The Great Sage Returns from Ten Years of Imprisonment

As the three major U.S. stock indexes all opened sharply lower, international oil prices experienced another rapid drop.

After several hours of slow upward movement, international oil prices finally rebounded to around $97, only to turn downwards again due to the collapse of US stocks.

In just about ten minutes, international oil prices plummeted to around $92, triggering the third circuit breaker of the day.

Seeing this, the joint investment team, which had once again entered the fray and shorted the market, made a fortune, and cheers erupted in the office area.

The Yuanda crude oil investment team, which had harvested two crops of profits, was overjoyed.

However, the combined profits of their two teams were far less than those of the United Securities Investment Team!

Since the US stock market opened, the office area of ​​the United Securities investment team has turned into a volcano.

"Lehman Brothers has already plummeted by over 25%, and it's expected to continue its downward spiral. Should we short it? This is a rare opportunity!"

An analyst standing nearby asked loudly, his face beaming.

Ling Yun turned to look at the guy and firmly rejected the suggestion.

"We can't touch Lehman Brothers, that junk stock. Lehman Brothers will definitely plummet by more than 90% today, but its market capitalization is too small for us to participate."

"Lehman Brothers is the biggest focus today. If we participate in the doomsday hype, the chances of exposure are very high, and the risks and rewards are completely disproportionate."

The analyst was stunned for a moment, and his face quickly turned red.

He glanced at Lehman Brothers' market capitalization and realized what a mistake he had made.

In his subconscious, he still regarded Lehman Brothers as a top financial institution with a market value of tens of billions of dollars, which could easily accommodate large-scale speculation!

But the reality is that Lehman Brothers' market value has just fallen below one billion dollars and is still plummeting rapidly, with no end in sight!

In this situation, if the joint investment team were to get involved in speculation, they would undoubtedly be asking for trouble!

Ling Yun didn't take the analyst's embarrassment seriously. He quickly turned back and casually opened the stock chart of Merrill Lynch.

As he predicted, Merrill Lynch opened sharply higher.

Then it rose against the market trend all the way up, and in just over ten minutes, the increase was close to 20%.

Ling Yun glanced at Merrill Lynch's stock price, casually picked up the microphone, and announced loudly:

"Attention everyone! If Merrill Lynch stock price rises by more than 28%, immediately close your positions to lock in profits from this long position!"

"Once Merrill Lynch stock rises by more than 33%, immediately short it, still investing $300 million, but with five times leverage!"

"The current US stock market is in a state of flux, and Merrill Lynch cannot stand out alone; it will definitely be dragged down by the overall market crash..."

The bigwigs and investment directors standing behind were all stunned for a moment, unable to react.

Unlike their reaction, the investment team responsible for Merrill Lynch's stock trading responded with a bang, almost reflexively.

"receive"

Only after their response did the bigwigs watching realize what was happening.

The CEO of CICC stepped forward, ready to raise objections and inquire about the basis of Lingyun's trading order.

Lou Dong tugged at his arm and gently shook his head.

"Don't worry, Lao Wang, Xiao Ling must have his reasons for doing this. Let's wait and see."

Chairman Wang immediately stopped and turned to look at Chairman Lou.

After a moment's thought, he nodded.

"Alright then, let's see how things go. I'm getting a little anxious."

Seeing that the two bigwigs quickly reached an agreement, the other investment directors who still had doubts simply gave up and temporarily put aside their questions.

When it was around 11:30 p.m., all the doubts completely disappeared.

The subsequent performance of Merrill Lynch's stock, as if secretly controlled by Ling Yun, was indeed characterized by dramatic ups and downs.

It initially surged ahead, rising by more than 34%, but was then dragged down by the relentless market crash, quickly falling from its peak.

It plummeted to near last Friday's closing price, and even briefly fell below it.

During this process, Lingyun directed the joint investment team to reap two harvests, one wave of going long and the other wave of going short!

The combined profits from the two harvests amounted to a staggering $1.2 billion!

Witnessing all of this firsthand, Lou Dong and the others were dumbfounded, and even found it hard to believe their eyes.

Immediately afterwards, they slapped their thighs in regret.

I regret not calling earlier to have the company's other investment teams follow suit and short sell; I've missed a golden opportunity!

After the second wave of short selling was completed, Lou Dong immediately stepped forward and patted Ling Yun on the shoulder.

"Xiao Ling, can you explain why you're so certain that Merrill Lynch's stock price will surge and then fall back, given such significant positive news?"

Ling Yun turned to look at this big shot and explained a few words with a smile.

"Merrill Lynch stock surged after the market opened today, reflecting the short-term support for the stock price from the news of the US-based bank's high-premium acquisition of Merrill Lynch!"

"The subsequent surge and subsequent decline in stock prices reflects the immense power of the current panic in international financial markets, especially in financial stocks, which all investors fear like the plague!"

"That's why, even with the positive news of Merrill Lynch's acquisition, investors are hesitant to hold their positions for the long term. For us, this presents an opportunity."

After hearing this explanation, Chairman Lou and the others finally understood.

"I see. It sounds simple, but there are probably only a handful of people in the whole world who can truly see through it and make predictions!"

"That was amazing, Xiaoling! Your series of moves were truly breathtaking!"

Lou Dong and the others were full of praise and gave him a thumbs up.

Ling Yun smiled and prepared to exchange a few polite words.

Just then, an analyst nearby suddenly announced loudly.

"AIG Group's stock price has fallen by more than 50%, and the trading volume is fifteen times that of the same period in normal times. Is it time to close out my positions?"

Everyone was taken aback by these words.

"Wow! AIG is the world's largest insurance group, could it really go bankrupt today?"

"Holy crap! A 50% plunge, plus the 31% drop on the 12th, is AIG Group heading towards becoming a junk stock!"

Amidst gasps of surprise, everyone looked up at the electronic screen on the wall.

Ling Yun quickly opened the AIG Group's stock price chart and began to examine it with shining eyes.

The next moment, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said loudly:

"Don't rush to close your position. We can wait until AIG Group's stock price drops by more than 60% before closing it."

"Today's sharp drop in AIG Group's stock was triggered by both the financial crisis and the credit rating downgrade; it hasn't bottomed out yet!"

"Moody's, S&P, and Fitch, the three major rating agencies, simultaneously downgraded AIG's credit rating today, which directly caused AIG Group's liquidity crisis."

"AIG Group currently needs at least several tens of billions of dollars to replenish its liquidity, but given the current situation, even if they begged and pleaded, they wouldn't be able to borrow any money."

"Therefore, AIG's stock price will continue to plummet, with a maximum drop of over 70% likely. We'll sell our shares in the negative 60% to 65% range, not making a single penny..."

"Hahaha"

Everyone burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

At the same time, everyone secretly gasped in shock!

We won't make a single penny, that sounds nice!

With your ruthlessness, you probably wish you could nail the coffin lid of the AIG Group shut completely before you would stop!

Subsequently, the stock price movement of AIG Group followed exactly as Ling Yun had predicted.

Its largest drop once reached around 72%, and it only rebounded slightly after positive news came in the afternoon New York time, eventually closing at a point where it had plummeted by 61%!

During this process, the joint investment team successfully completed the liquidation and profit-taking without attracting any attention!