From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 263 One should be content; I've already earned enough for a house.

Chapter 263 One should be content; I've already earned enough for a house.

At 2 p.m., Larry stood on the second floor of the Paine Weber Securities Company, in a seat reserved for VIPs, toying with a gold coin in one hand while gazing indifferently at the chaotic scene in the trading pool below.

Just as he predicted, GE's stock price plummeted and has now fallen below $90.

Larry tapped lightly on the mahogany railing with his long, slender fingers, his mind racing with a quick and precise calculation.

The first transaction involved buying 10000 shares at an average price of around $105, and so far, each share has yielded a profit of $15. The second transaction involved selling another 10000 shares at the $100 mark, and this time, each share has yielded a profit of $10.

The stock price has now fallen below $90... I've already made a profit of $25.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, almost imperceptibly, which meant that he had already made a decent unrealized profit by "casually" following the lead of the securities lending giant.

This one transaction alone has already recovered most of the risks involved in short selling!

My biggest worry before was how to handle the money I would have to pay to acquire Bausch & Lomb, but now it seems that at least I have a general idea of ​​how to deal with it.

The problem is that this isn't the time to really make money yet. If I reverse my position and go long over the weekend... that would be really exciting!

A sense of exhilaration, of being in complete control, swept through Larry's mind.

However, Larry then thought, maybe I should sell half of my holdings. One should be content; I've already made enough to buy a house.

Just then, Mr. Potter hurried over, and without even greeting Larry, he said directly,

"Just received news that Westinghouse Electric has signed a lighting contract with the Chicago World's Fair... You haven't closed out your shares yet, have you?"

Larry raised an eyebrow. "No... Why, when did this news break?"

Mr. Porter nodded, confirming that Larry hadn't closed his position, and his expression had become more composed. He continued, "It's said that the news came around noon. Look, the stock has already started to gap down this afternoon. There must have been some inside information in the market."

"Then we didn't find out early!"

Mr. Porter nodded and said, "Of course, no matter when, the players or the market always get the news first. You may be fast, but someone else will be faster!"

After saying this, Mr. Porter stared at the charts and suddenly chuckled softly, "Looks like there are quite a few people dissatisfied with Morgan!"

Larry smiled, stopped scattering the gold coins in his hand, and nodded in agreement, saying, "Morgan acted too hastily this time, and there are quite a few people targeting him."

Morgan had always considered General Electric his personal domain, and he possessed an extremely strong desire for control. Furthermore, before GE went public, Mr. Morgan ousted Thomas Edison, the founder of the Edison Electric Light Company.

This incident caused quite a stir on Wall Street, although Edison himself didn't say anything out of the ordinary. However, it was clear that the gossipy New York newspapers couldn't resist exaggerating and sensationalizing the story.

It's nothing more than Mr. Morgan discarding him after he's served his purpose, or some fabricated power struggle stories in the tabloids.

But Larry knew the inside story: Morgan's replacement of Edison was actually due to the same old problems. Edison remained steadfast in his belief in direct current (DC), even when his company was in trouble and he had formed a joint venture with a new company, General Electric, he still insisted on sticking to DC.

Edison was almost obsessed!

For over a decade after the founding of the Edison Electric Light Company, electric lights were not widely adopted, mainly because Edison himself insisted on direct current. Later, the company became unsustainable and was eventually merged with the Thomson-Houston Company by Mr. Morgan.

Because the latter has a large number of AC power patents, it is a perfect opportunity to form a powerful alliance.

But precisely because of this, it seemed inappropriate for Edison to remain at the new General Electric. Therefore, the position of president of the new General Electric was given to Charles Coffin, president of Thomson-Houston.

However, judging from the drop in GE's stock price today, it's likely that the large short seller isn't the only one with a problem with JPMorgan.

Just as Larry was lost in thought, Matthew arrived in a hurry with a young waiter.

When they got closer, Matthew told the young man to wait where he was, and then walked to the row behind Larry. He lowered his voice and said to Larry,

"Mr. Dunbar is back! He has something to tell you."

Larry turned to him and asked, "Did something happen to him? Or did something happen to Logan?"

Matthew shook his head and whispered in his ear, "We got word from Logan. He's taken in a... guest at the 'safe house' in Greenwich Village."

Mr. Potter overheard only a vague part of the story and realized it was no longer appropriate for him to listen. So he stood up, said he had something to do, and turned to leave.

Matthew continued to Larry, "A young woman, shot in the right shoulder. Mr. Dunbar was called in last night to change her dressings and remove the bullet, and she's still unconscious. Her identity is unknown, but... Mr. Dunbar said the woman is very unusual. Like a professional."

Larry's surprise lasted only a short time. His gaze quickly shifted from momentary astonishment to deep contemplation. His fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the smooth tabletop.

Several possibilities flashed through his mind.

A ruse? That's the most immediate suspicion. An elaborate trap. A wounded "assassin" is unexpectedly rescued and infiltrated into their ranks. But... is the price too high? Gunshot wounds can't be faked; infection would be fatal. Would the mastermind really go to such lengths? And what is their objective?

A survivor of an internal purge? New York's underworld isn't monolithic. Perhaps she's the target of a power struggle within a faction, hunted down to be silenced. If so, she might be carrying an important secret; saving her could perhaps unlock a door to the enemy's core.

A real accident? An isolated encounter unrelated to her original mission led to her injury and being rescued by Logan by chance. But this doesn't explain why she was in that sensitive location and possessed the characteristics of a "professional."

Was it related to his own cleanup campaign?

Larry immediately thought of himself and realized he might be overthinking things, but he had done something wrong and was afraid of being haunted.

The timing is too coincidental. If she was an assassin sent by some faction, who would her target be?

Larry quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Hand her over to the police immediately? That's the simplest and cleanest approach, instantly eliminating all risks. But it also means potentially losing a valuable window into the shadows. Keeping her around, however, is like planting a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

After a moment of silence, Larry looked at Matthew, his gaze now as calm and profound as ever.

"Tell Logan," his voice was completely flat, "to keep a close eye on her! And if anything happens, tell me immediately."

Matthew nodded.

Larry continued, "She has to stay there until she reveals anything of value, or until we figure out her true origins. Now that Logan took her in, he's responsible for looking after her. Tell her she's our 'guest' while she recovers. But also make sure she understands that 'guests' have their own rules."

Matthew nodded again.

(End of this chapter)