity might be different from what he thought.

‘Perhaps Charlie Chung is representing someone in the political world.’

The advanced technology of Victoria Corporation may also be from a government agency, not something he developed alone.

‘If that’s the case, it’s safe to say that the US government is behind Charlie Chung.’

While Henri Arnault was adrift in a sea of thought, John Pierre raised his voice slightly.

“Mr. Arnault, shouldn’t we reconsider our investments, not Charlie Chung’s?”

Henri Arnault raised his voice at John Pierre’s suggestion.

“Hmm, towards the meeting falling through?”

“If the meeting falls through, stock prices will fall sharply.”

Currently, JP Morgan was betting on the rise of the New York stock market.

“It’s getting complicated.”

John Pierre asked him again.

“What are you going to do?”

It was difficult for Henri Arnault to choose.

‘Charlie Chung’s probability of winning is high. But most other investors have chosen the opposite side.’

Should he follow the trend?

Or should he follow the master of investment who has achieved excellent results?

“Let’s go with 7:3.”

John Pierre couldn’t help but tilt his head.

“Which side is 7 in 7:3?”

Henri Arnault released his clasped hands and replied.

“7 for the existing position, 3 for Charlie Chung’s position.”

If someone heard his answer, they would have clicked their tongue at the sloppy investment.

However, Henri Arnault was a conservative investor. Rather than making big profits, he sought to reduce losses and pursue stable returns.

John Pierre heard the answer of 7:3 and thought it was like him.

“Understood. Then I will reinvest some of it.”

It was when he turned around.

Henri Arnault said to him.

“You know, you seem to have gotten closer to Charlie Chung.”

John Pierre did not deny his words.

“I think I saw Charlie Chung again while fighting Terra.”

At the mention of Terra, Henri Arnault couldn’t help but nod.

“I see.”

He also thought that he couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that he had faced Terra.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how Terra will move.’

Henri Arnault didn’t have a personal relationship with Terra, but he knew their notoriety and prestige well.

* * *

France, England, Germany, and Japan stated that they could accept the strong demands of the United States to some extent, but full acceptance was impossible.

Then the United States took out all the cards they could use.

“If this request is not accepted, it will not end with withdrawal from GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade] or tariff increases.”

GATT was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade agreed upon in 1947, and the world trade order was established based on this.

Withdrawing from this GATT was tantamount to the United States proceeding with trade under its own independent standards.

“Does that mean there may be further measures beyond that?”

The US representative nodded at the question from the German finance minister.

“Of course.”

Takeshita Noboru, who attended as the representative of Japan, thought while listening to the firm answer.

‘It’s Super 301 again.’

Section 301 of the Trade Act enacted in 1974 is commonly referred to as Super 301 and has become a means of US economic pressure.

“That’s a dangerous statement.”

The British representative thought that the United States was excessively pressuring Western developed countries.

‘We have conceded enough.’

England was not as bad as the United States, but the situation was not very good. They were in a position where it was difficult to concede any more.

However, the United States thought differently.

“If this agreement fails, we will have no choice but to supply dollars to the market without limit.”

To supply dollars to the market without limit.

In short, it meant that they would recklessly print dollars and disrupt the order of the market.

“Th, that is…….”

If the United States recklessly printed dollars, global inflation could occur.

The German representative, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.

“Can you tell us more clearly what the United States wants?”

He thought that he had to prevent the situation where the United States printed dollars without limit.

The US representative spoke in a clear voice about what they wanted.

The representatives of the other four countries could not help but groan lowly after hearing his story.

“Ugh…….”

“That’s a difficult request.”

“But if there’s no other way, I think we have no choice but to accept it.”

The British representative raised his eyebrows at the German representative’s words.

“Does that mean yes?”

The German representative shrugged and replied.

“Shouldn’t we prevent global inflation?”

The British representative turned his gaze to Takeshita Noboru, the Japanese representative.

“What do you think, Mr. Noboru?”

Takeshita Noboru narrowed his brows and replied.

“I can agree to the story of selling the dollars held by each country to lower the value of the dollar. But reducing the amount of currency in each country is…….”

He could reduce foreign exchange reserves by selling dollars, but he said it was difficult to accept austerity policies.

But the United States was firm.

“If Japan and Germany do not accept our demands, there may be security problems.”

Cold War era.

The United States was responsible for the security of Western developed countries. When the United States threatened security, Japan and Germany could not help but hesitate.

‘I didn’t know it would come to this.’

‘That means the United States is that desperate.’

After hours of marathon meetings, the four Western countries, including Germany and Japan, agreed to the demands of the United States.

The main content of the Plaza Accord was to ease the strength of the dollar and thereby reduce the US trade deficit.

Immediately after the Plaza Accord was announced.

The New York Stock Exchange was in shock.

“Dollar appreciation!”

“Does this make sense?”

“I don’t think it’s right to solve it this way.”

The devaluation of the dollar was a good thing for exporting companies, but it was never a welcome thing for financial companies investing in dollars.

Immediately after the announcement, financial stocks, including JP Morgan and Bank of America, fell across the board.

At the same time, the bond and futures markets were also significantly impacted.

“It’s complete chaos.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Should we buy gold?”

“Gold?”

“Wouldn’t the era of gold come rather than the dollar now?”

The shaking of the dollar also meant that the value of gold would rise.

“Whether it’s gold or anything else, it seems like the era of deposits is over now.”

“If the era of deposits is over, is the bank over too?”

“Even if it’s not over, it won’t be without a hit.”

Not only the Big 3 banks, but also banks across Wall Street and the United States were shaken by the shock of the Plaza Accord.

“The yen and the mark are rising at the same time.”

“The pound is also rising.”

“Even the pound?”

“Because the dollar is going down.”

Before each government sold dollars, sales came first from Wall Street.

Many wanted to get their hands on yen and marks instead of dollars.

The market was reacting faster than the US government had anticipated.

That evening.

Jung Hyun-woo received a call from John Pierre.

“I knew it.”

John Pierre raised his eyebrows and asked.

“If you knew it, does that mean Mr. Jung already knew the contents of the negotiations?”

“I wouldn’t know the contents of the negotiations. However, I didn’t think the content to be dealt with this time would be about protectionist trade or tariffs.”

“I see.”

Jung Hyun-woo said in a bright voice.

“Let’s have dinner together next time.”

He thought he was able to defeat Terra with the help of John Pierre.

“I’m always welcome to have dinner with Mr. Jung.”

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

Plaza Accord.

Jung Hyun-woo’s bet was successful, and he was able to make a profit of over 800 million dollars in just one day.

‘But this is just the beginning.’

He was the only human being who knew about the collapse of the Japanese bubble and the story that followed.