American Fortune Life

Andy stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of Lehman CEO's office like a magpie's nest, looking at the dark and gloomy night sky, and looking down at the phalanx of various TV stations and reporters from the world's major media that lined up on the street opposite downstairs.

"Al, do you like it here?"

"not bad..."

Andy looked back at Al who was drinking coffee with a smile and said, "Then, this building will be the headquarters of Gaia Corporation in the future."

. . . . . .

At 8 pm on September 14, 2008, Lehman was finally pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. The directors waiting in the conference room of the Lehman headquarters all fell silent at the moment with livid faces, and Fuld, who was sitting in the chief seat, looked around for a week with a dejected expression.

"I did everything I had to do. I let go of all my pride and called everyone who might be my savior. Hehe, can you believe it? Almost no one is willing to answer my phone..."

"Damn it! This is robbery! Shameless robber..." one of the board members cursed angrily with a black face.

"I agree with Andy Smith's acquisition. Don't look at me like that. At this point, is there any other way? It's more important than anything else to recover the loss. Everyone, look outside, almost everyone is waiting We fell, and then swarmed to share our wealth, why are you still hesitating..."

"Jingle Bell--"

At this moment, the telephone in the middle of the conference table rang, and the complexions of everyone including Fuld suddenly changed, and the atmosphere in the conference room became even more depressing. A ferocious expression appeared on Fuld's pale face, Stretched out a trembling finger and pressed it on the speakerphone.

"Good evening, Mr. Fuld, I am Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission . . . "

At this time, Christopher Cox, the chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, also had an extremely ugly face, almost cursing the US Treasury Secretary who forced him to make this call with the most vicious curse in his heart.

Originally, according to the U.S. regulatory framework, the SEC was the main regulator of Lehman, a listed company. However, for the accumulated risks of Lehman, the SEC clearly failed to fulfill its supervisory responsibility. Paulson was so displeased with Cox that he was sidelined by Paulson and Bernanke during the ensuing government intervention.

Cox was very reluctant to make the call. Because Lehman is not a private company after all, if it fails to operate, it will automatically declare bankruptcy according to normal procedures. It is very rare for a government regulatory department to actively pressure a certain company to go bankrupt.

Thinking that I asked Paulson and New York Fed President Geithner to announce it together, but Paulson flatly refused. Really complied with that sentence, the official rank crushed people to death, and under Paulson's high pressure, Cox had to announce the bad news alone.

His call was from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the sound quality was a bit noisy.

Cox's voice was a little hoarse, and he announced helplessly to the Lehman Brothers board of directors: "I will not tell you what to do. I can only tell you that a decision must be made quickly."

There was a dead silence in the Lehman meeting room, only the sound of heavy breathing. At this time, Cox’s voice continued from the phone: “This is a critical moment, and the board of directors is facing a major decision.”

At this time, someone in the conference room finally couldn't contain their anger and sneered like a night owl. John, the director of Lehman Brothers, asked knowingly: "Are you instructing us to file for bankruptcy?"

Cox fell silent, silence on both ends of the phone.

After a while, Cox's voice came from the phone: "You bear great responsibility for the current situation, and you need to play it by ear."

beep beep. . . . . .

In the dead silent conference room, only the harsh busy tone echoed continuously. The directors of Lehman Brothers leaned on their chairs in a daze, not knowing what to say. A tired Fuld leaned back in his chair and said despondently, "I think this is the farewell.

"

boom!

"Sell! Sell to Andy Smith! Sell him everything he wants! The vultures of Wall Street are already circling over us, laughing at us as they carve up Lehman Brothers' lukewarm The corpse, even if it is dead, will not let them succeed!"

"agree!"

"I agree!"

. . . . . .

The whole meeting room was full of excitement, and almost everyone was gnashing their teeth and roaring ferociously.

Click——

The people in the CEO's office were suddenly pushed away. Andy, who was sitting on the sofa, watched a large group of board members headed by Fuld rush in. With a smile on his face, Andy stood up, led Al and the other party to start Shake hands and say hello.

"You won!" Fuld looked at Andy with a complicated expression, and said hoarsely.

"No, we are a win-win situation! You can get the money and keep going..." Andy comforted him with a smile on his face.

"There is no future, they asked us... It is meaningless to say these things, all the directors are here today, then, let's start the transaction!" Fuld shook his head and said in a sad tone.

call--

Andy let out a deep breath, looked back at Al with some excitement in his heart, suppressed his excited expression and said, "Let our people come up!"

Al's eyes shone sharply and brightly, he nodded slightly, took out his phone and dialed it. . . . . .

Gloom hangs over Wall Street. At 10:30 in the middle of the night, at the gate of the Lehman Brothers headquarters in Manhattan, some employees walked out of the building carrying cardboard boxes, large handbags and even trolley cases, and some held umbrellas and handicrafts with the words Lehman Brothers printed on them. The police used fences to maintain the surrounding order and traffic. On the opposite side of the building were reporters from major American TV stations who were broadcasting live.

"Look, someone's coming out . . . it's Chadford . . . "

"God, who did I see, it was Andy Smith..."

"God, they are rushing here, has it turned around..."

. . . . . .

The reporter group on the opposite side of the road suddenly started to move, and the flashing lights immediately dispersed the night. Andy and Fuld who walked side by side to the reporter group were shrouded in a light curtain. The police, Lehman security, and bodyguards were on the verge of an enemy. , began to isolate the entire area, and the passers-by who watched the excitement, as well as the distraught Lehman employees all surrounded them.

In the night, the area in front of the Lehman Building was illuminated as if it were daytime, crowded with people, and the scene was unusually quiet. Even the reporters who liked to speak randomly kept quiet at this moment, and focused their attention on Andy and Fore in the field. On the two of them.

"Two hours ago, we and Mr. Smith successfully reached a deal. Behind us, Lehman's New York headquarters, two data centers in the United States, North America, and the European core business unit were sold to Gaia Investment Consulting Company as a whole. . .”

Hum——

The audience was in an uproar, and the reporters all stared wide-eyed, eager to poke the microphones in the faces of the two with agitated expressions, and restrained their questions with difficulty, waiting for the two to continue to reveal more news.

Andy glanced at Fuld, who didn't want to say anything more, and knew that it was time for him to appear on the stage. With a calm smile on his face, he took a small step forward. Everyone on the scene and everyone concerned about Lehman's bankruptcy The calm opening in front of the American people in front of the news TV.

"When I learned at around 1:00 this afternoon that the British had given up on the acquisition of Lehman at the last moment, and kept asking kindly, 'What will the US government do if Lehman Brothers collapses?'...

As I left the Fed building, I saw the desperation on everyone's faces. They fought like hell all weekend and I feel bad for them.

When I got home, I couldn't calm down all the time. Thinking of the coming storm, a burst of fear suddenly came to my heart. If Lehman survived in name only, Wall Street's problems might spiral out of control.

As the U.S. sinks deeper into recession, the failure of any one of the major financial institutions would set off a disastrous chain reaction — far beyond our control. . .

. . . I told myself that I had to do something, even if I could, to try to prevent the terrible disaster from coming later, although it was only a drop in the bucket, but I tried my best. "

Andy spoke eloquently, ignoring Fuld's weird expression about to spit out, but looked at him and said, "Chad, don't thank me. Finally, I wish you good luck, God bless you, God Bless America!"

As he spoke, Fuld gave him a hug regardless of his expression of wanting to bite him to death, then turned around and left quickly, ignoring the group of reporters who had exploded behind him, and the noisy voice resounded throughout the scene.