Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 414 Third-Party Data (First Update)
The Times went even further, running a headline that read "ten million dollars," a massive headline in Arabic numerals, with the word "reward."

The contents reveal the mastermind behind Li Song's offer of a reward of one thousand people to find the assassin.

Newspapers and media outlets across Europe were reporting on this matter extensively.

Moreover, coincidentally, European newspapers included the conflicts between Li Song and Boeing, as well as the conflicts within the Aramco automotive industry, in their reports.

In addition, it quoted Li Song's imaginative line, which was translated into various European languages, such as a skull flying up, a hole in the head, and even Kennedy's death.

The issue is generating a lot of discussion among Europeans.

"My God, this must have been done by those nouveau riche."

"Yes, only those dirty, barbaric nouveau riche would do such a thing."

“I’ve said it before, a nouveau riche is a nouveau riche.”

"Yes, the earliest people to go to Ami were either thieves or wanted criminals, so it's not surprising that their descendants do this kind of thing."

"They still think it's two hundred years ago, the era when they used firearms to hunt down those natives, and they're using such a barbaric method..."

"We in Europe are the cradle of civilization!"

This is the mentality Europeans have towards the Amerindians.

Europeans also understand that the America was able to grow up entirely because of World War I, while during World War II the America acted as a fence-sitter.

America's unique geographical location led to its extensive trade with both sides during World War II, only to reap the benefits later.

The key to the victory in World War II was actually the British, but later Europe and America continued to glorify themselves and never acknowledged the British's contributions during the war.

Of course, the US military made great contributions in the Pacific, but it also gained a lot. The US military acquired almost all of its bases in the Pacific during this period.

After World War II, Europeans felt uncomfortable facing the nouveau riche Amerindians. Unable to compare them from a purely financial perspective, they could only compare them from a civilizational perspective. Therefore, Europeans considered the Amerindians to be barbarians and nouveau riche.

Amei is the same; on the one hand, she looks down on the decline of Europe, but on the other hand, she follows European fashion trends.

They just don't like each other.

As New Yorkers headed to work in the morning, they heard newspaper vendors shouting: "World-renowned writer Li Song has been assassinated!"

These newspapers didn't care what Li Song said at the time; the more sensational the headline, the better the newspaper sold.

"World-renowned writer Li Song has offered a reward of ten million US dollars to find the mastermind behind the hitman."

"We were called barbarians by Europeans."

"Trade dispute escalates to assassination!"

Many newspaper headlines in New York are in large red.

New Yorkers rushed to buy newspapers, whether it was about Li Song's assassination or the ten million dollars, it was all very eye-catching.

The public is also aware that Boeing, Aramco, and Li Song have many disputes.

Boeing's stock price fluctuates, making money for many but also causing many others to lose money.

In this era, America is gradually transforming from a major manufacturing country into a major financial country.

Finance and manufacturing appear to be complementary, but in fact they are also contradictory.

When you can earn in a day what you would earn in several years of working in the stock market, most people can't resist the temptation.

This is why in the stock markets of some Eastern countries, anyone who enters will get burned; it's because once financialization occurs, the manufacturing industry is essentially finished.

Moreover, at that time, the currencies of some Eastern countries could not be compared with the Aramco's currency. Once financialized, Brazil became an example.

Brazil had a highly developed manufacturing sector in the 1970s, with strong capabilities in high-end manufacturing industries such as shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing.

These were industries that benefited from orders that spilled over from Europe and Aramco during World War II.

After World War II, orders shrank and manufacturing struggled, so Brazil followed Aramco in financialization.

Of course, Brazil at the time believed that following Aramco would be a sure thing, and that they could learn by doing.

Unfortunately, Aramco's financialization relies on its currency.

Brazil has nothing, and its geographical location destined it to be Aramco's backyard, so Brazil's fate was sealed long ago.

To cross the river by feeling the US's footsteps, one must have the capability; otherwise, the US will simply bury them.

Some Aramco newspapers reported that Li Song had survived an assassination attempt, and also included Li Song's life story, focusing on his conflict with Boeing.

In fact, most Americans guessed that Boeing was behind this when they saw the headline.

No one knows better than Amy herself what capitalists are capable of.

Furthermore, some newspapers quoted Li Song, comparing himself to the imaginative Kennedy.

There are many theories surrounding Kennedy's assassination on Amazon, with most suggesting that the Federal Reserve was behind it.

Moreover, many members of the Kennedy family died in the years that followed, which many people saw as a show put on by capitalists.

It's a warning to everyone: don't touch what you shouldn't touch.

When Boeing learned of this, the new president wondered to himself, "Could it be that one of the shareholders did this?"

The new CEO certainly knows who Boeing's shareholders are and how much influence they wield at Aramco. Boeing has indeed been thoroughly messed up by Li Song recently.

The president also knew that it wasn't just Li Song involved, but also Wall Street capital, because Wall Street loves this kind of news the most.

The more Boeing's stock price fluctuates, the more Wall Street profits.

It's not just about the stock price itself, because as long as funds are flowing, Wall Street can benefit from it.

On the one hand, it can increase the company's cash flow, and on the other hand, there are various other expenses.

The president knew that Wall Street capital was the main force, but the real culprit was Li Song, so it was only natural for the shareholders to want to get rid of Li Song.

However, the president was very troubled because Boeing's stock price had fallen again. He saw the newspaper reports and assumed that it was the work of his own shareholders. What about the other people?
Moreover, Boeing has no way of explaining this matter.

Since neither the newspapers nor Li Song said who did it, what will people think if I come forward and say it wasn't me?

"Sigh!" The new president knew that he would probably have to leave soon, because the stock price was sure to fall.

Wall Street won't let Boeing off the hook, and naturally, the stock prices of other car companies will also fall as a result.

The phone rang, and the Boeing president answered it. It was a shareholder on the phone, who asked the president to come up with a solution.

The president outwardly agreed, but inwardly he felt somewhat helpless. What should he do in this situation?
Then other shareholders called, and some even verbally abused him.

The CEO was incredibly frustrated. He was the one who had to clean up the mess that the others had made in private, and there was no way to resolve it.

As expected, when the stock market opened, the stock prices of Boeing, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford all fell sharply.

The newspaper also featured a price comparison between BMW and Aramco vehicles, as well as a comparison of the manufacturing processes and features of BMW and Aramco vehicles.

There are even test data from third-party organizations for BMW cars.

Several Aramco car companies are also working together to push for tariff policies targeting foreign cars.

Many of these third-party testing agencies have financial institutions behind them, and they release some testing data when appropriate.

As for whether the data is fake, that's hard to say.

As a result, the stock prices of Ford, GM, and Chrysler also fell. Although the newspapers did not explicitly state this, the public could easily infer the reason.

What is the stock market?
It really comes down to whether the public believes it or not.

General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler are indeed pushing for related policies, ostensibly aimed at BMW.

Actually, it refers to something else entirely. In 1980 and the first few months of 1981, due to the impact of the economic crisis, Toyota Motor Corporation ranked second in the Aramco market, while General Motors ranked first.

Toyota cars offer good value for money and are fuel-efficient.

Aramco is dissatisfied with Toyota, but Toyota's actions have left these companies helpless.

Toyota chose to build its factories in Afghanistan, which naturally garnered support from some people.

Because the Toyota factory provides local employment opportunities and tax revenue.

The automotive industry is a huge industrial chain. Toyota's factory in Aramco naturally involves upstream and downstream supply chains, so it's not easy to mess with Toyota.

Now BMW is back, offering even better value for money. It's no exaggeration to say that GM isn't worried.

Ford was even more panicked!
And some people are even more panicked, like Toyota.

Toyota focuses on cost-effectiveness, fuel efficiency, and affordability.

Toyota used this tactic to gain a foothold in Amazon and then became the second largest market share company.

Now BMW has come up with something even more ruthless, and Toyota is scared too.

In addition, companies in the upstream and downstream industrial chains of these companies, as well as local areas, are also feeling a sense of crisis.

Naturally, someone pushed for the proposal.

For the Amis people, not many people knew much about BMW cars before.

The main reason is that Li Song's production capacity is limited, and he hasn't started large-scale publicity. As for the capitalists' media, they certainly won't promote it if they don't pay them.

But this time Wall Street is going to stir things up, so they need to bring up BMW for comparison, so that the American people will suspect that several car companies are behind it, making it easier to manipulate stock prices.

BMW's data was then released, and it was even from a third-party test.

That evening, Wall Street capital began to exert its full force.

ABC television directly invited the head of a third-party testing agency and industry experts to analyze BMW cars.

"Hello everyone, this is ABC Television. Our guest today is Lear, a senior engineer from J.D. Testing." The ABC Television host introduced the person from the third-party testing agency.

Founded in California in 1968, J.D. focuses on research and development in the automotive field. It became famous in 1973 for its report on Mazda's rotary engine and eventually became one of the world's most authoritative third-party market research institutions.

These third-party organizations need opportunities to become famous; otherwise, it's meaningless.

When BMW cars came out, J.D. keenly realized that this might be an opportunity, so he used many means to obtain a BMW van prototype and disassembled it for testing.

Unexpectedly, the opportunity came, and someone offered a high price. Of course, J.D.'s test data is authentic and reliable.

Although this might offend several major American car companies, third-party companies are always looking for trouble, so J.D. doesn't care. What J.D. cares about is whether it can seize this opportunity to become famous like it did in 73.

(End of this chapter)