"Hahaha, great! I understand. As soon as I hear from the SEC, I'll arrange everything, aiming for the weekend to get it all done within three days. It shouldn't affect your studies too much. By the way, are you taking the SAT this year or next?"
"That's next year's concern. I haven't really focused on studying much this first half of the year. If I took it this year, I'd be in big trouble. By the way, Julian, do you see any good investment opportunities in the market lately?"
Thinking about the surplus cash in his hands and the bank's available investment quota, Carter's interest was piqued.
"Preferably something stable. With the new legislation, my bank has an investment quota of around three million. If we're investing as a bank, we need to consider the risk. Similarly, I need to consider stability for my own money."
"Because I predict that in the coming years, malicious competition among savings banks will intensify as deposit interest rate limits increase. I need to keep some funds in reserve to handle potential problems. So please help me find stocks with high trading volume and steady growth."
"As long as the money isn't sitting idle and depreciating, and we can quickly liquidate! Even if the profit is small, that's fine."
"In that case, let me think. For something stable with high trading volume, how about grains? You previously bought ADM stocks, right? To meet your criteria, just increase your holdings."
ADM?
Carter slapped his forehead. Shamefully, he had almost forgotten he still held 4,000 shares of ADM, worth $240,000.
Realizing this, Carter immediately understood Julian's logic.
First, high trading volume requires a company that has issued many shares. ADM, a well-established grain company listed for over fifty years, certainly has a substantial number of shares to meet the high trading volume requirement. Secondly, as a grain company, its stock price, even if it falls, typically doesn't drop significantly.
After all, the financial market is ultimately virtual. Even if ADM's stock price dropped to zero, its actual factories, equipment, farms, and production facilities would still exist, continuing to produce and sell.
And grain is an absolute hard currency. There is no such thing as the market not needing it, unless humanity suddenly collectively transcends into machines, transforming from carbon-based monkeys to silicon-based life forms.
As long as ADM maintains its production capacity and stable supply, its stock price might fluctuate but won't experience drastic drops. Investing in its stocks might not bring massive gains but also avoids significant losses.
"Now there are more agricultural subsidies, covering everything from environmental management and optimized farming to actual costs and protective measures."
"From soil degradation and reduced crop yields in the 1920s and 1930s to later issues like environmental pollution and over-farming, our farmers and workers have severely damaged the land under our feet over the past few decades. These subsidies have been increasing since Nixon's era, and I believe they won't decrease in the future."
"With such policy support, the future of these grain companies looks very promising. So even if their stock prices don't rise rapidly, they should be among the most stable. Moreover, their stocks are easy to sell!"
"Alright, I got it. Should I wait for your license to come through and then invest through you, or should I find another brokerage firm to work with, like Kidder?"
Carter, rubbing his chin, replied absentmindedly.
Julian's explanation was somewhat redundant for Carter. The saying "food is the first necessity of the people" is deeply ingrained in every Chinese person's bones.
Just hearing "grain company," Carter understood Julian's point. However, Julian's details weren't wasted on Carter, especially regarding those subsidies.
Remembering his ADM stocks also reminded Carter of his status as a major landowner in Georgia. He, or rather the bank's land holdings, were substantial. If he could take advantage of these subsidies, even just to reduce property taxes, it would be beneficial!
"Why rush? It's just a matter of about half a month. Can't you wait that long?"
Julian chuckled and shook his head.
"This isn't like futures; we don't need to consider timeliness. Besides, there aren't many good opportunities in the futures market right now."
"True! Let's discuss it when we meet. By the way, Julian, how is the Hunt family doing?"
Mentioning futures, Carter casually asked.
Thinking about how he had once made a profit by leveraging the Hunt family's situation, Carter considered them somewhat of his benefactors. Without the substantial gains from gold trading, his current life wouldn't be as comfortable.
"They're badly hurt. They've mortgaged oil fields, refineries, their stake in Placid Oil, and real estate to secure $1.1 billion in loans from various banks, so they haven't gone bankrupt or dragged us all down."
"As for the future, it looks tough. They're still under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and have lost Wall Street's trust. If it weren't for Volcker's intervention, they wouldn't have secured this loan. So this $1.1 billion loan is their last chance. If they face any more funding issues, the family will truly collapse."
"Well, that's the advantage of their size. Regardless of whether they can hold on in the future, they can still secure an $11 billion loan now. Sorry, Julian, let's leave it here for today. I have something to deal with. See you in New York!"
After a sigh of "a centipede dies but never falls down," Carter noticed Goodman entering with an envelope. Smiling, he ended the chat and turned to Goodman.
"What's this?"
"It's from Gabe and his parents! This family is quite polite; his parents returned the airfare!"
Goodman, beaming, pulled out a check from the envelope. This was great—not a loss!
For savings bank managers, not losing money was the best news and the most gratifying thing!
"Haha, it's normal for people who can touch computers these days to come from well-off families. What's in the letter?"
Glancing at the Bank of America check in Goodman's hand, Carter nonchalantly took the envelope. As for the check, it could be scanned downstairs later for filing and clearing.
"It's a personal letter. I didn't feel right reading it. I just checked for a check, haha. Here you go; I'll head down."
"Haha, thanks!"
Watching the penny-pincher Goodman leave, Carter pulled out two letters from the envelope. Gabe's parents' letter, like their act of sending the check, mainly expressed gratitude to Carter for taking in their son.
To Carter's surprise, Gabe's parents mentioned that he had a significant impact on their son. Since his runaway episode, Gabe seemed like a changed person.
He was no longer playing around as he used to but was instead diligently preparing for the SAT and browsing various college admissions information, getting ready to apply for universities.