Chapter 374: Be on your guard

After hanging up the phone with Jolo, Zhou Ming also fully came to his senses. He turned up the volume on the TV and thoughtfully watched the news on the temporary broadcast of the Wall Street Finance Channel, which focused on the British pound.

Zhou Ming searched his memory carefully. To be honest, he could no longer remember the specific details of the historical Bank of England incident. He wondered if the United Kingdom had been so determined to resist in a previous life or did they just surrender? After all, I didn't come back with a guidebook, so I can't remember everything perfectly, and compared to the Southeast Asian financial crisis, this British pound crisis is indeed not that famous.

Although my rebirth has changed a lot of things, and it has even affected many things in Europe, but when it comes to the pound, it is hard to say if this is the best opportunity.

Perhaps George Soros may think that the time is ripe for the pound to depreciate, but others don't think so, otherwise the Morgan Stanley Group would not have chosen to wait and see.

Morgan Stanley attitude naturally affected the judgment of other speculators. He was able to get the Tang Dynasty Bank to invest in forcing the start of the pound sterling speculation, but he was unable to change the attitude of others. In speculation, only when a a trend, and the situation can only become irreversible after other speculators follow suit. However, now that everyone else is obviously hesitating, he must prove the weakness of the UK with facts.

Thinking Zhou Ming picked up the phone again and dialed the number in Gangcheng, calling Tong Gang.

After all, Tong Gang and Li Cheng were the world's shipping tycoon and the future richest Chinese respectively, so naturally they could not stay in San Francisco forever. Therefore, after Zhou Ming went to Itely, they also returned to Gangcheng.

Upon Zhou Ming's phone call, Tong Gang was very surprised. 'According to the time difference, it should be night in the United States right now, right? I didn't that you would call me at this hour. I know you guys have made a big move, and you have messed up the exchange rate of the British pound. Now it is the Bank of England's countermeasures that are giving you a headache, right?'

'What Chairman Tong can't be kept in the dark about anything,' Zhou Ming said directly, 'I think Chairman Tong has also followed the news and knows that the Bank of England is buying up pounds to maintain the exchange rate. Therefore, if we want to continue devaluing the pound we must increase the intensity of selling the pound. The problem is that we don't have enough pounds in our hands right now, so I hope Chairman Tong can lend me some.'

'So that's so.' Tong Gang muttered. Then he asked seriously, 'Have you already called Li Cheng?'

Zhou Ming was a little confused by was a bit confused by the question, and replied that he hadn't. Tong Gang then said, 'I'll give you some credit for knowing to call me first, otherwise I would really be angry! We are partners, we should have been involved from the start. What's this borrowing? It should be considered our investment, or we could just help you sell it at Harbour City.'

Zhou Ming realised that this was what Tong Gang had meant. He really didn't expect someone almost ten years his senior to make such a joke on purpose.

'Actually, is fine, as long as the end result is a sell-off, then there is no problem,' Zhou Ming said, "but I am curious, Chairman Tong, how much money have you prepared?'

'Not much, just 2 billion," Tong Gang replied.

This figure was a surprise to Zhou Ming, because they were on good terms. Zhou Ming knew very well that this was the maximum amount of capital that Tong Gang and Li Cheng could put aside for investment. After all, assets and capital that could be put aside were two completely different concepts. It was likely that Tong Gang and Li Cheng had already started preparing for the unexpected when they reminded them to move their British pounds before.

'I never thought that Chairman Tong and Brother Cheng would treat me so well,' Zhou Ming said, moved.

Tong Gang naturally waved his hand dismissively and said, 'Zhou Ming, little brother, do you know that we didn't just shout out that call? And you never forget us, no matter what. It would be terrible if we knew you might need help and we couldn't help you! thank us, because if we can't even do that, then we don't deserve to be called partners, do we?'

Zhou Ming laughed said, 'Indeed, although I believe that this amount is already your limit, I still have an unreasonable request. I hope that you can help me borrow money from the Hongkong Bank, or help us sell some bonds. The only requirement is that payment needs to be made in British pounds.'

Tong Gang was not surprised by Zhou Ming's request did not surprise Tong Gang. He said to Zhou Ming, 'It seems that you, young Zhou Ming, are prepared to go to war with the Bank of England to the bitter end. However, the Bank of England is backed by the British Treasury. As far as I know, they have at least 15 billion US dollars in foreign exchange reserves at their disposal. At the same time, they have just borrowed a large sum of money from the International Monetary Fund. Are you sure you still want to do this?'

'Since we've started, why not continue?' Zhou Ming said, 'Chairman Tong, please trust me. As I told you before, the UK is just bluffing. They simply cannot continue to afford such a strong pound, so in the end the pound will inevitably depreciate.'

Tong Gang considered and replied, 'I understand. I will do my best to help you mobilise all the funds at the disposal of the Hong Kong City.'

'Thank you very much,' said Zhou Ming.

In the end, the Bank of England's resolute dumping of $500 million worth of foreign exchange, the pound's exchange rate was stabilised, and it even rose by 300 basis points compared to yesterday.

The result, the Earl of Montbazon was quite satisfied. After all, the Bank of England had spent money to save the market, and was responsible for the exchange rate and the national currency. Therefore, it was unlikely to engage in sell like a hedge fund. A result of 3 per thousand is already very good, and at least a positive start. As long as the media keep the pace down, it will be easy to let the pound exchange rate rise back.

However, the situation was like this, but the Earl of Montbazon did not let up. After the trading in the United States had ended, he picked up the phone and dialed Chancellor Philip's number.

'Philip I hope I haven't disturbed your dinner. Just ten minutes ago, the foreign exchange trading window in the United States closed, and the pound sterling is still where we hope he will remain. I think this is a victory for you and Great Britain, and I would love to have a glass of wine with you to celebrate, but I don't think this is the time to let our guard down.'

Montbaton continued continued, 'Because our opponents are cunning, we cannot expect a single victory to discourage them. We should be prepared for them to make a comeback. As far as I know, not long ago, the Tang Dynasty Bank gave them a 30 billion dollar investment. I think this money needs to be guarded. The current calm is only because the money is still on its way to Europe.'

As the finance minister, Philip of course quickly understood what Montbazon meant, and asked, 'Count, do you want us to make things difficult for them with the transfer of funds to and from the UK?'

'Hey! think, Mr Philip, you are mistaken. We are not saying we want to cause them trouble, but their speculative behaviour itself is a threat to the financial security of Great Britain, isn't it? 'Mountbatten continued continued, 'and more importantly, if we just keep them out of Britain, that's not enough. We need to keep their money out of the whole continent!'

'I think I think the Count of Montbazon and I have finally come up with a solution,' said Philippe. 'Just this morning, before I attended that damned press conference, I issued an order to all major European banks through the European Financial Council, demanding that every large capital transaction be strictly reviewed. I believe that within a week, none of their funds will appear in the European financial market.'

Montbaton let out a real really let out a sigh of relief, because he knew very well that as long as the Quantum Fund's follow-up funds could not enter Europe, then they would not be able to continue selling the British pound.

Of course, the United States also has foreign exchange market, and the Quantum Fund can also sell in the US, but after all, the amount of pounds circulating in the US market is limited, so the impact on the pound exchange rate is relatively limited. Therefore, after losing further moves in the the European market, further moves, there is no point in relying solely on the US market sell-off. As long as a clear-thinking investor, they would not make such a stupid choice.

This kind of thinking made Monty's face lights up with a happy smile. 'Philip is indeed a reassuring chancellor of the exchequer. You can rely on him.'

The last trading day of the week is May Day, so after the end of the day, Monty basically no longer needs to worry about the pound exchange rate. So on May 4 Monty slept until noon and stretched out, feeling tired from the fluctuating pound. Suddenly he understood the Greatwood family's dilemma.

Could this be the pressure the pressure from Ming Zhou?

This question only popped into Ming Zhou's mind, and he shook his head with a smile, dismissing it. He felt that he might have been a little too sensitive. Perhaps it was true that the Quantum Fund had the courage to attack the British pound only after receiving a 30 billion investment from the Tang Dynasty Bank . But this was more the work of the financial tycoon George Soros than Zhou Ming; besides, hadn't he already stopped their attack?

Shaking this frivolous thought out of his head, Montbazon went to the courtyard to do his daily exercises after washing up, then took a bath and dined. Although the time of day was much later than usual, as the owner of the castle, a very noble count, he was not yet able to do whatever he wanted.

At the 3 pm meal Montbarton, in a very good mood, noticed that his butler seemed to have something to say, so he said to him, 'Just say it, even if you say the wrong thing, I won't blame you today.'

With Montbarton's assurance, his butler boldly said, 'My dear sir, the investment bank Guili is selling a bond with a high yield of X percentage points. I think you might want to buy some.'

'My butler, I didn't that you also have a part-time job selling investments?' Montbarton looked up at him and asked, 'I'm curious, is it because my castle doesn't pay enough, or is there some other reason?'

Although Montbarton's tone was gentle, but it still made the butler feel nervous, and he answered with trepidation, 'My lord, it's not that. You've been very good to me, and the salary is very generous. I'm not selling for an investment bank. I'm not doing any outside work either. This bond is just my son's. He's the manager of an investment bank, and this is his job. And I also think that the return on this bond is very high, so...'

'Don't be so nervous because I don't blame you.' Muntbaton interrupted the butler with a smile, 'You are a father, and I can understand your behaviour very well. So since the return on this bond is so high, shouldn't you show it to me?'

Muntbaton said, stretched out his hand. The butler was first taken aback, then understood and thanked Montbazon desperately while bringing him the introduction to the bond.

Montbazon took the document and paused, because he saw the name of the fund company issuing the bond: Double-headed eagles?