Reinventing the Millennium

Fang Zhuo returned to Silicon Valley and still had to deal with many things on his hands, but Xiao Ao's bright smile could still vaguely appear in his mind.

There is still some distance and time before he takes office. Hillary Clinton, the leader of the democratic camp, has already sharpened her skills and is generally more optimistic and supported.

In addition to giving Hillary an unexpected shock wave, Xiao Ou also needs to wait for a change in the economic situation.

After all, O'Brien's campaign slogan is "change."

The subprime debt crisis must first turn the situation into a mess, and then the situation can be discussed and reformed, and only then can this person win more hearts and opportunities.

In Silicon Valley, Sina executives, headed by Wang Yan, came here even if they wanted to. They inspected a high-tech company every day and expressed their thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. They actually experienced the similarities and differences between the two products in depth.

They are expected to return to the country in one week.

Liang Gongwei of Morningstar Semiconductor and others had plans to return, but due to MediaTek's visit and Mr. Fang's personal schedule, they chose to wait in Silicon Valley to meet Mr. Fang before leaving.

Liang Gongwei and Yang Weiyi still have many things to be busy with. However, in order to connect with Yike's research and development, the clever Wei Boyun was retained to ensure that he could flexibly handle the cooperation between Morningstar and Yike.

Now some of the technical team members acquired by Morningstar from France have come to Silicon Valley to join the company, and they will serve as the backbone of the "Vulcan" project.

Taking into account that there are still opportunities left for MediaTek to compete, the team from Morningstar will work in Silicon Valley in the form of a contract with Yike and Morningstar's joint subsidiaries, and will be externally claimed to be Yike's own team.

There are still many things that need to be dealt with around Yike Mobile.

Fang Zhuo thought of Google's previous proposal, and on the second day after returning to Silicon Valley, he contacted three domestic operators and asked them to discuss the preparations for the establishment of the "Open Mobile Alliance".

The previous cooperation with operators was limited to Sina's wireless value-added market. Just like the previous cooperation, China Mobile was the first to respond to Mr. Fang and was willing to send a deputy general manager to Silicon Valley to talk about the projects of international giants.

Regardless of whether it will succeed or not, the international business contact itself can be used as an effective internal negotiation resource at certain times.

The last few days of June have passed in the blink of an eye, and the NBA's free trade market has opened on the first day of July.

After the Rockets defended their title, the skeleton of the Trident next season has not been shaken, but a lot of flesh and blood has been lost. What makes Fang Zhuo most regretful is the departure of Kurt Thomas and Muhammad, the two defensive heroes who won the championship.

Other players can more or less get premium contracts because of their winning resume.

Fang Zhuo, an owner who understands football, has already told the team's general manager that he will not hesitate to pay a huge luxury tax to win three consecutive championships. In addition, he has also ordered two transactions.

1. Signed Ariza, the Magic's second-round pick whose contract expired, to a two-year, $7 million contract.

Second, the trade acquired a second-round pick. This year's selection of rookie players is intended to miss Paul Millsap.

Nash, Carter, Yao Ming, Danny Granger, Ariza, and Paul Millsap will be the Rockets' main rotation players in the new season. Other functional puzzle pieces require team general manager Colangelo to continue to move. Got my brains out.

After winning the championship for two consecutive years, other teams are generally reluctant to help the Rockets win three consecutive championships. Colangelo's main plan is to select overseas players who have proven themselves in the European market.

On the night of July 1st, Fang Zhuo had a daily video chat with Su Wei. The two people's videos were basically divided into 7 points for work and 3 points for chatting.

It was only today that he calmed down and discussed the development of the domestic e-commerce market with Mr. Su.

In the first half of the year, the most iconic time for domestic e-commerce was Taobao’s 6.18 sale.

Like Tesco’s Double Eleven event last year, Taobao also adopted a three-day deadline this time, and the total transaction volume finally announced was 1.83 billion, which shocked the industry.

Last year, Taobao's total annual transaction GMV was 8.02 billion, which has already surpassed eBay. This year, it is expected to double, hitting 16 billion GMV.

As a result, 1.83 billion was done in three days on June 18, which not only shocked the industry, but also shocked everyone within Taobao.

Domestic financial media interviewed the high-spirited Ma Ren, who shouted the slogan of hitting 20 billion GMV this year.

20 billion!

It has only been 3 years since the establishment of Taobao this year. It has been able to grow from nothing to a GMV of 20 billion. It is really hard not to lament the development of e-commerce.

"C2C has become really dynamic as its scale increases." Su Wei talked about Taobao and was shocked by its big promotion results.

Taobao is different from Tesco in that the unit price of its products is not high. Behind these numbers represents a very active group of buyers and sellers.

It's like a snowball, it gets bigger and bigger, and the bigger it gets, the faster it rolls.

Fang Zhuo didn’t feel much about Taobao’s development, but just smiled and said: “It’s a good thing to have vitality. Taobao is working together to make the e-commerce pie bigger. When the pie gets bigger, we will also benefit, and vice versa. .”

Su Wei said: "I just think the goals we set will be a bit conservative?"

Tesco's goal is 18 billion in revenue in two years.

This figure is taken from Gome's 2005 revenue data.

"We are working steadily. We have two warehouses put into use in the first half of the year, and new warehouse centers will be opened in the second half of the year. If Taobao's model has brought vitality to buyers and sellers, we at Tesco use money to burn out vitality. , no matter how this vitality comes, it will be used if it can be used." Fang Zhuo is more optimistic, "When I summarize at the end of the year, what I hope to see is not the growth of revenue, but the improvement of basic services, especially at the logistics level."

Su Wei thought about what her boss said.

The cost of e-commerce's self-built logistics is quite high, but the bulk of it is actually in warehousing construction, while terminal distribution is pretty good.

At present, the cost of third parties is 6-8 yuan, and the current delivery cost of Tesco is still high, requiring more than 10 yuan. This number is a target that is expected to continue to decrease this year, and will drop to 7-8 yuan next year at the latest.

But at the same cost, Yishang Logistics can provide more satisfactory services to consumers, which is also an advantage of self-built logistics.

Su Wei discussed the construction of logistics for a while, and when the video was about to end, she asked Fang about the situation of the team.

"I read Sina Sports and it said that Carter did not renew his contract in advance and will focus on winning the championship in the new season. What is going on?"

Fang Zhuo replied: "His contract was originally signed in the summer of 2008, but he has the right to jump out of the contract and enter the free market next summer. The team has communicated with him and he may leave the team next year. It's hard to say for sure. Now everyone We are all rushing for the third championship, and everything else is postponed."

Su Wei was just about to hang up the video when she suddenly remembered the important idea she had been thinking about for the past two days. She hesitated and said, "Although Tesco's domestic market has not done well yet, do you think it will be possible to get it one day in the future?" How about competing abroad with this model?”

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Are you talking about Japan or South Korea?"

"I've been shopping in both countries in the past two weeks, and I think it's not impossible, but I need to think about it carefully," Su Wei replied.

Fang Zhuo pondered for a while and said: "No matter which country it is, we will postpone it until at least 2008. I have noticed some wrong economic phenomena in the United States."

Postponed, postponed, postponed, all postponed, postponed until after 2008!

"Then let's talk in detail when you come back." Su Wei did not question the judgment at this point in time.

Fang Zhuo ended the video, thinking about the situation of domestic e-commerce, and unconsciously thought of Amazon.

Although I don’t deliberately pay attention to Amazon’s development, in the United States, news about it will still come into my eyes, and its development is quite fast. In particular, the cloud computing service just launched this year has been well received by the market.

This is a place worth learning.

I had just finished thinking about today’s discussion on e-commerce when the mobile phone on the table vibrated with the call from an unknown number.

"Hi, Mr. Fang, I am Susan from Northern Trust." The visitor introduced himself and continued, "Entrusted by Xiao Ao, we have a sum of funds that we want to invest in the MIGA fund."

Fang Zhuo was startled and asked for more specific information and more detailed identity.

Susan is a director of Northern Trust and has a good relationship with Xiao O.

This time, investing in MIGA fund management through Northern Trust is also a habitual risk avoidance.

The money Xiao Ao invested was invested in Northern Trust, which added a layer of filtering, and Northern Trust then invested the money into the foundation.

If any unexpected risks do arise, they can naturally be passed on to Northern Trust.

Fang Zhuo originally thought that he and Xiao Ao would hit it off and get a direct investment. He didn't expect such a setup. However, it would be no problem to have one more Northern Trust. The subprime debt crisis was bigger than everyone imagined.

The consequences of making money from subprime debt may not be something that can be resisted by a filter. What's more, Xiao Ao is still a basketball-loving person, and the two of them have indispensable moments of interaction.

"Susan, my MIGA fund is looking for suitable profit-making contracts in the CDS market. Are you interested in investing in some trusts?" Fang Zhuo solicited business and said, "Last month, Xiao Ao, Geithner and I The president has talked about the prospects of CDS, and he and Summers have recently been talking about his investment."

He doesn't mind at all divulging customer information at such times.

Susan originally wanted to make a simple investment of $500,000, but she was still a little surprised to hear the names of Geithner and Summers.

Northern Trust is very optimistic about and supports this rising political star. Considering Geithner's unusual status, such investment opportunities seem to be able to increase some numbers.

She asked: "What is the additional investment threshold for Mr. Fang Fund?"

This is not an investment for Xiao Ao's status.

"10 million US dollars." Fang Zhuo reported the investment threshold.

Susan hesitated a little, and it was higher than she thought.

But then she thought, why is it so high?

Susan thought for ten seconds and replied: "I will seriously consider it, Mr. Fang, thank you for the invitation."

Fang Zhuo ended the call with a smile.

Then he immediately called Zhao Zhishan: "Collate Northern Trust's information, look at its activities in Illinois and Chicago, and look at its connection with Xiao Ao."

Xiao O has been a state legislator for three terms, and there is still a lot of information in Illinois. Sometimes you need a thread to pull out a clue.

Before Zhao Zhishan could reply, another call came in.

This time it was from the boss's secretary, Summers.

The boss wants to see Mr. Fang.

We met in the offices of the New York Economic and Social Development Institute.

In just a few days, the institute has rented and listed the 66th floor of the Empire State Building.

Fang Zhuo thought that someone like Teacher Xiao Sa might appear at some unknown time, but to his surprise, his reaction was quite fast.

Perhaps, having just resigned from Harvard, he wants to get out of opposition as soon as possible.

Teacher Xiao Sa didn't give much time for the meeting, which meant that Fang Zhuo had to catch another flight from Silicon Valley to New York in the evening. Even a direct flight between the two places would take more than 5 hours.

But there will be no idle time on the road. Zhao Zhishan’s news about Northern Trust is just right to read on the road.

Northern Trust is the fifth largest asset services company in the world headquartered in Chicago. It was founded in 1889, with branches in 15 states and 6 countries in the United States. Its operating trust assets are close to 600 billion, making it an out-and-out industry giant.

And, it gave O'Brien a lot of support in Illinois and Chicago.

It can also be said that Northern Trust is suspected to be one of the financial backers behind Xiao Ao.

After reading the information, Fang Zhuo felt that Northern Trust was really rich!

I didn't deal with any unnecessary things that night. I had a good rest after arriving in New York, intending to give Teacher Xiao Sa a good mental outlook.

At 9:30 the next morning, Fang Zhuo arrived on the 66th floor of the Empire State Building early and saw the signboard of the organization sponsored by his foundation.

Zhao Zhishan talked about the details of the research institute. The furnishings of Teacher Xiao Sa’s office were modeled on the office he used when he was the financial housekeeper.

"You are quite thoughtful." Fang Zhuo was quite impressed.

"Looking at the information, he should like it." Zhao Zhishan said.

Soon, the time came to verify Teacher Xiao Sa's preferences.

Summers arrived at the New York Economic and Social Development Institute accompanied by his secretary. His first reaction when he entered the office was to smile.

While gesturing for his secretary to leave, he said to the Oriental rich man who was meeting him for the first time: "Mr. Fang, this office is well decorated. I like it very much."

Fang Zhuo smiled and said: "As long as Teacher Sa likes it, with Teacher Sa joining us, our research institute will have a backbone."

Summers overlooked Manhattan's Fifth Avenue under the Empire State Building and put away his smile: "Mr. Fang, although I like this office very much, I don't plan to sit here. I think for you, the money to hire me is not as good as going to Get to know those esteemed members of Congress.”

Fang Zhuo offered Teacher Xiao Sa a salary of US$5 million a year.

This number is almost the same as the increase reported by Geithner for the second time. That amount of money is probably Mr. Sa's personal investment in the foundation.

Now, the New York Economic Exchange returns the money invested in salary, and the investment still counts.

"Teacher Sa, I don't know much about economics. I respect economists the most. I wonder if Geithner has mentioned it. I like Mr. Samuelson's works very much." Fang Zhuo said seriously, " Being able to see the discussion of social development from an economic perspective is very beneficial to me personally and to the company.”

He felt that Teacher Xiao Sa was deviating from reality and wanted to get money, but he also did not want to be able to do practical things like a congressman. Therefore, he said that he did not need him to do practical things, as long as he had a report.

As expected, Summers did not shirk anymore. After quietly looking at the city scenery for a while, he slowly said: "I just came back from Houston last month and went there to attend the funeral of an old friend."

He turned around and asked: "Mr. Fang, do you know Lloyd Bentson?"

Fang Zhuo shook his head. He seemed to have some impression of this person, but he couldn't think of who it was.

Summers said: "He is a good man. He has served as your Texas congressman for more than 20 years and also served as Clinton's financial steward. Both Rubin and I have full respect for him."

Fang Zhuo didn't know anything about "our Texas", but he knew who it was when he heard it said that.

This is Summers-Rubin-Bentson's series of financial stewards.

I didn’t expect that he had just passed away.

Fang Zhuo was a little confused as to what this person's intention was in mentioning Bengtsen.

"I talked with Bengtsen's family, and they plan to put the family's money in the Bessemer Trust." Summers sighed again and reiterated, "Benttsen is a good man, and I think his family should have Good news, I heard that Mr. Fang’s fund has very strict thresholds?”

Fang Zhuo understood and still wanted to invest money.

He thought for a moment and said tactfully: "Since it is family property, it is actually safer to put it in a trust."

Summers shook his head: "But Bentson is a good man."

Fang Zhuo heard the meaning of personal relationship and said with some laughter: "MIGA Fund is fully committed to the consideration of its customers. We believe that there will be a profit opportunity in the current market. If Bengtsen's family is willing, of course we are willing to have such a customer."

Summers nodded slightly, feeling that he had done something for his old friend.

He sat down, motioned for Mr. Fang to sit down as well, and then said naturally: "I will let Bessemer Trust handle this matter. Maybe, they will also be interested in Mr. Fang's fund."

Very well, it’s time for Xiao Zhao to check the information about Bengtsen and Bessemer Trust again.

Fang Zhuo felt a kind of open appetite.

Teacher Xiao Sa holds a Bessemer Trust in the middle, and a Northern Trust appears on Xiao Ao's side.

Both must be quite wealthy.

It seems that the former has confirmed interest and the latter may be attracted as well.

The MIGA fund's reputation for high returns due to its operations in Chinese concept stocks, Internet stocks, and real estate stocks, coupled with the abnormal CDO and CDS markets, has attracted the attention of some funds with special channels.

Summers smiled and said again: "This office is very good. I don't plan to use it. I would like to invite Rubin to be the chief economic adviser. I think it is a very interesting thing for us to discuss economic development together. What do you think, sir?"

Of course Fang Zhuo agrees with both hands. Rubin is the big boss behind Xiao Sa and is currently unemployed.

This is like another small exchange, taking Bessemer Trust's money and adding another person who can stand up.

Rubin, Summers, Geithner, Jr., Northern Trust, Bessemer Trust...

Everyone invests money, and probably everyone has a mutual relationship with the donor.

Either it is the high-yield profits of the MIGA fund, or it is the abnormal prosperity of the CDO market, or it is to strengthen the contacts with big shots.

Fang Zhuo pondered for a moment and made a request: "Teacher Sa, in order to celebrate our New York Institute of Economics, I would like to hold a charity dinner in New York. How about it?"

Summers readily agreed: "I'll invite Rubin and a few old friends over."

Fang Zhuo smiled. The MIGA fund could be a tool for making money as they wished, and it could also be used as a bond between them.