[Chapter 516: The Bubble That Exploded Early]
Faced with the flustered Americans, the Japanese still chose to resist. They seemed to understand that the U.S. was the U.S., and the Treasury Secretary was the Treasury Secretary; they were not the same thing.
Most of the time, these American politicians primarily considered American interests. Of course, they unconsciously equated the corporations they represented with American interests.
Is there a conflict? It seems like there isn't much difference, right?
Well, it depends on how you look at it. From a global perspective, it's better for Japan to be a bit stronger. After all, their dependence on the U.S. is all-encompassing. Economically and politically, they were fully leaning towards America.
When it came to the Federal Reserve and the corporations, their thoughts were different. Whether or not the Japanese could develop was not their concern, or rather, not at the moment.
However, the threat from Japan was very real. Curbing Japan's rapid development was now the top priority. Alright, that talk was mostly nonsense. The main reason was that the corporations were getting anxious. If they allowed Japan to continue developing, the existence of Wall Street would be a joke.
Understanding the situation, the Japanese stopped hesitating and began implementing targeted monetary tightening.
They applied total control over land finance, a forced emergency stop that accelerated the already naturally declining bubble economy and led to the collapse of the long-term credit system that supported the core of the Japanese economy.
After that, Japanese banks also adopted a policy of financial tightening, further amplifying the impact of this policy.
Having done all this, the Japanese seemed to have some lingering concerns. Rumors surfaced that the Japanese government was planning to raise taxes on land transactions and holdings.
Though Wall Street had anticipated all of this, they were still taken aback. "This sounds a bit like the capital gains tax from Taiwan. Doing this could lead to big problems."
Regarding their anger towards the U.S., the Japanese emphasized their close ties with Japan and America. "If absolutely necessary, we can offer some extra protection money. If that's still not enough, go directly to the Bank of Japan for it."
Next, it was time for the U.S. to be bewildered. Don't think that only you have tricks up your sleeve.
...
"Sir, that's about the gist of it. At least half of the corporations' money is caught up in Japan," said Filson.
"Ha, the exchange rate has risen more than twice, and stock prices have nearly tripled. The increase in land prices is even more absurd; you need a lottery to buy a house now. I think they've gotten a bit too greedy," replied William White.
Filson smiled bitterly, "You can definitely say that. It's become clear now: the money in your pocket is the real deal. As for the wealth on paper, it doesn't mean a thing."
"That was outrageous not long ago. Those who didn't understand probably thought they were buying a lottery ticket! Ha! Winning a house in a lottery -- the creativity is something else," laughed William. "Ha ha! Filson, they must be having a headache now. We can speed up our plans. We need to expedite the integration of refineries and gas stations."
"Okay, sir. In this situation, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly."
William White laughed, genuinely pleased. He had always been the one in trouble. This time, he let them see what he could do.
As for the fact that Japanese housing prices still showed no signs of falling, he was not too concerned. Let's face it, a high price without any transactions doesn't matter at all.
Land is different from stocks; there's a cost to trading both back and forth. Without bank credit support, high prices were just a joke. If one wanted to secure a loan from the bank, they might have to settle for half the price.
Even so, this was under the condition that housing prices had not decreased. If prices significantly dropped, the loan percentage would be even less favorable.
...
William White was right; a group of old-timers were indeed in a bind. The Japanese were usually quite obedient and cooperative. However, they had reached a critical moment, and asking them to comply seemed a bit excessive.
The key point was that many people did not take their actions seriously. Essentially, their interests were just theirs, not significantly related to others.
Of course, they could not neglect the developments surrounding William White. However, they realized a problem: the situation was completely out of control, and what they needed to worry about was not how to stop William White, but whether this guy would actually go after their industry.
"What? Still the oil industry? Alright, let Rockefeller worry about it. As long as this guy doesn't plan to enter investment banking, we need to express some goodwill."
"Sir, they're essentially already an investment bank," replied a subordinate.
"Ugh, this guy."
Alright, like the older folks at Morgan Stanley, most of the corporations kept silent. Some even seemed pleased by it.
Regarding this de facto eleventh consortium, while they felt somewhat displeased, they had no choice in the matter.
Yes, they had gotten used to being unreasonable, but they couldn't act against someone even less reasonable. If they annoyed this guy, it could end badly.
The disaster in Detroit taught them that playing unfair would surely lead to an unpleasant experience.
Although the old-timers were unhappy, they couldn't afford to take things too seriously. Of course, they could pretend not to care, but Rockefeller couldn't do that.
It had been so many years since they last faced provocation; it seemed like it was from the last century. Could it be that their decision to retreat really was a mistake?
In truth, Morgan Stanley and Rockefeller had some similarities. Their immense power had attracted dissatisfaction from various forces. To avoid being the target of everyone's ire, they had to make some sacrifices.
Consequently, Morgan Stanley faced division, and the Morgan family lost actual control. As for Rockefeller, they had to abandon their political infiltration. Simply put, making money was fine, but if they dared to covet anything beyond that, they had to watch out for provoking public outrage.
Suppressing oil prices clearly targeted the Soviets. As for Rockefeller, perhaps he was just an incidental target.
After all, controlling over half of the oil companies was still quite intimidating.
Suppressing prices was a logical action; whoever sat in the Oval Office would do the same.
...
"Dad, I found out he's quite determined and doesn't mind standing up to those old-timers," said his son.
"Ha ha, being young is great."
"Dad, you're not going to handle the Japanese issue? Those old-timers are getting anxious."
"Hmph, they haven't made enough money yet. What the hell are the interests of the United States? It's ok to drag them along, but these assets cannot be moved."
Bush Jr. felt a bit confused, thinking, Aren't we supposed to be united against external threats? Why give a break to the Japanese?
"Oh, I see! Ha ha, with this, William White's acquisitions will be much easier."
"Ugh, this guy is just as lucky as ever."
"Dad, it won't be long before William White faces some restraints, right?"
"That's exactly what makes him smart. Don't you see? He doesn't have many industries in the U.S.," replied his father.
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