Chapter 31 31. Financial markets in 1939

"Since the First World War, although the British Empire has not collapsed, it is like a strong man who indulges too much. Its real economic strength is not as good as before. Therefore, it is better to ask for others than to ask for ourselves. In this matter, we cannot I count on the help of any country or institution." Ding Shaomei is good at eloquence, not to mention talking about her profession that she has been immersed in for many years. Yunong, Fan Xiaoqing, Bao Youxian and Lao Guan were sitting on Chippendale-style soft chairs, each with a legal pad on their knees.Song Wanwan took a feather duster and dangled outside the living room door, and the voice inside could be heard clearly.

"This time the gold speculation operation is not rich in funds. This is one aspect; on the other hand, the funds were raised in my own name. Huge debts to pay off...." Bao Youxian asked: "The source of funds is your personal matter. I just want to know, what is the goal of this operation?" Mobilizing a huge sum of money for market speculation has been his biggest wish in recent years.When two nations go to war, being able to make a lot of money in the enemy-occupied area should be regarded as a contribution to the nation.Anti-Japanese does not necessarily use knives and guns, and earning Japanese money into one's own pocket may have a greater effect than the confrontation between the two armies, although the effect will not appear in the short term.

"Our goal is very simple, that is to make a fortune together! Use all means to make a fortune at any cost." Ding Shaomei glanced around. "It's a good thing, I'm interested." Bao Youxian said. "But you also have to bear part of the responsibility." Ding Shaomei said. "I don't have to say, I will pay 4 million." The money from Beijing was nearly 2 million, and the shortfall was not too difficult for him. "Welcome to become a shareholder of this company." "Who is the major shareholder?" This involves personal rights and interests, so Bao Youxian's question is reasonable.

"It's me, 11 million French currency, already stored in Citibank and First Commercial Bank, your funds?" "It will be in place in 5 days." He didn't intend to be the boss in the first place, and this investment ratio is just what he wants. Besides, all transactions in the future have to go through his broker, and everything is under control. "We also want to invest." Yunong and Fan Xiaoqing said in unison, the difference is only the tone of voice and expression. "This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to make a fortune, and everyone who loves it will have a share." Ding Shaomei put away the serious expression of the "magician" and restored a happy face.

Yu Nong came prepared, she just bought a piece of top-secret information: The gold market located in the Tianjin branch of Yokohama Specie Bank may announce a new rule in 5 days. settlement.Once this news is announced, it will have a huge impact on the legal currency.Because the Japanese occupy the north in a point-and-line manner, since the issuance of Union Bank Notes, they have been mainly circulated in cities, and the demand is not large. If the gold market is settled by Union Bank Notes, its circulation is likely to It will more than double, and the circulation channels of legal currency will naturally shrink significantly, and the value of the currency will also drop.

"The British and the French have always insisted that they do not allow joint bank notes to circulate in the concession. The Japanese's move is tantamount to forcing a foot in the concession." Bao Youxian touched his round chin, squinting His smile is complicated. "How's Claire talking in Tokyo?" In the past two months, the British representative Craig and the Japanese Foreign Minister Arita had many talks in Tokyo, and the topic was the rights and interests of the Japanese in the British Concession in Tianjin. "There is no good news. The British don't know what their plans are this time." Yu Nong is also worried about this matter. Once the British open the concession, anti-Japanese elements like Yu Changchun will soon be caught in the gendarmerie and tortured. .

"It seems that the legal currency may start to depreciate within 5 days." Bao Youxian shook his head. All the funds they raised this time were in legal currency.Presumably, those British foreign firms had heard about it a long time ago, and they happened to use Ding Shaomei's hand to throw out a large amount of legal currency in stock.Although the pompous brat wouldn't tell him the truth, he had his own sources.He just didn't know why more than a dozen British commercial banks and foreign firms lent money to this kid? Ding Shaomei and other situations were all in front of him, so he asked: "I have been away from China for a long time, and I don't know much about the situation. Brother Bao, what is the currency situation in the market now?"

Bao Youxian is a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and financial speculation is not a major, but his success has made him look down on those guys with majors and full of new financial terms. He prefers his local dialect.He said: "The French currency was issued in 1935, with a circulation of 1.4 billion. It is fully prepared to be issued, and it can be exchanged for foreign currencies without restrictions. What is it called?" "Gold exchange standard system." Ding Shaomei said. "That's what happened. The Nationalist government listened to the bewitchment of the British guy Li Ziluo and pulled itself into the pound zone. But one thing they forgot is that Britain and the United States abolished the gold standard in 1931."

"Money is getting worse and worse." Lao Guan sighed. "Speaking of which, when the French currency was issued, it was linked to the British pound. 1 French currency was exchanged for 1 shilling and 2 pence and a half of the British pound, which was 14 and a half pence. Penny, Mao is very fast!" Ding Shaomei politely interjected: "As the loser in the war, the depreciation of the currency is only 1:1.8, which is not bad. As the war progresses, it will not be too late for the legal currency to depreciate significantly, and it may happen at any time. In fact, the situation of gold is also somewhat similar. After the United States abandoned the gold standard in 1931, Roosevelt was elected president and implemented his new economic policy. The first thing he did was to automatically devalue the US dollar by 40%. The highest level in 1914; the price of gold soared from $20.79 per ounce, which had been maintained for more than a century, to $35. In this way, he raised domestic prices as he wished, and exported a large number of agricultural and industrial products. Bitter! However, what is the current domestic gold and foreign exchange situation?"

Bao Youxian was wondering why this Ding Shaomei knew little about the domestic financial situation, so why did he have such a great reputation, so that several top figures in the financial world were suspicious of his arrival.He casually said: "For two months, gold has been floating on the 150 French currency. When the price rises, the Japanese will sell it, and they will accept it at a par price. It should be said that the control is good. Foreign currency, the market price is 1 pound to 30 French currency. , the parity is 1 British pound for 16.6 French currency, but only the big shots in the central government can get this benefit. As for the U.S. dollar, the market price yesterday was 1 U.S. dollar to 4.39 French currency, which is not much higher than the 1:3 ratio with the silver dollar when the two yuan was abolished, but The purchasing power is much worse...."

Bao Youxian stopped talking, and stared at Ding Shaomei together with the others.As it was, it was he who had to make up his mind. "I heard," Ding Shaomei said calmly. "French currency is more reputable than Union Bank Notes?" "Twenty percent higher, 1 yuan for 1 yuan 2." Lao Guan finally had a chance to interject. "Union bank notes and Japanese yen exchange?" "That's what it says, but there's no place to change it." A sly look suddenly appeared on Ding Shaomei's face, and his eyes jumped back and forth on everyone's faces, asking: "Does this mean that the price of gold will definitely rise if the gold market is changed to be settled by Union Bank bonds; Buying all legal currency into gold, once the settlement method is changed, we can make a lot of money without shaking our hands?" Fan Xiaoqing jumped up first and shouted: "Oh, you are so smart, how could we not think of it? How much can we earn?" "Once the fiat currency withdraws from the gold market, it will definitely depreciate. Therefore, add up the two ends, 30% to 40%." Bao Youxian said calmly: "If you buy thirty or fifty sliver pieces tomorrow and sell them in a few days, you can earn so much." This is the first time he publicly challenged Ding Shaomei to do such a big business together. If you don't understand the other party's weight clearly, maybe you are the one who sent you to death. "It's a pity that our funds are too large, and we concentrate on buying goods in three to five days, and the price of gold has to be skyrocketed. This is tantamount to depreciating the French currency first, and we are doing our best for the Japanese. In the end, we may lose money instead. " All eyes turned to Ding Shaomei again."What if it's off-market?" he asked. "How many economic criminals are caught by the Japanese?" Bao Youxian decided that he had to be more cautious about investing his own money, as the person in front of him was a utopian theorist. "Please take care of me." Ding Shaomei introduced Yunong to Oda Hideyoshi.Yu Nong bowed deeply, and the Japanese in his mouth was clear and clear. Oda Hideyoshi showed the old man's happy expression when he saw a young girl, and said with a smile: "You guys are a step late, today Makoto brought me a turtle, roasted until it turns golden, and a pot of your deep-fried fish. A crock of wine is really wonderful!" The politeness of the Japanese is no worse than that of the Manchurians, and the two sides bowed politely for a long time before sitting down peacefully. Ding Shaomei stretched out her right hand in front of Oda Hideyoshi, holding a fist-sized Lingbi stone in her hand.For this stone, he spent the price of a foreign car. Oda Hideyoshi's face suddenly changed, and he quickly took out his eyeglasses to put them on, and held the stone under the lamp to play with it carefully.Yunong gave Ding Shaomei an appreciative look, and quietly pointed to another piece of Lingbi stone to be used as a paperweight on the writing table. "Ah, within a square inch, there are thousands of rocks and ravines, and the weather is severe. The beauty that Mi Dian loved when he was the county magistrate of Lingbi was nothing more than this!" He motioned Yunong to bring the stone on the desk. "This is a treasure that I have cherished for thirty years. It is a reward from the emperor's uncle. However, compared with yours, it can only be regarded as a rock in the dust." He called out to Mako again to bring his magnifying glass. Ding Shaomei sat there drinking tea patiently, careful not to disturb the old man's childlike happiness.Fortunately, it was Yunong who was sitting next to her. If Fan Xiaoqing had been replaced, she would have ignored your intentions and would have started chattering.He sighed in his heart, looking at her softly and softly. The old man finally let out a long breath, returned the stone to Ding Shaomei, and said: "Ding Jun, life has been so short for decades, but it is such a luxury to be able to get close to such a fetish in the universe! Thank you, old man. .” After speaking, he bowed solemnly. Ding Shaomei didn't answer the question, but said: "We have something difficult to ask for your help." The 11 million French currency was thrown into the gold market rashly, which is about 70,000 ounces according to the market price, which is more than 3,000 Japanese-style gold bars, which is far more than Normal market volume.What Bao Youxian said was right, acting recklessly like this could only be helping the Japanese. "More than 10 million over-the-counter transactions, I'm afraid there are not so many 20-ounce sliver." Oda Hideyoshi personally poured tea and spread snacks for them. "American-style 400-ounce gold bricks are not in circulation, so it's useless to give them to you. So, do you know about the switch to Union Bank notes?" "yes." "If you bought the news at the Marlinsky Cafe, then you have at most one and a half days. The seller is willing to keep such valuable news for you for two days before reselling it to the second one. This is already a true gentleman's character. It seems that the British really sent "magicians" to snipe the Union Bank Notes, which is just in line with their own wishes, let the army drag in China, and pour a scoop on the heads of those hot-headed guys in the military department Cold water, Oda Hideyoshi thought to himself. "At 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, you can go to the bank with me. You are alone." Oda Hideyoshi got up and went to the desk to write out a check. "This is almost all my property, please take the trouble to run it for me. Please." This is a cash check from Macquarie Bank, and the amount is 2.6 million yuan in French currency.Anything you say at this time may be wrong, Ding Shaomei tried her best to keep her face calm, and put away the check. Oda Hideyoshi smiled and said: "From today onwards, we are a group, and we have to share secrets together? Please don't forget to bring your precious stone, tomorrow at 9 o'clock sharp." Ding Shaomei panicked and said, "I almost forgot that Yu Nong said that she wanted to learn waka from you. This is her respect from you." "Aha, now I'm happy. I thought you really wanted to take it away, and I must have lost sleep." He switched to Japanese and said to Yunong, "Which singer do you like?" "Missing Yixin is indeed like a leaf." Yunong replied. "Scattered by the wind, it will definitely become a butterfly." Oda Hideyoshi's eyes flashed sharply at Ding Shaomei. "This is "Answer Poetry" by Ono Sadaki. The girl has very good taste. Please wait a moment." His energy of running in and out was as happy as a young man. "This is a portrait of Guanzhi, I wonder if you like it?" He unfolded a scroll. On the small screen, the figure's back is drawn with simple strokes, which is unrestrained and unrestrained, with a great meaning of being out of the world. "'Things on the mind are like flowers, and people are pregnant at this time'. I like it." Yunong accepted the scroll generously. "Don't worry, child, no matter how high the kite flies, there is still a silk thread to care about. Please let me be the one to tie the thread for you." Oda Hideyoshi secretly pointed at Ding Shaomei, making Yunong blush with shame, but he did not forget to give a deep salute , said: "Everything depends on you." "Hahaha……." The Japanese of the two of them has already surpassed Ding Shaomei's comprehension.However, he was still full of joy to see Yunong's calm manner.What made him even more happy was Oda Hideyoshi's shareholding. Although it was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse, he believed that "there is no such thing as good or bad, and only people bring it on themselves."