"Hey Paulson, it's so nice to hear your voice. You're still so full of energy."
"Boss King, to tell you the truth, I have only slept four hours a day this week. I may have fallen asleep while talking to you on the phone. If you have anything, please tell me quickly. I have to go to the White House soon.
Attending an emergency meeting convened by the chief of security staff to discuss the serious problems facing the U.S. financial market, I really don’t have time to chat with you.”
"Uh... friends, you know that we acquired Merrill Lynch, and we found that its problems were much more than exposed. It actually had $670 billion in subprime leveraged financial derivatives, which is now a hot landmine.
It’s really hard for me to hold it in my hands.”
"Watt, Boss King, are you kidding me?"
"No, it's true."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for two or three minutes. It seemed that Paulson was covering the phone and talking to someone else. The specific content was unknown.
"I'm back, friend, you must be calling because you need help... I'm listening."
"I made an impulsive decision. To be honest, I regret it very much. I can't doubt that John Thain and Kenneth Lewis of Bank of America played a double act, but I do regret that I caught this lightning in my hands. I think I...
I really regret it."
"Boss, please do not make any irrational decisions. This is related to the future of Merrill Lynch's 27,400 employees. I hope that the current financial situation can be maintained and will not continue to deteriorate. This is related to the fundamental interests of the federal government."
Paulson on the other end of the phone was obviously anxious. If the powerful Wang consortium gave up its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, then the second big thunder would explode in the Wall Street financial circle, and the consequences would be extremely serious.
of.
If you think about it with your toes, you will know that there are financial derivatives worth up to 670 billion US dollars, and hundreds of financial institutions are betting against Merrill Lynch, all counting on using this income to make up for shortcomings in other areas.
The chain reaction will be huge, market confidence will be severely damaged again, the financial situation that has gradually stabilized will deteriorate again, and Wall Street can no longer withstand any storms.
The US$700 billion rescue plan launched by the federal government has aroused unprecedented fierce opposition from society, which has formed a huge constraint on the George government.
There are also many objections to this within the White House. They are considering the upcoming presidential election. This is simply a fatal moment.
Damn it!
This year is the year of the much-anticipated presidential election. At the same time, there will be large-scale general elections in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is of unparalleled significance to the party, and everything must be compromised for the election.
It is now October 6th, and the election for the leadership of the Donkey and Elephant parties will officially begin on November 8th. This time point is too critical.
If Merrill Lynch, the largest securities company in the United States, goes bankrupt, that... means a financial earthquake equivalent to Lehman Brothers, which will bring more serious harm to the world's financial world, which is riddled with holes.
Of course Wang Yaocheng knows this. If he doesn't take into account the weaknesses of these people, they will not take into account the difficulties faced by Wang's consortium at all. At most, they will send seemingly innocuous condolences. What's the use of that?
What he wants is real financial assistance, even if it is a low-interest loan, it should not be in vain anyway.
Looking back at the process of acquiring Merrill Lynch, it was full of haste and uncertainty. It was indeed a bit reckless to decide on an acquisition worth up to US$44 billion in just a few days.
Fearing that Merrill Lynch would become the second Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch was forced to sell under pressure from the Federal Reserve.
There had been contact with Morgan Stanley before, but due to concerns about preventing financial risks, Morgan Stanley stated;
Before confirming an acquisition, a detailed evaluation must be conducted to avoid unexpected losses.
Merrill Lynch, considering reaching a faster acquisition agreement and knowing its own affairs, gave up the negotiations with Morgan Stanley and chose to contact Bank of America and Royal Family Fund to seek acquisitions from the other party.
Comparing the two, Royal Fund is willing to use cash for mergers and acquisitions, while Bank of America can only adopt stock exchange transactions. The advantages and disadvantages of both parties are clear at a glance.
What is Merrill Lynch missing now?
It's cash flow, it's huge cash flow to make up for the shortfall, and we can continue to play this game of beating the drum and passing flowers around.
The US$44 billion spent by Royal Fund is only equivalent to 1/3 of Merrill Lynch's normal market value. If it can save this company, the income will be astonishing.
In fact, before this, the Bank of America announced that it would abandon the acquisition of Lehman Brothers before it decided to acquire Merrill Lynch, which led to the immediate bankruptcy and liquidation of the latter and dealt a heavy blow to its Wall Street peers.
Paulson was quite dissatisfied with him. He once accused Kenneth Lewis, chairman of the Bank of America, as "a villain who has both ends. Just because he trusted him, tens of thousands of Lehman employees lost their jobs and lost their jobs."
own life”.
Kenneth Lewis defended himself by saying, "The reason why he gave up the acquisition of Lehman Brothers was because the federal government and Wall Street colleagues refused to lend a helping hand, tightened their purse strings, and refused to provide loans for Lehman Brothers in real estate.
guarantee."
This statement is so ridiculous that all the junk bond owners of Lehman Brothers are afraid to avoid it and guarantee it. Is it because they think they will not die soon enough?
On the other end of the phone, when Wang Yaocheng expressed the idea of giving up, Paulson immediately became anxious. He covered the phone and shouted loudly. He could faintly hear that it was Greenspan, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve.
After about five or six minutes, Paulson's phone was reconnected; "Hi, Boss, you really brought me a big surprise. I already regret going fishing with you at Bill Gates' manor. You always
There is a way to drag us down."
"But we brought up the big fish, didn't we?"
"Okay! Let's get straight to the point. If you retract your reckless decision, what kind of help will you need from the federal government? Let me state in advance that our rescue amount is very tight, and it is possible to reduce your pressure through other means."
"I need a low-interest loan of no less than 50 billion U.S. dollars, or the federal government's equity participation, or a takeover. It is true that the consortium cannot hold down this bleeding wound. We need the best medicine, Paulson, so I
Thought of you."
"Then I really thank you!"
There was a wry smile from Paulson on the phone, and he probably wanted to die at this moment; "Listen, man, it's impossible for the federal government to take over any of these projects, and you don't have to have any objections to it."
A little bit of hope.
We don’t have 50 billion U.S. dollars to give you. At most, we only have 12 billion U.S. dollars in low-interest government loans. This is already our maximum capability.
Seriously, man, we have to make sure the dominoes don't fall on Wall Street. There are so many financial institutions that need bailouts. Nearly half of the $700 billion in housing and mortgage loans has been spent. The rest is as thick as the Encyclopedia Britannica.
There is really nothing I can do about the rescue list."
"Paulson, you have disappointed me so much. Do you think I need to ask you about the $12 billion in low-interest government loans?"
"Uh... let's do it! I just discussed it with senior officials in finance and taxation. We can make appropriate reductions and exemptions for mergers and acquisitions and taxes payable by companies within the scope of the Royal Family Fund, amounting to about 8 billion U.S. dollars. The relevant formal decision will be made later.
Please don't make things difficult for me anymore! I can only do this."
"Hi, my friend, thank you very much!"
"I understand this as an agreement. Is this correct understanding, Boss King?"
"OK, it's a deal."
After putting down the phone, Wang Yaocheng stretched himself refreshed. He really didn't care about the US$12 billion in low-interest government loans, but the US$8 billion in government tax cuts actually saved him US$8 billion.
This phone is a good deal no matter how you look at it, it’s so cool!
Married women cloud;
A child who can cry will be fed by milk, so I won’t deceive you.