Hong Kong variety show: The tycoon who emerged from Portland Street

Upon receiving Chen Mo's order, Henry and Pete immediately took action, making calls to the stock exchange one by one to sell the contracts held by Chen Mo.

Chen Mo remained seated in the trading room, staring at the numbers on the Bloomberg terminal.

An hour later, Chen Mo said, "Henry, come here for a second."

"Boss, any instructions?" Henry, who had just finished making the call, immediately ran over.

"Could you check the price of out-of-the-money put options on IBM stock for me?"

"Please wait a moment."

Henry immediately ran to the phone and made a call. Less than a minute later, Henry hung up and ran back to Chen Mo's side.

"Boss, IBM's stock price is currently $120, and the premium for a put option expiring in November with a strike price of $115 is only $3."

Upon hearing Henry's offer, a hint of joy flashed in Chen Mo's eyes: "Very good, buy ten million copies for me."

Upon hearing Chen Mo's order, Henry was shaken and pressed on, "Boss, IBM's stock price is very stable. Unless there is a stock market crash, its out-of-the-money put options are practically worthless, just a piece of waste paper."

"You're doing this..."

"Shut up!" Chen Mo interrupted Henry with a cold shout, glaring at him fiercely. "You just need to follow my orders; don't say anything else."

"Okay...okay, Boss."

Under Chen Mo's watchful gaze, Henry, disregarding the turmoil churning within him, immediately ran to make a phone call.

Although Chen Mo didn't say anything explicitly, the meaning conveyed in his orders was enough to send chills down his spine.

A put option is also a contract that gives the holder the right to sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before the expiration date.

Its greatest appeal lies in its limited potential for loss, but huge potential for gain.

The so-called out-of-the-money put option for IBM expiring in November at $115 means that the holder can sell one share of IBM stock at a price of $115 in November.

IBM's stock price is currently $120 per share, and the price is very stable.

Nobody wants to sell a $120 stock for $115, so it's worthless now.

However, IBM will become very valuable when its stock price falls below $115.

These out-of-the-money put options are similar to lottery tickets, betting that the stock price will plummet in a short period of time.

For a stock like IBM, which has been stable for many years, there is only one possible scenario for a sharp drop: a stock market crash.

In fact, in Chen Mo's memory, IBM's stock would plummet to $90 after the stock market crash.

At that time, each put option meant that a $90 share could be sold for $115, and its value was at least $25.

If the time premium is taken into account, it might be even higher.

Chen Mo's cost was only $3.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Chen Mo's 30 million will turn into 250 million, or even more.

Henry is an experienced trader.

If Chen Mo's shorting of stock index futures wasn't clear enough, then the meaning of buying ten million out-of-the-money put options on IBM is self-evident.

Chen Mo is convinced that a stock market crash will occur in the US, and it will happen soon.

Although Henry doesn't yet know why Chen Mo thinks this way, the possibility of a stock market crash is enough to frighten him.

Every stock market crash means that a large number of ordinary investors in the United States lose their fortunes and end up homeless.

Henry was deeply impressed by the stock market crash of 73 and 74 caused by the oil crisis, which was just over a decade ago.

He is now eager to tell all his friends and family the news so that they can prepare in advance.

However, he has now lost all contact with them.

The phone in the trading room could only be used to call the exchange's order runners, and Chen Mo's men were also watching over them.

He didn't dare to send messages out even if he wanted to.

Now, he can't do anything but follow Chen Mo's instructions.

Chen Mo knew that Henry might have guessed something, but it didn't affect his plans.

Since he chose a trader to help him with his transactions, he was prepared to be discovered.

Otherwise, why would he have Henry and Pete cut off contact with their family and friends beforehand? It was precisely to keep an eye on them.

Actually, even if they spread the news, Chen Mo wouldn't care.

Given the nature of these capitalists on Wall Street, if they knew a stock market crash was possible, their first reaction would definitely not be to save the market, but to find a way to get out early, and they might even make a fortune in return.

At that time, the stock market crash might become even more severe.

"Jimmy, you take a few men and stay here to keep watch. I'm taking your two sisters-in-law back first."

Chen Mo only had two instructions, and staying here would only mean staring blankly at the Bloomberg terminal, which wouldn't do any good.

These two operations used up 330 million of Chen Mo's funds, leaving 10 million US dollars in the account for emergencies.

As long as Henry and Pete carry out Chen Mo's two orders, they don't need to do anything else.

Chen Mo just needs to wait for next Monday to arrive; that will be the most crucial moment.

"Okay, Brother Mo, I'll keep a close eye on it." Jimmy didn't even turn his head, just stood next to Henry and Pete, watching how they quickly and efficiently sold off the 37500 contracts.

These are experiences that Jimmy couldn't learn anywhere else.

Chen Mo didn't pay attention to Jimmy's behavior. After smiling, he left with Gang Sheng, Qiu Di, and Ahua.

Shortly after Chen Mo left, Merrill Lynch held a high-level meeting.

The core of the meeting was Chen Mo's recent actions.

There are plenty of people in the US who have $300 million invested in the stock market, and Merrill Lynch's clients also have quite a few with assets exceeding $300 million.

However, Chen Mo is the only one who used $300 million to leverage 20 times and went all-in on shorting index futures with $6 billion without wanting to cause market volatility.

After finishing Chen Mo's business, John Fish immediately reported to senior management at Merrill Lynch.

As one of the largest brokerage firms on Wall Street, Merrill Lynch's top executives are extremely vigilant.

Upon learning of Chen Mo's actions, their first reaction was not "He was wrong," but rather, "Did he know something that we don't?"

Thus, a high-level discussion meeting was held to discuss the operation against Chen Mo.

At the meeting, senior executives at Merrill Lynch initiated an emergency internal study to re-examine the United States' macroeconomic data, market technical structure, and political risks.

After a group of top industry experts held discussions, they finally concluded that the stock market was indeed overvalued, interest rates were under too much upward pressure, and the US stock market was at risk of a rapid decline.

However, the risks are currently within a controllable range.

Chen Mo's actions may simply be a reckless gamble fueled by overconfidence.