America's Road to Wealth

On the same day, London's Financial Street.

Smith Financial Group, UK headquarters.

Abel stood in front of the LCD TV wall, with one hand in his pocket and the other hand holding a cup of coffee.

Behind him were all his men with glaring eyes.

Unlike their colleagues in New York, this group of traders in the UK except for the dozen or so people at the beginning.

It was the first time for everyone else to watch Abel direct and operate capital investments up close.

Except this time, at other times, they can only be assigned tasks by their superiors.

But there is no way to observe Abel up close like now, who is becoming more and more "the god of investment".

"Boss, John Cooper has signed the contract."

Jace trotted over and whispered in Abel's ear.

"How many chips do we have now?"

"Including what Cooper has not handed over, the total is 35%. If it is used as part of the bargaining chip, it is only about 11%."

After hearing Jace's data, the corners of Abel's originally calm face turned up, revealing a sunny smile.

After taking a sip of coffee, he placed the coffee cup on the table nearby.

"Snapped!"

He took out his left hand from his pocket and clapped it with his right hand, making everyone focus on him.

He looked at everyone, staring at himself intently.

He then said lightly: "What are you waiting for? Your task now is to destroy it."

"Roger that, boss!"

“Start selling!”

Crackling...

In the trading room hall of Smith Financial Group in the UK, where the sound of a pindrop could be heard, the sound of keyboards could be heard very clearly, as well as various shouts of people calling out numbers on the phone.

"£11.90!"

"11.6 pounds!"

"£10.90!"

"£9.90!"

On Monday, the London stock market began to close in the morning.

British ITV shares, which originally had a share price of around 15 pounds, are only worth about half.

At 8.8 pounds per share, it was suddenly shorted and lost about 49% of its original value.

This is one of the biggest events that happened in the London stock market today.

The main reason is that although the total market value of ITV is not high, as the second largest TV station in the UK under the BBC, its fame and influence are there.

Its stocks are naturally more eye-catching.

After all, it is a television medium, and the sound is always louder.

By this time, most British people knew that ITV was being shorted.

The good British media also swarmed in front of the British ITV headquarters building at noon.

They want to interview Mick Desmond and other senior ITV managers.

But Mick Desmond and the others are not fools.

It is okay to complain and curse others behind your back.

But this is a more sensitive time when the boss may change at any time.

Give interviews to the media and say random things.

That won't work. This is something that may affect their future careers.

No one does not value their own jobs.

So after listening to Cooper's call, Mick Desmond dared to throw his phone in the office and curse in the office.

But when the media interviewed him, he didn't dare to say any unnecessary words.

Being ambiguous and saying something meaningless is the only thing he dares to say to the media.

At this time, the newly appointed CEO of British ITV still had some thoughts.

He wanted to cooperate as much as possible during this critical period——

No matter who wants to acquire ITV, he will cooperate with them.

In this way, after being acquired, even if there is no way to continue to be the CEO of ITV.

Perhaps because of his good attitude and familiarity with the company's original business, he may be retained to take on other positions.

Of course, this can only be done after making sure that the original shareholders cannot hold on to the company.

Otherwise, if you cooperate with the acquirer's work, the acquirer will not be successful in the end.

In that case, it will inevitably be liquidated by the original shareholders.

Mick will choose to cooperate, and that is when he learns that John Cooper has been dealt with.

Mick believes that the original shareholders of British ITV must have lost more than they won when facing Abel.

This CEO therefore chose to cooperate as much as possible.

This is a no-brainer, a way to survive in death.

Other executives saw Mick Desmond like this.

Everyone is a professional manager, so of course they all chose the same choice as Mick.

For a time, the good British media were completely unable to get any valuable news from the executives of the powerful British ITV.

This is also a rare thing in acquisition cases.

Generally, this situation only occurs when the power of the acquirer and the acquired party is very different.

Fortunately, the executives of British ITV dare not speak, but shareholders are not afraid of so much.

One shareholder said bluntly during the reporter's interview:

"We are being targeted. The people targeting ITV in the UK must be from abroad. This is really an unfortunate thing. One of the most valuable things in our country is about to be taken away. In this regard I was very angry, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.”

When some shareholders were being interviewed, they all pointed to the big shot who had recently come to the UK.

"It's very visual, isn't it? Last year, the newspaper industry included The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Star, The Glasgow Herald, etc. Wait, they have all been bought. In the magazine industry, "New Scientist", "New Society", etc., they have also been bought. Now it is the turn of the television industry, and the target is obviously the British ITV. Yes, I think those who are shorting ITV People actually want it. Look, people who sell ITV shares now will regret it this afternoon at best, or tomorrow!"

What this shareholder said was quite explosive and the direction was very clear.

When the London stock market closed at noon, some news media quickly reported his interview.

The result was in the afternoon.

As soon as the British ITV stock price opened, it rose crazily by 15% in half an hour.

From 8.8 pounds per share, it increased to 10.12 pounds per share.

Back to the safe line of £10+.

The reason for this situation is that a very large number of "information-sensitive" investors have received similar news and rumors.

That is the big short short seller of British ITV, the terrible Abe Smith.

The reason why such a terrifying super financial giant came to play with such a small company with little profit.

It's because his media group wants to enter the British television broadcasting industry.

If there is no following message.

Investors in the market know that Abel Smith is shorting British ITV.

Even the most daring investors would not dare to invest in British ITV.

But now, many people are betting.

Bet Abel shorted British ITV with the ultimate goal of acquiring it.

If this possibility exists, there will be some gamblers willing to enter the market.

The more gamblers enter the market, the more investors will follow suit.

They want to get some chips from British ITV.

When Abel launches a comprehensive tender offer, he will definitely make a lot of money.

The market has this kind of atmosphere. Therefore, in the afternoon, the stock price of British ITV was completely opposite to the trend in the morning.

In the morning, investors did not know the situation and were afraid of being trapped. British ITV fell crazily, so they went crazy and went short.

In the afternoon, because of the possibility of Abel acquisition.

This possibility is still very high.

Even though there are still many people selling, there are even more people taking over.

Finally, when the market closed in the evening, the share price of British ITV returned to around 14 pounds.

When being interviewed by the media, a small investor proudly said to the British:

"We defended ITV, which was not affected by the gringos' short selling. There was absolutely nothing wrong with buying ITV shares this time! Smith failed!"

So, did Smith really fail?

"Well, that means I made 190 million pounds from short selling in the morning. I made 150 million pounds from long selling in the afternoon? That adds up to 340 million pounds? Not bad. So be it, I'm on my way to Kensington Palace Let’s not talk anymore on the way.”

That night, around 7:30.

Abel's motorcade left his home at No. 1 Garden Street, Kensington Palace, heading for Kensington Palace not far away.

He was going there, to Kensington Palace, one of the Windsor family castles, to attend a party given by William xx Windsor.

In the car, Abel closed his cell phone.

The person who called him just now was Jess, CEO of Smith Financial Group Europe.

Jess was reporting to him on the results of the European branch of Smith Financial Group on the London stock market throughout the day today.

Specifically, it is the performance of the British ITV stock.

To put it simply, this is the profit Smith Financial gained from sitting on the British ITV stock today.

Yes, Abel wants to acquire ITV in the UK.

This will increase the influence of Smith Media in the UK and even Europe.

But unlike the US market, the UK market is small, and the European market is somewhat crowding out ITV.

So for British ITV, Abel is actually not as urgent as those small and medium investors think.

Abel wanted to get the British ITV, but he didn't want to pay too much.

He is different from Murdoch who originally invested in Sky TV.

When Murdoch invested in Sky TV, Britain was still ranked among the top five in the world in terms of hard power.

The influence can even rank in the top three, only inferior to the United States and Red Bear.

The radiation of British influence at that time was several times stronger than it is now.

At that time, it was a very worthwhile investment to spend several times the money to acquire Sky TV.

But now Britain's influence is not what it used to be.

With the financial and service industries as its first national policy, Britain only has the residual power of being an old troublemaker.

Ignore the words of my American cousin who is also an Angsa with five eyes.

For many countries, Great Britain no longer has the ability to stir things up.

Based on so many considerations, Abel does not attach much importance to British ITV.

If it were NBC in the United States, he would pay a lot more attention to it.

So Abel played the banker trick on the British ITV stock.

While he was shorting the British ITV, he also spread rumors, making people think that he was bound to win ITV.

The shareholder who was interviewed at noon and was exposed is actually no longer a shareholder of ITV.

This shareholder's shares have been sold.

The company that acquired the shares is a leather case company registered in Bermuda.

When this leather case company acquired this shareholder's stock, the oral agreement included a requirement for the shareholder to say what he said during the interview.

Abel achieved a profit on both ends, making a profit from short selling in the morning and taking advantage of the opportunity to sell in the afternoon.

This kind of bankrolling method is practiced by many people on Wall Street.

But generally speaking, only large financial companies and investment banks can play it.

Because playing this trick requires strong market control.

At the same time, there must be the ability to avoid surveillance from the regulatory level.

Because of this mode of bankrolling, it is obviously illegal.

When Abel plays like this, he wears many layers of skin.

The British branch of Smith Financial is only responsible for short selling and does not take the opportunity to sell.

Someone else does the part of buying British ITV shares at dips and then taking advantage of the opportunity to sell them in the afternoon.

There are dozens of leather case companies registered in Bermuda, Ireland, and the Cayman Islands...

When these companies trace their roots, they can finally find that their controllers are in the United States...

This gameplay is complex and a bit dangerous.

It is easy to encounter sniping from peers, and it is also easy to attract the attention of regulatory authorities.

But if you play it well, it is also one of the most profitable ways to do it.

So this is also one of the favorite methods of Wall Street giants.

Abel has never used this method in the United States.

He is in the United States and needs to maintain a perfect personality for himself.

And if you play like this in the United States, it's easy to leave clues.

It's not a fatal handle, but it can easily cause a lot of trouble at critical moments.

But now, isn't he in England?

Even if it is discovered, it doesn't matter. Britain will not fine American companies.

Fines will only be imposed on dozens of pocket companies. If they dare to impose fines, they can go bankrupt directly.

Those investors who hope that Abel's acquisition of Britain's ITV will make them a fortune.

If only they can withstand ITV's continuous roller coaster ride and survive until the end.

They can succeed, after all, Abel will eventually take action.

But if they can't bear the excitement and sell out midway, they can only blame themselves for not being firm.

Leave the satellite phone to David in the passenger seat for safekeeping.

Abel closed his eyes to rest, and within a few minutes, the motorcade arrived in front of Kensington Palace.

Abel's No. 1 Garden Street, Kensington Palace, is actually very close to Kensington Palace, only half a street away.

It only takes ten minutes to walk from this distance.

If you drive here, including parking time, it may take longer.

But most of the rich people would like to be in the manor and have to take a car from the living room to the bedroom.

Half a street is so "far", so it requires even more pomp and circumstance.

Abel didn't care about ostentation, but he was afraid of death.

Even this street is full of British Royal Police.

When he goes out, he still brings the entire motorcade with him, including a sufficient number of bodyguards.

But when they arrived in front of Kensington Palace, other vehicles in the convoy were of course unable to enter.

Kensington Palace is protected by the Royal Guards Division of the British Route Army.

Of course they couldn't allow so many armed men to enter.

The only ones who could enter were Abel and Edward, who was his personal bodyguard.

Get off the Cadillac Monster.

Looking at the resplendent and beautiful Kensington Palace in the night.

Abel couldn't help feeling a little emotional. A hundred years ago, this place was one of the political centers of the world.

It was the place where Queen Victoria, the European grandmother, was baptized, and it was also one of her favorite places to live.

The Great Yin Empire, which was still the most powerful country in the world at that time, may have had some of its many directives that affected the world come from here.

But now, it's just like this country.

The appearance is still the same brilliant and golden.

Inside?

Haha, to say it's a mess is putting it mildly.

"Is it Mr. Smith?"

A voice full of British flavor, which is the so-called standard sword accent, suddenly sounded.

Abel looked over and saw an old man who looked like an old butler, smiling and looking at him politely, walking towards him from inside.

"Um."

"Hello, Mr. Smith. I am James Ramsay, His Majesty's butler. Welcome to Prince William's party. Please come this way, distinguished guest. I will be your guide and servant."

Hearing the old man's self-introduction, Abel raised his eyebrows.

The ability of photographic memory allowed Abel to know that the James Ramsey in front of him was an important figure in the British royal family.

The old man is the current Queen's butler, and he is also the 17th Earl of Dalhousie.

The Earl of Dalhousie was once very brilliant. He served as five British Ministers of the Army and rose to the rank of Marquess at his peak.

But by the generation of James Ramsay and his father, the Dalhousie family declined.

So much so that he had to sell his ancestral property.

The Dalhousie family, like many other British aristocrats, could no longer afford the maintenance of numerous and massive castles.

Abel had seen James Ramsay's manor listed for sale on the numerous castle lists for sale.

That castle is called Briging Castle and has a history of more than 250 years.

After 250 years of ups and downs, James Ramsey was unable to pay the high maintenance costs, so he sold it with a starting price of 3 million pounds.

After selling it, James Ramsay became another Earl in England without a castle.

There are more and more such nobles and earls in Britain.

In the castle sales list that Abel saw a few days ago, there are as many as 1,100 similar castles for sale in the UK...

In addition to the UK, France and Germany are also in the same situation.

Old Europe has really declined.

With the status of the Queen's butler, in the era of the Chinese feudal dynasty, James Ramsey would have been equivalent to the head of the House of Internal Affairs.

This position, for most of the period, was a very prominent one.

From another perspective, the famous James Ramsay is a popular person around the Queen.

In the colonial era, he would have been a man who could dominate the world with one hand.

Now, that's it.

Like this country and this palace, they are all empty shells.

Following James Ramsay, followed by Edward.

Abel walked forward in silence.

In fact, Abel didn't really want to come to the banquet held by the royal family today.

This kind of banquet is usually attended by people.

Or they are the remnants of the British aristocracy;

Or they are the nouveau riche who want to spend a lot of money in a place like this;

Or they are some envoys from the embassy with political purposes.

It basically has nothing to do with business anyway.

Abel had none of these purposes.

But he came anyway.

The reason was that George suggested to him that during this period, it was better to give the British some face.

"After all, this incident mainly happened in the UK. We still have to consider taking care of the emotions of the Cockneys. This way they will be more willing to help us recruit the Germans."

These were the exact words of the owner of the White House, who asked Abel to attend this banquet.

In order to take advantage of the queen's favor, London helped the Americans to develop BMW and Volkswagen together.

It was related to his own interests. Although he didn't like this kind of banquet, Abel still came to participate.

Soon, the bustling and lively Atrium Garden of Kensington Palace arrived.

There were already many active guests inside.

The banquet started at 7 o'clock, and people arrived after 6 o'clock.

And now it's past 7:30.

Abel was late on purpose because he had no interest in making a fuss.

Because 467 has completely changed the content, today is actually the third update.

I will continue to update three times tomorrow, so there will be no debt.

So tonight this is the last chapter.