Chapter 629: The Legendary William!
Upon learning that the gold price had surged to $610 per ounce in less than half an hour, Billy, George, and the others all turned pale.
In other words, excluding other expenses, Li Yi had already lost nearly $200 million on this investment.
That’s two hundred million dollars!
Although the money lost belonged to Li Yi, it was by no means good news for Billy, George, and the others.
This wasn’t just about the amount of their commissions and bonuses; more importantly, it touched on the professional reputation of every member of their two teams.
After all, every investment advisor has a performance record: the more investors earn, the more impressive the advisor’s track record becomes—and vice versa.
It can be said that, to a certain extent, these people share a common interest with Li Yi!
When one prospers, they all prosper; when one suffers, they all suffer!
“Boss, what should we do now? Should we retaliate against their move?” Billy asked, his expression stern.
However, Li Yi’s reaction left Billy somewhat baffled. He glanced at his watch and said, “No rush. Let them run around for a while first!”
“Huh?”
“Boss, I know Old William. He’s like a hungry wolf—once he decides to act, he won’t stop until he achieves his goal. We have to be prepared!” Billy said.
“Billy, their objective is clear—they want to wipe us out. Since we know what they’re after, what’s there to worry about?” Li Yi said calmly.
“But…”
“There’s nothing to ‘but’ about. The sky isn’t falling!”
Then Li Yi added, “Do you remember what I told you this morning before we came here? What we were here to do today?”
“To watch a play?”
“It’s a big show. Of course, your interpretation isn’t wrong—after all, you don’t have any big shows around here!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Boss, I don’t quite understand your thinking. Business is like a battlefield—we can’t be so careless!”
Billy was undoubtedly an excellent investment advisor. He was deeply concerned about the current situation and tried to reason with Li Yi in his own way.
Li Yi, however, remained completely unmoved. With a calm expression, he said, “Keep monitoring the market changes. Unless the gold price rises to $630 per ounce, there’s no need to report the situation to me for now!”
“Alright then!”
With that, Billy turned and left the VIP lounge, heading toward the trading floor!
Watching Billy’s retreating figure, a strange expression flashed across Li Yi’s face.
It wasn’t that he was underestimating his opponent or being careless; rather, it was because he had absolute confidence!
After all, if the other side wanted to force them into a margin call, they would have to push the gold price above $720.
Given the current situation, driving the gold price up by $120 wasn’t something that could be achieved with just tens or hundreds of billions of dollars.
Yesterday, they had injected $10 billion worth of futures contracts into the market, yet in the end, they had only managed to drive the price of gold down by a mere $3.
Even if the other side could mobilize $10 billion in capital and use 10x leverage, the market capacity they could leverage would amount to no more than $100 billion.
Yet the gold futures market in New York—and indeed across the entire United States—is worth far more than $100 billion.
It’s not that Li Yi underestimates the reinforcements brought in by the British-funded group; they simply don’t have the clout to push the international gold price up to $720—unless the Red Alliance actually takes military action against Europe, which is completely out of the question.
And setting aside whether that legendary William has the capability—even if, for the sake of argument, he did—the U.S. government would likely never give him the chance.
The reason is simple: the U.S. is currently experiencing unprecedented high inflation.
Double-digit inflation has left ordinary people suffering terribly; both the middle class and the working class are full of complaints, and the new president promised before the election to find ways to bring down the high inflation.
They’ve already made all the necessary preparations and are about to take action. All Li Yi has to do now is sit back and wait.
So, he really isn’t worried!
……….
While Li Yi sat calmly waiting for the show to begin, in a VIP room diagonally across from him, several white men were also watching the unfolding situation.
At that moment, a gray-haired middle-aged white man, surrounded by a crowd, asked with a stern expression, “Kum, what’s the situation out there?”
“It’s already at $618 and is surging toward $620!”
“Not enough. Keep pouring in funds. Push the price up to $630 before 12 o’clock!”
“Yes, sir!”
Just then, a portly, elderly white man standing next to the middle-aged man suddenly asked, “William, what price do you think they can hold out at?”
“Although Sharp’s team has maintained strict confidentiality, we currently don’t know how much capital they’ve invested or what leverage they’re using. However, reports from our contacts in Hong Kong indicate that their investment should be between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars!”
William continued, “And yesterday’s trading volume for gold futures here in New York reached a staggering $12.2 billion, whereas the daily volume here is usually only around $6 billion. That means at least $6 billion worth of futures contracts were suddenly added yesterday. From this, we can infer that the other side’s capital is likely around $1 billion, and they’re probably using 5 to 6 times leverage!”
“Based on that calculation, assuming they don’t add more margin, they can withstand a price increase of up to $60 at most!”
The old man nodded and said, “So when do you think we can close the net?”
“Under normal circumstances, it won’t take more than three days!” William said confidently.
“Hahaha, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease!” the old man said with a laugh.
“Kum, what’s the reaction from those Hong Kong guys?” William asked again.
“No action so far. They haven’t moved any funds, nor are they rushing to buy back contracts. Everything is calm!”
“Calm?” William asked, furrowing his brow.
“Right. I just saw Billy head back to the front lobby. Although he didn’t look too happy, he didn’t seem particularly panicked either!”
Hearing this, William couldn’t help but frown!
He had expected that upon seeing the gold price skyrocket, the other side might rush to raise funds to increase their margin or immediately pour money into buying up contracts.
He had even prepared a contingency plan: if they increased their margin, he would continue driving up the gold price until he crushed them.
If the other party was prepared to cut their losses and exit the market, he would still drive the gold price higher and, taking advantage of the situation, sell the futures contracts he had already snapped up at a high price to the other party, squeezing as much profit as possible out of those Hong Kongers.
But he never expected the other party’s composure to be so unwavering—which gave him a sense of foreboding!
The calmer the opponent appeared, the greater their confidence in shorting gold.
At the same time, it meant that the risks of their long positions in gold were growing.
He reviewed the operation once more. The factors influencing gold price fluctuations boiled down to three: the US dollar’s trajectory, policy expectations, and the global political and economic landscape.
Before launching the operation, he and his team had conducted a comprehensive analysis of these three factors. The US dollar was currently weakening, the international situation remained volatile—particularly with the Bear Alliance’s ongoing threat to Europe—and under such circumstances, the price of gold could only rise, not crash.
They had even specifically consulted with economic advisors at the White House to confirm that the government would not take any action in the short term. Only after thoroughly considering all aspects did they decide to take down those people on Hong Kong Island.
But now it seemed there was something they hadn’t accounted for!
Just as William was racking his brain, trying to identify any remaining uncertainties in his plan, a blonde, blue-eyed female secretary hurried into the room.
She approached William and spoke a few quick words. After hearing her report, William’s previously confident expression changed instantly, and he jumped straight up from his seat…
………