chapter 175 part 2
Suppressing his thoughts on the future development of the New York stock market, Colin looked at Luo Stone and asked casually.
"Oil companies?"
Luo Stone glanced at him with some surprise but then thoughtfully replied, "Oil stocks have been consistently falling. Especially stocks like Seaside United Oil Company, which dropped below $2.5 yesterday. Everyone expects it to continue falling, and Seaside United Oil Company might even go bankrupt."
Luo Stone could tell that Colin seemed interested in oil stocks.
Although he didn't know the reason, Luo Stone subtly warned him, "Currently, no one in the stock market is optimistic about the future development of oil stocks."
No one is optimistic?
Luo Stone's intention in saying this was to dissuade Colin from having any thoughts about oil stocks, which clearly had no future. However, his words only solidified Colin's decision.
"Mr. Colin Roper, from now on, I need you to acquire all oil company shares on the market for me, especially those related to Seaside United Oil Company."
While Colin's willingness to hire him as a securities manager was good news, the first order from his boss was somewhat beyond Luo Stone's expectations.
"Frankly, sir, buying oil stocks at this time is not a good decision."
"Mr. Colin Roper, there is one thing you must remember: I am not hiring you to hear your opinions. All I need from you is to obey my requests. If you cannot even do this, then I regret to inform you that I will not hire you. I believe there are plenty of managers on the stock exchange who would be willing to work for me."
Colin had no intention of sharing his plans with Luo Stone, as at this time, even if he did, not many people would believe him.
Therefore, he chose the simplest and most direct method: tell Luo Stone to either obey or get out.
"I understand, Mr. Colin Roper."
Undoubtedly, Luo Stone chose the path of obedience.
In fact, for someone in his predicament, there was only one option.
As Colin had said, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people vying for this job at the stock exchange. His only luck was meeting a client now.
"I will immediately begin the acquisition of oil stocks."
Seeing Luo Stone's change in attitude, Colin nodded and did not linger at the New York Stock Exchange.
Acquiring oil stocks was not something that could be done with just words. Even though oil stocks were in freefall in the market right now, without sufficient capital, it would not be easy to acquire them.
Therefore, to buy these stocks, Colin still needed to prepare ample funds.
...
Currently, the shares released by Seaside United Oil Company on the market exceeded one million US dollars. Although the actual selling price was less than $0.4, acquiring such a large number of shares at once was not a simple matter.
According to Luo Stone's estimation, if Colin wanted to buy shares in Seaside United Oil Company and become one of the actual controlling shareholders of this ninth-largest oil company in the United States, he would need at least three million US dollars in capital.
Three million was a lot of money in any era, and during the Great Depression, it was an unimaginable fortune.
Although he had prepared himself for the price of buying oil stocks, Colin's heart still skipped a beat when he heard Luo Stone's estimated figure of three million.
Currently, despite the continuous growth in sales of The Messenger Newspaper, the funds he could mobilize were only around three hundred thousand.
The newspaper business was a capital-intensive industry. If The Messenger Newspaper wanted to maintain its sales growth, it needed a constant stream of newspaper printing.
Of course, this was only the funding for the Messenger newspaper.
In fact, in addition to newspaper revenue, Messenger Comics, the recently released Superman Quarterly, and the box office of the animated short "Superman and Mickey" also contributed to his income.
However, the proceeds from movie box office receipts would only reach Colin after the cinema and Disney's cut, which involved a certain procedural timeframe.
Therefore, for now, the only other industries that could bring him sufficient funds were those besides comics and short films.
...
Churchville, Fisher-Price Toy Manufacturing Factory.
"Currently, the Superman dolls manufactured by Fisher-Price have entered their fifth batch, and sales continue to maintain a strong trend, especially after the broadcast of 'The Adventures of Superman,' which has further boosted doll sales..."
Herman Fisher's attitude towards Colin was clearly more courteous than before.
After all, Fisher-Price's most popular toy at the moment was the Superman doll licensed by Colin.
As such a major client, Herman Fisher naturally did his utmost to fulfill the other party's requests.
Nodding, Colin noted that Superman dolls had always been popular in the toy market.
Especially with the serialization of the comic, the release of the short film, and the recent radio drama broadcast, every new venture had a direct impact on doll sales.
Currently, over a million Superman dolls had been sold in New York, and this number was still growing.
The royalties from the Superman dolls alone had brought Colin one hundred thousand dollars.
And this was just for the single product of Superman dolls.
"What about Lego?"
Lost in thought, Colin casually brought up another type of toy he had asked Fisher-Price to produce.
"This..."
Herman Fisher's reaction was slightly hesitant before he replied.
"Currently, the market doesn't seem to favor this type of toy figure and assembly toy. Except for the Superman Lego toy, which was accepted by the market, the sales of other Lego products are not very high. The market doesn't seem to like this kind of product."
The setback with Lego products was clearly beyond Colin's expectations.
He had originally thought that the launch of Lego building blocks would create a craze, but he had clearly underestimated the public's acceptance of toys.
"In that case, let's pause the development and production of Lego for now and focus on the development of Superman dolls."
Currently, due to technological limitations, the Lego toys produced by Fisher-Price were made of wood. Compared to lightweight plastic, wooden Lego blocks were not only expensive but also less durable, and their paint would easily chip.
To truly mass-produce Lego toys, it would be necessary to wait for the advent of injection molding machines, which would change the history of wooden Legos.
Historically, injection molding machines truly began to develop in the latter half of World War II.
Clearly, this was not a short time away.
(end of chapter)