At 8 PM on August 14th, on Hong Kong Island, the members of Shanhai Capital were still having dinner.
Hong Kong's victory didn't truly mean their victory.
Until Long-Term Capital Management's thunder exploded, Shanhai Capital's situation wouldn't truly open up.
Even if they sold more than a dozen research reports today, totaling thirty-two copies, it would be difficult to change the overall situation.
Xu Xin had an urgent matter and returned to the mainland, so this dinner only had four men.
Another was still in Moscow.
Why was Russia so ineffective?
It was unclear if Daxia Country had given Moscow a heads-up; logically, a major country shouldn't be unaware of such a significant event.
When the false is taken for true, the true also becomes false.
The Long-Term Capital Management incident certainly posed a threat to Wall Street, but no one knew the exact extent of its impact, including the elites on Wall Street.
However, if there was a widely circulated, logically consistent, and seemingly very reliable rumor in the market, claiming it would affect Wall Street's trillion-dollar market, would you believe it or not?
If you didn't believe it, others might.
If you believed it but didn't prepare, what if others started to act?
Faced with such a potentially avoidable crisis, would you prepare or not?
The key was for someone to give a push, driving Long-Term Capital Management to the brink of bankruptcy.
Besides Wall Street itself, the Asian countries that had suffered various persecutions and attacks could do this.
These people, to avoid potential risks, did some incredibly correct things (like purchasing high-quality US bond assets), which then caused a huge crisis for Long-Term Capital Management.
This was reaping what they sowed!
If Russia defaulted, it would definitely exacerbate Long-Term Capital Management's risks, making survival a luxury.
Under the prevailing trend, it was unstoppable.
Even knowing the news in advance, what good would it do?
Those destined to die would still die!
"There's news!" said Ji Jiasheng.
"What news?"
"Whose news?"
"Lv Lang said that at 5 PM this afternoon, the Russian government suddenly held a press conference.
What they specifically said isn't important; what's important is that their bonds defaulted..."
Ji Jiasheng's fingers trembled slightly, barely able to contain himself.
A small group, through various large and small connections, gently leveraged the entire situation.
This sense of accomplishment was captivating.
For example, if you saw a filthy ditch in the city and complained to the mayor's hotline, and then someone came to clean it up the next day, would you feel a sense of accomplishment?
If you helped an old lady cross the street and it was reported on CCTV News the next day, would you feel a sense of honor and accomplishment?
Shanhai Capital didn't do much; perhaps it didn't change much in the overall course of history, but who knew?
Tomorrow, or perhaps the day after, the news of Russia's default would spread, and the Long-Term Capital Management crisis would erupt.
They might become the heroes of all Hong Kong Island.
"Call and inform the newspaper reporters..."
Shanhai Capital's channels in the United States were not smooth.
The Long-Term Capital Management matter was currently only circulating in tabloids.
Uh, that wasn't quite right; it had also appeared on Yahoo News.
Yu Dehui, being from Taiwan, knew Yahoo's Chief Yang through his connections.
However, at the time, he wasn't very confident, and Chief Yang didn't mobilize resources, so the news only appeared in a second or third-tier subdirectory on Yahoo.
Now, however, the situation was different...
"Chief Yang, something very disappointing has happened in Russia that could bring huge losses to the United States.
We must quickly warn the public about the potential risks posed by Long-Term Capital Management..." said Yu Dehui.
"Okay, I'll arrange it as soon as possible..." said Chief Yang.
At this time, Yahoo was already a leading portal, but this chief had always lacked decisiveness.
"I'll speak with him for a few words!" said He Zhengcheng.
Yu Dehui briefly introduced him over the phone, and He Zhengcheng took the call.
"Hello, Chief Yang.
I won't waste words.
Although Yahoo is the leader among internet portals, I believe you know its social influence without me having to tell you.
You are already the leader; developing along the current path, you wouldn't want to become second, right?
So, has the idea of enhancing Yahoo's social influence never crossed your mind, Chief Yang?
I knew it!
If you're concerned about the truthfulness of this matter, you can consult professional financial experts.
Moreover, the truthfulness itself isn't important to Yahoo.
What's important is that you are responsible to the public and tell them the truth.
If something happens, how big of an impact will it have on the entire United States?
Hmm, actually, you can do this: open a special column, publish both pros and cons opinions on this matter, and let the public make their own choices.
I have great confidence in our team's capabilities, and we can accept any amount of criticism..." He Zhengcheng then started discussing the internet with him.
This conversation lasted about half an hour, starting from this incident and moving on to the operation of the Yahoo website.
He Zhengcheng had a vision far beyond ordinary people, able to offer high-level suggestions to Chief Yang and inspire him...
"Who among us will go back and send him an authorization document?" He Zhengcheng asked with a smile.
"Chief Yang agreed?" Yu Dehui asked.
"He agreed!
It will be the front-page headline, and a special column will also be opened to allow more people to participate in this discussion..." He Zhengcheng suppressed his excitement, but soon couldn't control it!
"Hahahaha!!!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
Heaven was truly kind to him; the good fortune of a double blessing had actually fallen upon him.
To be honest, as long as the Yahoo news fermented on Wall Street, the truth of the matter wasn't important to Shanhai Capital.
Their goal wasn't to directly participate in the secondary market or to short a particular company.
Rather, it was to expand their own influence, engage in venture capital, and PE.
For them, getting more influential people to know about the potential bankruptcy of Long-Term Capital Management was a victory.
Regardless, they won this time!
Tonight was a night of revelry, a night of transformation for Shanhai Capital.
Having just been established, they had directly leaped from a makeshift group to a very strong and influential financial investment institution.
The only pity was that there was wine and meat but no beautiful women to accompany them, which was truly regrettable.
Even more regrettable was that last night, calls kept coming in, still wanting to buy their somewhat outdated research report.
Only they had explained in detail in their research report that Russia's debt default was highly probable, and they had linked this matter to Long-Term Capital Management's potential bankruptcy.
Half the wine was drunk, a little meat was eaten, and everyone battled through the night.
When they finally saw Yahoo's homepage display: "Russia Defaults on Debt, Long-Term Capital Management May Go Bankrupt, Wall Street's Trillion-Dollar Capital Faces Huge Risk!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Although they had been mentally strained for a day and a night, their soaring emotions and excited mood suppressed all negative states.
"This is not our peak; this is the beginning of our lives.
To a beautiful tomorrow, let's toast together!" He Zhengcheng shouted!
"To tomorrow, cheers!"
"..."
When Xu Xin returned from Pengcheng, Daxia Country the next day, she found the office in a mess.
A new day had begun, but yesterday's "heroes" were still sleeping on the floor.