My absurd experiences in North America over the years

In the second week of September, just before Li Fu was about to depart, the Australian dollar began a near-out-of-control surge, leaving him no choice but to postpone his trip to Los Angeles.

This momentum was extremely strong. When the Australian dollar/US dollar pair opened on Monday, it was hovering around 0.8550. By Wednesday, it had broken through 0.8700, and on Thursday it reached 0.8800. There was almost no pullback during the upward trend.

The combined fund's long positions in the Australian dollar continued to grow at an astonishing rate. On Friday morning in the Asian session, the Reserve Bank of Australia released a hawkish statement, hinting at the possibility of further interest rate hikes this year, and the Australian dollar jumped to above 0.8900.

The entire market was like a giant beast that had been awakened. All the short sellers were scrambling to escape, while buy orders poured in like a tidal wave, pushing prices up layer by layer.

The unrealized profit from the Australian dollar alone is around US$55 billion.

During a video call on Friday afternoon, Lina said with some concern, "Mr. Li, the volatility of the Australian dollar is too high right now. The risk exposure of overnight positions is widening. If there is any unexpected news over the weekend, there may be a gap when the market opens on Monday."

In professional terms, this situation is called "the end of the bullish cycle." In other words, market expectations often precede the market's reaction, but once the last positive factor is released, the market will believe that it has reached a high point, or at least a temporary high point.

Therefore, most people will choose to profit and exit the market.

"There's no need to worry about that," Li Fu said confidently. This one-sided market trend is not over yet, and even if there is a pullback, it won't fall too far. "Just raise the stop-loss level to lock in most of the profits. I expect it to surge again before the end of the year."

He has factual basis for this. In order to stimulate the economy and emerge from the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has almost turned deposit rates into negative rates, while the Australian dollar will continue to raise interest rates. One will fall and the other will rise, and this will not change for the time being.

Unless the large-scale infrastructure construction in China ends and North America emerges from the shadow of the financial crisis.

Following Li Fu's instructions, Lina did not make any rash moves. The Australian dollar/US dollar pair closed at around 0.8920, up more than 4% from the beginning of September and more than 26% from when the position was established in April.

The total unrealized profit from external sources has exceeded 70 billion.

After finishing his work at the foundation, Li Fu glanced at the time. He had promised Taylor Swift that he would accompany her to the awards ceremony. If he didn't go, Kanye would definitely grab the microphone and hurt her.

He dialed Thompson's number. "Rent a private jet, and we'll head to Los Angeles immediately."

The awards ceremony is tomorrow night, so he still has time.

Thompson immediately began contacting airlines. Public flights were almost nonexistent, but private jets serving the ultra-wealthy would always be available if one was willing to pay.

At 11 p.m. that night, Li Fu boarded a private plane bound for Los Angeles.

After the plane passed through the clouds, all that remained outside the window was the dark blue night sky and the faint starlight in the distance. Occasionally, turbulence would pass through, causing the fuselage to sway slightly.

He looked out the window in the darkness, several sets of numbers flashing through his mind: the Australian dollar's index, the size of the unrealized gains, the structure of the fund... and Taylor Swift's expression when she stood on the stage.

Those things were rotating on the same plane, with no clear boundaries between them, like a film negative that was slowly developing.

As for what he will do next, he himself seems to have no definite answer at this moment.

Finally, he closed his eyes and fell asleep to the low rumble of the engine, sleeping soundly until the plane landed at Los Angeles Airport.

On September 13, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

On the night of the awards ceremony, the entire venue was enveloped in huge lights and flashing screens, and the entrance was packed with reporters and audience members, creating an atmosphere usually reserved for major entertainment events.

Flashes of light continued to blink in the twilight, as if weaving a brief golden shell over the city.

When Li Fu arrived, the red carpet event was already nearing its end.

He entered through a side door wearing sunglasses, and under the guidance of staff, walked through a dark carpeted corridor via the VIP passage directly into the audience area.

Thompson was given a seat in the first row of the VIP section near the aisle by the organizers. It was inconspicuous but just within sight of the stage from the side.

After he sat down, he took off his sunglasses and glanced around. Not far away sat several faces he had only seen on television.

Lady Gaga's makeup was so exaggerated that she looked like someone who had traveled from another era. Britney Spears sat not far away in a sequined dress, her expression still carrying the weariness that comes with having experienced too many events.

Green Day's lead singer, Billy Joe Armstrong, was looking down at his phone...

More faces flickered in the lights, the flashing camera lens like a lake constantly rising and falling, each one a star at the forefront of the times.

He turned his gaze away and did not continue to examine it.

Taylor Swift was at the other end of the venue, more than ten meters away from the other person. This was not his deliberate arrangement, but rather because he had communicated with the organizers too late.

The ceremony began, hosted by Russell Brand.

Brand, dressed in a printed suit, made a few jokes about the nominees that evening in his distinctive British accent, eliciting a polite but restrained laugh.

Then the lights dimmed, and Madonna walked to the center of the stage. Dressed in black, she stood under the spotlight and then spent nearly eight minutes telling the story of Michael Jackson.

That was one of the few times she didn't use a teasing tone; there was something in her voice that transcended performance.

"Michael Jackson was born in August 1958, and so was I. He grew up in the suburbs of the American Midwest, and so did I. He became a superstar at the age of six, and my mother died when I was six... He seemed like a superhero from outer space, but he was also a normal person, and like other performers, he could be shy, nervous, and anxious..."

The entire venue fell silent, the lights dimmed again, and everyone paid tribute to the most renowned superstar of this era.

Then clips from "Thriller," "Bad," and "Smooth Criminal" began playing on the screen.

As the familiar dance moves and iconic melodies played, thousands of people in the audience fell silent.

This opening tribute segment was one of the few highlights of the awards ceremony. After the tribute segment, the ceremony resumed its normal pace.

Britney Spears won the Best Pop Video award for "Womanizer".

This is the true global superstar after Madonna, whose fame worldwide far surpasses that of Beyoncé; at least in China, everyone has heard of her nickname "Little Sweetie."

Britney walked quickly onto the stage, but her smile carried a caution born from having experienced too many ups and downs.

This is her first major award since a series of public controversies in 2008, during which she experienced a mental health crisis, a custody battle, and months of media attacks.

The fact that she can still stand on this stage to receive an award is itself a huge victory in a sense.

However, from then on, she became very cautious, quickly thanking everyone and leaving the stage as if afraid that staying even a second longer would lead to something going wrong.

Li Fu was present at the scene and recalled the sweet little girl from his past life. He must have been in junior high school at that time.

A rising superstar!

Despite having a promising future and being considered a successor to the legendary Madonna, she later lost her spark, leading him to suspect that Britney might have been set up.