"Come, come, try the fine cigars I got from the Dominican Republic." Ronald received Bannon, who had just returned from Tokyo, in an old house with an independent yard in the middle of Staten Island.
Bannon, on behalf of Ronald, purchased bullish contracts on the Nikkei Index and reaped several times the gains. Both he and Ronald made nearly $50 million each in this big gamble.
Although it may seem like a lot, compared to those hedge fund giants who often calculate their winnings and losses with US$1 billion, this amount of money is like a small fish and cannot make any waves.
However, there are advantages to being small, that is, no one knows that even if all the US$5 million of principal mobilized by the two people were thrown into the market on Friday, no one would notice. After getting the required income, Bannon
I decisively ended my gains and stopped playing with those big funds.
He flew first class on ANA from Tokyo to San Francisco and returned to New York. Regardless of the time difference, he came to celebrate their major victory with Ronald.
Ronald cut the thick cigar himself and learned to light it with pine matches for Bannon. He also got one and put it in his mouth, and started puffing away.
"My half of this profit will be kept mostly on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and I will use Japanese yen to buy some stocks. Do you have any recommendations?"
Bannon was in very good spirits, with red bloodshot eyes still remaining, and his hair slicked back, like a mastiff that had just finished hunting.
"I don't know, my two allies in Japan, their companies have not been listed."
Kitagawa's Johnny's and the Kadokawa family's Kadokawa Shoten are both family-run private companies, and it is impossible to accept their shares.
"Well, then I will follow my own path. I advise you to keep most of your profits in Japanese yen, buy stocks, buy government bonds, anything will do. As long as the assets are denominated in Japanese yen, our income will at least increase next year.
20%”
"Why?" Ronald's position is behind a very old writing desk. The armchair is in the corner of the room. The blinds on the windows are closed, and only some sunlight shines in through the gaps, one bright and one dark.
Cigar butt, showing Ronald's location on a dark background.
"I remember that after the agreement was signed at the Plaza Hotel in 1985, the yen had appreciated a lot, right?"
Ronald didn't quite believe Bannon's statement. In less than two years, the yen had risen from 250 to 1 to 150 to 1, and...
"Just at the beginning of this year, the six Western countries plus Spain signed an agreement somewhere in the country. Didn't it mean that they were prepared to stop the disorderly appreciation of the Japanese yen and the West German mark?" Ronald only spoke to financial news.
A vague impression.
The White House Chief of Staff, James Baker, a close confidant of the former Commander-in-Chief, single-handedly took the lead because Nancy's astrologer consultant said that his horoscope was unfavorable to the Commander-in-Chief.
Plaza Accord.
But by 1987, the continued depreciation of the U.S. dollar caused Americans to experience unprecedented price increases in household appliances, electronic products, automobiles and other durable consumer goods. These were the strengths of West Germany and Japan, whose currencies had appreciated.
The prices of Japanese products, which used to be of high quality and low price, are gradually rising. Everyone says that this is a kind of invisible and imported inflation.
James Baker doesn’t understand economics or international trade, but he understands politics very well. At the meeting held at the Louvre in Bari at the beginning of the year, it was stipulated that Europe and Japan should reduce their fiscal deficits and reduce appreciation pressure, so as to provide America with more opportunities in the West.
Contribute to world leadership.
"The Louvre Agreement," Bannon chuckled. Ronald is an expert in Hollywood, but a layman on Wall Street. "You are right about the first step, but when fiscal expenditures are added, it will not be so easy to reduce."
If this happens, neither West Germany nor Japan will be able to complete the task of reducing their deficits, so it will be impossible for their currencies to depreciate against the U.S. dollar."
Bannon sat opposite Ronald, facing the blinds behind Ronald's chair. There was some sunlight shining on his face, which made him feel very comfortable.
"Why does fiscal deficit equal currency appreciation?" Ronald didn't understand.
"This is monetary banking, which is very complicated. To put it simply, government spending and trade deficits will tend to promote currency appreciation."
"Oh, I don't understand that. But we are America. We tell them not to appreciate the value, so they have to obey, right?" Ronald took another puff of his cigar. He really didn't understand international trade, but he did know a little bit.
Politically, after all, Japan was a defeated country in World War II. Where did America station its troops?
"That's true, but now that the stock market is in turmoil, in order to rescue the market and expand liquidity, the Federal Reserve has significantly lowered its benchmark interest rate, which is equivalent to pushing up inflation and pushing the yen to further appreciate against the U.S. dollar."
Bannon moved his buttocks on the chair. He felt that the posture and position facing Ronald in this way gave him an uncomfortable feeling, as if he felt familiar.
"This is what we have to do, there is no choice, so we can wait steadily for the yen to continue to appreciate and make another profit."
"Ah, that's good." Ronald scratched his head, "But why does pushing up inflation mean devaluing the dollar?"
"This is money and banking. Consumers in our country like Japanese products. Although their currency has appreciated, we have no good substitutes for their products. So our current trade deficit with them is equal to Japan's
The appreciation of the yuan is expanding, so the U.S. dollar continues to depreciate due to the huge trade deficit."
"Well..." Ronald thought to himself, this is so complicated. I can't understand those complicated theories. "You are right, we should hold the yen."
"Using Japanese yen to buy assets denominated in Japanese yen..." Bannon felt increasingly uncomfortable and changed his chair again.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Anyway, we have made a lot of money this time. Will you invest in Hollywood in the future?" Ronald asked.
"Why not? With this money, I can invest in Hollywood at the same time, continue to raise money on Wall Street, and set up my own fund."
"Hehehe..." Ronald thought to himself, with so much money, he really doesn't have to make a choice. Isn't everything going to be bad?
"Did Solow suffer a heavy loss? Will his Quantum Foundation go bankrupt and liquidate?" Ronald thought to himself that he had to thank this Eastern European Jew, the fund manager who wrote the best-selling book "Financial Alchemy". He and Bannon
All the money was earned from playing against him.
"Speaking of which, Solo's Nikkei stock index futures short positions are not as large as expected." Bannon simply stood up, and the chair allowed him to sit on it, as if he was shorter than Ronald out of thin air. He still had to stand.
Get up and don't lag behind in terms of momentum. Although your relationship with Japan gave us the opportunity to enter the market, the actual technical operation is still mine...
"Oh? Did he see something was wrong?" Ronald didn't expect that Solo was so smart and didn't lose as badly as he did on the New York Stock Exchange.
"I suspect that his main funds are in the foreign exchange futures market, betting on the appreciation of the yen." Bannon took a puff of his cigar. This still felt wrong. The position where Ronald sat always gave people the feeling of being in control of everything.
It felt like I was standing up to report work to him.
"Japanese people have so many dollars in their hands, and they are making purchases in America. Now the appreciation of the yen is a good thing for their chaebols, so there is not much opposition in Japan. Those housewives can still take their children to travel abroad.
The strong yen is also good news for them. So public opinion also supports it."
"You said, why is this? As prices rise, their products will only become more and more expensive for American consumers. One day, their company's products will no longer be popular."
"In monetary and banking science, this is called the Triffin dilemma. The U.S. dollar is the global reserve currency, and both we and Japan, our main trading rival, are faced with the dilemma of appreciation or depreciation.
The more developed their economy is, the more currency they will issue, and they will need more U.S. dollars as reserves. These U.S. dollars will come to America to purchase assets, causing our trade deficit. And in order to eliminate the deficit, they will create
The appreciation of the US dollar..."
"Well... you're right." Ronald worked for a long time but still couldn't understand this complicated currency and banking science.
He remembered two points. First, the Americans wanted to buy more things from the Japanese. To a certain extent, they did not need to produce their own products for exchange. They only needed to print dollars.
On the other hand, Japan prints more U.S. dollars, and Japan earns money by exporting to the United States, so it continues to accumulate a large amount of U.S. dollars. This money must come back to America to purchase assets denominated in U.S. dollars. Otherwise, if it is bought into U.S. Treasury bonds and placed there, the annual
Inflation losses are huge.
The Japanese yen earned by Ronald can be invested in Japan. The US dollars in the hands of Japanese people can also take advantage of the appreciation and acquire high-quality assets in Aramco. No matter how you look at it, it is an advantage.
No wonder Japanese people are now buying large amounts of real estate in New York and Los Angeles.
"So have you thought about what Japanese yen assets to invest in?" Bannon felt that this position was always wrong. He came over and asked Ronald to stand up. He wanted to sit on Ronald's chair.
"Me? I don't understand stocks..."
Of course, when it comes to picking stocks, Ronald cannot be as professional as Bannon, who was a Wall Street banker.
But mid-sentence, he remembered what Warren Buffy said, don't look at the stock price, look at the competitiveness of the company's products.
When I choose stocks such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's, I don't understand the company's competitiveness at all. I just think that because America and consumers all over the world like products like this, I must be right to buy their company's stocks.
So are there any Japanese companies whose products are sold all over the world?
"I think I should buy some Sony stock for fun."
The products Ronald encountered most in America were Sony products. They ranged from Walkmans to Sony VCRs. Except for the Beta format video tapes they mainly promoted, their other products were all top-notch in their respective industries.
select.
"Sony? Their market is very big, and it's not easy to rise. But whatever you want, it's better to be safe." Bannon felt a little disdainful. After all, he is an artist in Hollywood and can only get some dividends from the appreciation of the yen. Give him a thumbs up.
As far as the director is concerned, that's enough.
Thinking of this, Bannon leaned back in Ronald's chair. This seat was really comfortable. He was sitting with a dark background, and the face of the person opposite him was illuminated by a little sunlight coming through the blinds.
You can see all the expressions at a glance.
No wonder Ronald bought such a big house in Staten Island, a place where no birds come. This house is really comfortable and suitable for a boss to handle things. I don’t know who the builder is.
"No, why do I feel that your room looks like a movie I've seen?" Bannon realized, no wonder he felt familiar.
"We have known each other for so long. Is this the first time you have invited me to smoke a good cigar?" Bannon scratched his shiny hair with his little finger. He stretched out a hand and imitated the characters in the movie.
tone.
"I don't remember the last time you invited me to your house for coffee."
Ronald laughed and answered. Bannon finally came to his senses.
"How the hell did you get this house where 'The Godfather' was filmed? This is the room where Marlon Brando sat and listened to everyone beg him to do something."
"Yes, fortunately it was in Staten Island, a cheap filming location that Coppola found at that time. I have already found a professional prop company in Hollywood to start restoring all the furniture and scenery here, making sure to be the same as when I was filming The Godfather.
It’s the same time.”
"Hey, you guy, you have to lend me some money when I bring friends here." Bannon knew that many people on Wall Street admired the movie "The Godfather" and especially liked to imitate the old godfather's speaking style in it.
"Is it expensive?" Bannon touched here and there with satisfaction.
"It's not expensive, only a few hundred thousand dollars," Ronald replied with a smile. The land price here is very cheap. In addition to the appearance of a movie, the shots inside were actually shot in a studio in New York. Therefore, the reputation of this place is not obvious.
The original owner felt that he still had to spend money on maintenance and paying expensive New York State property taxes, so he sold it for a very cheap price.
Ronald also had to restore the interior decoration himself according to the look in the movie.
"This house also comes with a part of the garden, and next to it is a larger public garden. I plan to ask the town government if it is willing to sell it. This house can become a place for me to entertain friends."
Ronald's pockets are very deep now, and he is very bold when talking about planning.
"Don't you build a swimming pool? Have a pool party?" Bannon looked at the yard below and the large garden next to it. If he bought it all, it would be a very luxurious residence.
"New York is not a place for pool parties. It's extremely cold in autumn and winter. I'm going to Los Angeles to get an apartment with an outdoor swimming pool. Do you want a loft apartment on Fifth Avenue? There's a very luxurious indoor swimming pool there."
"I have to take a closer look." Bannon is still a little unaccustomed to the temperament of upstarts like Hollywood artists. What about Fifth Avenue? If you have money, you still have to go to the Upper East Side to get one. Then join the golf club there, those
Members only accept new members after the death of an old member. This is called style.
…
Ronald's agent, Niceta, is back to work after her son found a nanny. Paula is also preparing to return to work after two weeks of rest.
Tom Cruise's new film, co-starring Elisabeth Shue of "Babysitter" fame, is about to start filming in New York and will also go to the tropical beaches of Canada and Jamaica for filming.
Ronald also received a call from his "old friend" Demi Moore. She hoped that Ronald could start filming the new movie this year and let her boyfriend Bruce Willis star.
That day, Niceta finally gave her Ronald's phone number, and he immediately called to reconcile.
"But isn't Bruce's schedule not enough?" Ronald said to Demi on the phone. It's time for him to return to Hollywood and make a decision on this project, whether to postpone it to next year or change the role.
"I have a solution."
"What can you do?"
"You promise me a condition and I will tell you."
"You want to be a heroine, right?"
Ronald guessed what Demi Moore was thinking. She was in love with Willis, and she didn't want to be a housewife. She was able to co-star as a couple on screen with her boyfriend Bruce Willis, who was in love.
This gimmick alone can greatly elevate her star status to a higher level. Neither Willis nor Ronald will refuse this opportunity to gain free marketing for the film.
"Yes, Bruce and I's on- and off-screen romance has attracted great attention from the media from the moment you announced the start of filming, and there will be no lack of popularity until the filming of the film is completed."
"Good idea, but there is a small problem. Demi." Ronald changed the receiver to the other side and raised his legs on the table in the corner where the godfather was sitting.
"What a small problem."
"I can't do that.
It's not because of your relationship with Bruce, but because you can't play a mother of two children well. Demi, I understand you. If the heroine is a younger character, I can give it to you, but this heroine and the child's husband
The family photo is a plot twist in the movie, and I can't go out of my way to do it for you."
"I can really let Bruce join the filming next month without delaying his silly TV series." Demi still refused to give up.
"I'm very interested in knowing how to do this. But the role is really not suitable for you. I can compensate you in other ways, Demi."
"Okay, we will have an interview when you come back to Los Angeles. This matter is not suitable to be discussed on the phone."