owlsbooks Chapter 245 Preparing for the Financial Crisis
Chapter 245 Preparing for the Financial Crisis
July 22, Los Angeles.
When Fu Yibai opened his eyes, Annie was no longer beside him.
Her scent still lingered on the sheets, and there were dents on the pillow from her pressure.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom, but it was somewhat muffled through the door.
He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The sound of water stopped.
The bathroom door opened, and Annie walked out wrapped in a white bath towel. Her hair was wet and draped over her shoulders, with water droplets dripping down her hair, landing on her collarbone, and then sliding down her collarbone.
She saw that Fu Yibai had woken up, and the corners of her mouth curved up.
"morning."
"morning."
She walked to the bedside, leaned down, and kissed him on the lips.
My lips tasted of toothpaste mint, and felt cool and refreshing.
After breakfast, Fu Yibai and Guo Zhenni changed their clothes and went out.
Fu Yibai wore a dark gray casual suit, a white shirt, and no tie.
Guo Zhenni wore a light blue dress with a beige trench coat over it, and nude low-heeled shoes.
The car drove out of Beverly Hills and headed towards downtown.
The morning in Los Angeles was sunny and bright, the sky was a clear, bright blue, and a few white clouds hung lazily on the horizon.
Xinghui Investment is located in an office building in the city center, a good location, very close to the financial district.
Fu Yibai bought two floors of this building as Xinghui's office space. Now the property value has increased significantly, and the market value of just these two floors has doubled.
The elevator reached the eighteenth floor, the doors opened, and the corridor was covered with a dark gray carpet. Several abstract paintings hung on the walls, looking simple yet sophisticated.
Chen Zheng was already waiting at the elevator entrance.
He's gained a little weight since last year, with a slightly protruding belly, but he's in good spirits.
"Mr. Fu, welcome."
He reached out his hand and gripped it tightly.
"Thanks for your hard work."
The two walked into the office.
Xinghui's office area is not large, with seventy or eighty workstations, and about fifty or sixty people are sitting there.
Some people are on the phone, some are looking at their computer screens, and some are whispering about something.
The overall atmosphere was quiet and professional, unlike the lively atmosphere at Chenxi.
Chen Zheng's office was at the end of the corridor; it wasn't big, but it had a great view.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is the Los Angeles skyline, with the spire of the Federal Bank Tower visible in the distance, gleaming silver in the sunlight.
The two sat down on the sofa. Guo Zhenni sat next to Fu Yibai and took out a notebook and pen from her briefcase.
Chen Zheng took a folder from his desk and handed it to him.
"Mr. Fu, this is the current financial situation of Xinghui Investment."
Fu Yibai took the folder and opened it.
"Except for the shares in the few companies you requested to retain, all others have been sold off, and the company currently has a total of US$9.7 million in cash at its disposal."
Fu Yibai nodded, his gaze lingering on the string of numbers for a moment.
9.7 million US dollars, which was about 68 billion RMB at the exchange rate at the time.
This amount of money would be a considerable sum in China.
But on Wall Street, it's nothing special.
"Chen Zheng, what's your view on the current economic situation in the United States?"
Chen Zheng paused for a moment, carefully considering his words.
"The subprime mortgage issue has been brewing for a long time, and there's a lot of discussion about it in the market. But the mainstream opinion is that the risks are manageable and the Federal Reserve will intervene."
Fu Yibai looked at Chen Zheng.
"What if I said the US economy was going to have a big problem?"
Chen Zheng frowned slightly.
"What Mr. Fu means is..."
"The subprime crisis is just the beginning."
Fu Yibai put down the document and tapped it lightly twice with his finger.
"Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG... these names will soon be the focus of the world's attention."
Chen Zheng's expression changed from doubt to seriousness.
"Mr. Fu, do you have any news?"
"I have my own channels."
Fu Yibai didn't explain further.
"From now on, all of Xinghui Investment's funds will be prepared for shorting US stocks."
"Short all?"
Chen Zheng raised his voice a little.
"Mr. Fu, 9.7 million US dollars, all used for short selling? That's too risky..."
I'll take the risk.
Fu Yibai interrupted him, his tone calm but unquestionable.
"You just need to execute it."
Chen Zheng was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"clear."
After experiencing the New World incident, Chen Zheng had developed a sense of admiration for Yi Bai.
Los Angeles at the end of February is much warmer than Beijing, with daytime temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius, and the sun feels pleasantly warm on the skin.
Fu Yibai has nothing to do these days. Several projects of the franchise film company are in the preparation stage, so he doesn't need to keep an eye on them personally.
Annie has work commitments during the day and only returns at night.
Scarlett is still filming in Atlanta and won't wrap up until May.
His daily life was simple: he would sleep until he naturally woke up in the morning, have breakfast with Annie, and then go to the franchise film studio to sit for a while, look at reports, and approve documents.
In the afternoons, I sometimes go to the gym, and sometimes I sunbathe by the pool at the villa.
Guo Zhenni followed him, handling some trivial matters every day, and occasionally driving out to go shopping, buying clothes and cosmetics.