The dividend plan from Legendary World was indeed eye-catching. Despite facing issues, the dividend amount surprisingly exceeded last year's by 10%.
Upon seeing this plan, a group of elite Wall Street analysts could only cover their faces and weep. Before this, no company had held its dividends in high regard, believing that Legendary World needed to conserve resources for the winter.
The reason was clear; various game companies were popping up like mushrooms after rain. One appeared here, another there. Once their games hit the market en masse, it would naturally dilute Legendary World's sales.
Did they really think that the PS2 would stay closed forever?
That was simply impossible; there would always be someone bold enough to cause trouble. The U.S. had never lacked for those kinds of people.
It was hard to judge these individuals' morals; barring any unexpected events, they often served as moral examples. This Justice Secretary was no different, although he was a bit unfortunate in that he was quite the traditionalist.
Consequently, everyone thought Legendary World's profits would decline, and its monopoly advantages would weaken. If their estimates were correct, in a few years, the company might just fade into the crowd.
William White, however, didn't seem to play by the rules this time, choosing instead to offer another large dividend.
How should one put it? The shareholders might be satisfied, but the stockholders wouldn't necessarily be. Some might argue that there's no difference, but there really is.
At least for those sitting on the board, their stocks couldn't just be casually sold off; they had to disclose that. The scattered stocks on the market had holders who were more eager for price increases, highlighting two different mindsets.
An approach that ensured stable stock prices while also offering high dividends was naturally the most popular. Before the antitrust investigation, Legendary World was that kind of company.
As the stock price fluctuated, some more conservative investors started to cash in their profits. They were most averse to risk and didn't like bouncy stocks at all.
With the cautious investors leaving, what remained were the unstable factors. Thus, Legendary World's stock began to jump wildly again.
The only difference this time was that institutions were no longer willing to take on short-selling jobs. These institutions were pretty hurt; if their investors lost and jumped ship, they would be the ones held accountable for those losses -- which weren't small sums. If that was to happen a couple more times, the institutions would be in trouble too.
Most irritating was the fact that Legendary World's buyback wasn't finished, which meant they could strike back at any moment.
Setting that aside, William White's other companies were indeed providing real dividends. In this cash-is-king era, not many were doing that.
...
"Sir, the fund under William White is also selling off, though not a large amount, but they're determined."
"Really? Is there some kind of movement? It seems unnecessary at this time of year."
"Is there a chance of delisting here in the States?"
"Can't tell in the short term. But don't be surprised; if he stirs the pot again, there could be privatization and delisting."
"Go check with Higgs at Goldman. Is this a possibility?" Morgan Stanley was in a bit of an awkward position; even if relations with William White had cooled down, it wasn't back to where it used to be.
The old-timer was thinking too much. Given the current stock price, it remained quite robust; how could there be talk of delisting? Generally, if a stock price isn't reflecting the company's fundamentals, it's usually the major shareholders who decide to do that.
Legendary World clearly didn't have that problem; its current stock price was still pretty reasonable. Though the Justice Department's actions caused some trouble, it hadn't reached the point of delisting.
No matter how much William White played around, he was still tremendously busy at year's end. At that time, he always needed to make some personnel adjustments and set plans for the coming year.
Speaking of which, this wave of stock market rises was diverging from the fundamentals. A considerable influx of overseas capital was returning just to chase high interest rates.
The banking system was overflowing with cash, and naturally, that money made its way into the capital market. Even if individuals were aware of the risks, there was little they could do.
It was easy to attract deposits, but lending money was tricky. After all, interest rates were quite high at the moment.
...
"Sir, the think tank's analysis shows that risks in the U.S. stock market are escalating. Economic performance is lagging and can't support current stock prices."
"I see. Let's keep reducing our stakes; first, sell off financial stocks, then reduce manufacturing, and finally, the IT sector last."
"Understood, sir. The Hong Kong stock market is also acting overly enthusiastic, or rather, they're a bit insane right now."
"Ha, their size is too small. Do this: keep half your positions, but move slowly. Don't stir up any turbulence." Overall, William White's strategy was becoming more conservative; he was no longer chasing excessively high-yield products.
*****
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