The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 373
Only Krnovel
373. Caprice (3)
It’s been a while since David visited Korea.
He visited Korea in person to deliver various news, and as soon as he arrived in Korea, he drank boiled rice at a Korean restaurant.
“Kiyaa! I don’t know why it doesn’t taste like this in America. Boiled rice isn’t called a health food for nothing. It warms my body and makes me feel like toxins are being expelled out of my body!”
“What kind of American person likes Baeksuk so much? Anyone who sees him will think that I am someone who has lived in Korea all my life.”
“How many years have I been following you, Chairman? At this point, I am also half a Korean citizen.”
“If we keep doing this, I’ll even make kimchi later.”
It was David who even drank the sujeonggwa that was served for dessert.
Only then did he begin to reveal the purpose of his visit to Korea.
“It seems like the Federal Reserve has decided to reduce quantitative easing. It is predicted that they will make an official announcement about reducing quantitative easing in the near future.”
“Who will believe the words of the shepherd boy? They said they would reduce quantitative easing, then maintained it, and then said they would reduce it again.”
“Isn’t this the situation the Chairman wanted?”
“Now is the time to have so much fun. It’s just a matter of making a little bit of money.”
Of course, I was already fully prepared.
Although I said it was a small amount of money, it was enough to earn a year’s profit from most financial companies in one go.
However, it was an incident where there was not enough pie for the entire financial tower to share.
“Investment companies on Wall Street are working hard to make what the Chairman calls penny profits.”
“Tell them to work hard. What are Venezuela’s movements like?”
Quantitative easing was now a card to be discarded.
The new pie for financial towers to share was oil.
The scale of this project was so huge that Venezuela was only a small part of the pie.
“The situation in Venezuela is going very interestingly. As you know, due to the death of Chavez, who was in power for a long time, Maduro, the vice president, took his place. However, there was a lot of time left in the presidential term, so the presidential election had to be held again.”
“I heard that Vice President Maduro won this presidential election.”
“We barely won by less than 2%. And in the exit polls, the opposing candidate actually came out higher. So, in the political world, there is a conspiracy theory that Vice President Maduro rigged the election.”
A corrupt country and rigged elections were all bundled together.
Therefore, it was difficult to dismiss the claim that election fraud occurred in the Venezuelan presidential election as a simple conspiracy theory.
“Even if clear evidence comes out, it will be difficult to overturn the election results. President Maduro is already firmly in power.”
“But things are not going as they were during the time of President Chavez.”
“As the price of oil falls, the president’s approval rating also falls, so there is nothing we can do about it.”
During the time of President Chavez, there was an era of high oil prices.
Oil produced in Venezuela could be sold at a high price.
By distributing an abundance of money to the people, they were able to receive support from the majority of the people.
However, since 2012, the price of oil has been falling little by little, and Venezuela is no longer able to carry out a policy of providing recklessly like in the past.
“And the U.S. political circles are also said to be preparing sanctions against Venezuela.”
“Now there is no need to be dragged around by Venezuela. The moment shale gas is produced in earnest, the United States will start imposing sanctions on Venezuela.”
“I see it that way too. Discussions related to sanctions have only just begun, and it is expected that it will take at least two years for sanctions to actually begin.”
The ventilator was still attached to Venezuela’s mouth.
Even now, if we acted like a normal country, our lives could have been saved.
However, since he was President Maduro, the successor to President Chavez, who pursued anti-American policies, it should have been considered unlikely.
“If a third oil war breaks out due to shale gas, the country most affected will be Venezuela.”
“Will a third oil war really break out? The United States will also suffer great damage.”
The first oil war occurred in 1979.
It was a war to raise oil prices, which was extremely advantageous for oil-producing countries.
And of course, the winner of the first oil war was Saudi Arabia.
The second oil war occurred in 1986.
Contrary to the first war, it was a war to lower oil prices.
The era of low oil prices caused great damage to the Soviet Union and became a decisive cause of its collapse.
The third war was the same as the second war.
There would be a war to lower oil prices, and OPEC, including Saudi Arabia, and oil-producing countries such as Venezuela and Russia would engage in a game of chicken.
“The United States will naturally suffer damage as well. But there is no reason to shy away from an oil war that can attack both Russia and Venezuela, which are thorns in our eyes.”
“The international situation is going to be very interesting.”
“It would be a waste to just have fun watching. Wouldn’t it be more fun if we jump in and make a big profit?”
David smiled and listened to my story.
However, as if something had occurred to him, he raised his voice with a straight face.
“But if an oil war breaks out, won’t shale gas companies die out? Isn’t shale gas the price of oil production is higher compared to oil-producing countries?”
“Shale gas companies will go bankrupt. The larger companies will somehow survive, but shale gas companies that are not among the big three will not have the strength to hold on.”
“You’re saying Cheshire Peak won’t hold up.”
“If the U.S. government does not provide oxygen respirators, it will be difficult to survive. Even if you survive, it will not be as good as before.”
The company that signed a contract with us was Cheshire Peak.
Cheshire Peak was in charge of all shale gas development, including the Wagner Ranch in Texas.
It was a partnership with us, and we even owned a portion of the stock.
“Shouldn’t we sell our shares of Cheshire Peak now?”
“We may incur some losses, but we need a justification to acquire Cheshire Peak at a low price. The shares we currently own in Cheshire Peak are sufficient as justification.”
This was the reason for choosing Cheshire Peak rather than the Big 3 companies.
Most of the losses seen in the oil war are borne by Cheshire Peak.
Our plan was to acquire Cheshire Peak just before the oil war ended and oil prices rose.
“Is it worth taking over? If it even receives government support, doesn’t that mean there is almost no chance of revival?”
“We can have a few more leftovers. And for the sake of good relations with American politicians, it would be better for us to acquire a shale gas company.”
It was unconditionally beneficial to us.
In American politics, debt could be incurred through the acquisition of shale gas.
Once the oil war was over, it was possible to make a lot of money through shale gas.
“From now on, I won’t be able to look the Cheshire Peak management directly in the face. That’s because I too am a person with a conscience.”
“There’s no need for that. We’re taking over a company that’s on the verge of bankruptcy, so what’s the problem? Rather, we’re helping them.”
If things fail because of us, it will prick our conscience.
If it is ruined due to the international situation, who is to blame?
And wouldn’t it be possible, miraculously, to manage well and survive this oil war without major damage?
Of course, the possibility of that happening is less than 1%.
“Then we will move like that. However, Russia’s movements are also unusual. They continue to express their greed for the Crimea Peninsula. They are moving radically as if they are going to actually start a war.”
“I guess that’s because they really want to start a war. They will actually move their troops to conquer the Crimea by next year at the latest.”
“If Russia makes such a move, wouldn’t the United States also take action?”
“Of course we will impose sanctions. And it will also be a justification to start an oil war in earnest.”
The oil war was caused by a complex combination of factors.
Shale gas, Venezuela, Russia’s Crimea Peninsula crisis, and even the fight for leadership among OPEC, including Saudi Arabia.
Just because it’s complicated and vast isn’t a bad thing.
It also means that there are many places where you can make money.
“The moment the United States imposes sanctions, won’t the Russian economy fall into abyss?”
“Of course that will happen. From now on, the financial tower is planning a strategy assuming that Russia’s economy has fallen into abyss.”
“······Will Taewoo Group be okay? Isn’t Taewoo Group the one that has expanded into Russia the most among Korean companies?”
Taewoo Group maintained good relations with Russia.
Therefore, oil and natural gas were supplied at low prices.
I also owned some shares in a natural gas company.
So it was never a good situation.
How can every business unit benefit?
Even if the Russian business suffered losses, it was enough as long as it could make more profits elsewhere.
“Overseas companies will withdraw from Russia. But Taewoo Group will continue to remain in Russia.”
“Is that still okay? I might offend the White House for no reason.”
“If we don’t expand the business and just maintain the current situation, nothing will happen. And David will have to play the role of appeasing the White House.”
“I’ll grill and boil the White House!”
I talked with David for over 3 hours.
I told David about my long-term plan that I had not told even one boss.
This was because David’s role as coordinator in the middle was significant.
Of course, I was planning to share my long-term plan with President Han soon.
* * *
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s capriciousness has begun again.
From reducing quantitative easing to maintaining it and then reducing it again.
However, this did not mean that there was no reaction from the market.
Financial companies affiliated with financial towers that were preparing in advance were able to earn a handsome profit.
“Bond prices are rising again, and we are making profits by short selling again. However, since all financial companies in the financial tower participated in this short selling, the returns are not as high as before.”
“You can think of it as an experience of working together.”
“There is definitely a buzz throughout the financial tower. They are busy bragging to each other about what percentage of profit they have made today.”
As expected, there was no condition better than profits for financial companies.
These were foreign financial companies that would settle down in Korea on their own if we just gave them food for a few more years.
“Everyone is very excited. Let’s quickly prepare for the next operation.”
“Just tell me the big picture, and I will put the bones and flesh on it.”
He was a boss full of confidence.
I told him about the third oil war involving Venezuela, Russia, and OPEC oil producers.
When the whole story was over, the CEO was shocked.
He was surprised by the scale of the operation, which was much larger than the operations he had undertaken so far.
“First of all, I think we need to create a timeline and plan it step by step.”
“How can you make plans on your own?”
“Honestly, I can’t do it alone. I think I can come up with a proper plan with the help of Taewoo Securities’ executives and Taewoo Economic Research Institute.”
This is why I liked President Han.
He was a person who knew exactly his limitations and how to make up for what he lacked.
“I will tell the Economic Research Institute. It will be of great help if we come up with a plan with Director Fukuda.”
“Through David and Dimon, we will obtain information related to the international situation, including the United States, and then make a plan.”
The practice match is now over.
Quantitative easing, which was a practice game, could be seen as a child’s joke compared to the actual game, the oil war.
It was a project that could generate profits that would not be enough even if all financial companies affiliated with the financial tower were involved.
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