Holy Roman Empire

The textile industry is the hardest hit area of ​​this crisis.Affected by the Austrian cotton spinning industry, they lost the market in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Western European market was attacked by the French.

This pillar industry of the British was hit hard in this economic crisis. Five giant companies with more than [-] workers went bankrupt in the economic crisis.

The streets are full of bankrupt people. Half a year ago, they were rich and prosperous, but now they are reduced to street refugees.

At the same time, affected by the economic crisis, exports shrank sharply.The gold outflow was serious, funds were tight, banks and enterprises went bankrupt, and the British ushered in the No. 11 crisis in economic history-the canal crisis.

After the outbreak of the economic crisis, the British government did not take timely measures to deal with it, but allowed the crisis to rage and make the crisis out of control.

Countless unemployed people took to the streets of London to demonstrate, and the capitalists also complained.Opposition parties blasted government inaction in newspapers, and the economic crisis led to a political crisis.

John Russell's cabinet encountered the biggest crisis of confidence since taking office.However, it's really none of their business, and under British law, the government has no right to interfere with a free economy.

The talkative party won't care so much, it's the government's fault anyway.Fortunately, Prime Minister John Russell did not interfere with the market, otherwise he would be charged with "interfering with free economy and causing economic crisis".

Needless to say, when politicians encounter problems that cannot be solved, the most common method is to resign.

……

In Vienna, the sudden economic crisis aroused Franz's attention.Unless it is a planned economy, overcapacity is simply unavoidable.

Now that there is a problem in the United Kingdom, Austria should not think about being alone. It will be a matter of time before it is affected.

Franz asked with concern: "The economic crisis is coming again, what measures does the cabinet have?"

Prime Minister Felix replied: "Your Majesty, judging from the situation from the UK, the impact of this economic crisis will be very large.

In order to get rid of the crisis, the cabinet decided to let the state-owned enterprises start to destock and dump the stocked goods to the world at low prices.

We have to compete with the British and French for time. The market is so big, and if the response is slow, it will fall into our hands. "

During the economic crisis, it is no longer the time to care about profits.The most important thing is to sell all the products and get a lot of cash in hand, so that the company can survive.

All it takes is an administrative order to let state-owned enterprises destock.Everyone will definitely implement it seriously, and few bureaucrats will be stupid enough to fight against the government.

Private companies are different. There is no way to issue such orders from the government to directly intervene in the market.In the capitalist economic market, the government cannot interfere with the normal operation of enterprises.

As the law maker, it is naturally impossible for the government to break the law.Besides, with so many companies having overcapacity, it is impossible to directly order them to cut production, right?

Anyway, the survival of the fittest in the market, there will always be a group of dead.Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain, whoever lives and who dies depends on his ability.

There is nothing wrong with the cabinet choosing to rescue the state-owned enterprises first, and the sons always receive preferential treatment.The unsalable products of state-owned enterprises are exported, and the pressure of domestic overcapacity is reduced.

Franz continued to ask: "Is the emergency plan ready?"

It's not that private enterprises cannot be rescued. It mainly depends on the specific situation of the economic crisis and takes measures according to the actual situation.

The government is not a nanny, and it is impossible to guarantee that enterprises will not go bankrupt.Whether it can survive or not depends on the capitalists' own judgment.

If you kill yourself, you will really die.Smart people saw the big movement of state-owned enterprises and started to follow suit early in the morning.

If you can't react, you deserve to be unlucky.Didn't you see that the royal family's property is running for their lives?

The Royal Bank can be regarded as the weathervane of the Austrian economy. As long as the bank tightens its monetary policy, there must be something wrong with the economy.

It is even more impossible to disclose the economic crisis. If you do that, if there is no economic crisis, you will artificially create an economic crisis.

Once the market panics, the losses will be more terrible than the economic crisis.According to Franz's experience, the economic crisis is a race, whoever runs faster is the winner, and whoever takes the set deserves to be unlucky.

Prime Minister Felix explained: "Your Majesty, this economic crisis is different from the past. It is purely overcapacity. Not only us, most European countries have overcapacity.

The American Civil War and the Russo-Prussian War made this crisis even more serious.Before the war broke out, there were signs of overcapacity in various countries.

Had a crisis erupted at that time, the market would have quickly adjusted itself.It is different now. It is initially estimated that domestic production capacity should exceed 30% of market demand, and some industries may exceed half of market demand, and it may be even higher.

We simply have no choice but to let the market survive the fittest and weed out the weak.Nowhere in the world can we find such a large market and release such a large production capacity. "

This is a sequela of making war fortunes. During the Russian war, most of the supplies were monopolized by Austria, which led to overcapacity in many industries in Austria.

After the war, the market self-regulated to a certain extent.However, economic transformation cannot be completed in a few months.

Now that the economic crisis is coming, many companies that are slow to respond will naturally be unable to escape.

Of course, the impact on large companies may not be too fatal. After all, the war fortune has been made in the past two years and capital strength has been accumulated.

As long as there is no blind expansion, we still have some money in our pockets and ammunition to survive this crisis.

The overcapacity is serious, which also means that it is impossible to get rid of the crisis by relying on external exports.With the outbreak of the economic crisis, the international market will soon shrink, and the only market belonging to Austria is the homeland and colonies.

Other overseas markets are not worth mentioning at all. It is not a question of market size, but a question of purchasing power.

In any case, Austria is also the world's largest economy in this era.There are two other countries with larger populations than Austria, but their markets are far from comparable.

Of course, if the colonies are counted, the ranking will move back one place.The British are still the kings of this era, and no one can compare with them.

Franz nodded, there is no solution, but it doesn't fit this period.The outbreak of the economic crisis has caused the crisis of traditional industries to break out.

To some extent, it also accelerated the outbreak of the second industrial revolution.Traditional industries do not have enough profits, so capitalists have to focus on emerging industries.

It is conceivable that it won't be long before Austria's emerging industries will blossom in all directions.In this context, Franz naturally would not intervene.

If the capitalists fall into the economic crisis, they can only be considered unlucky.Who is to blame for my poor investment vision?

It should be regarded as a sacrifice of the new era, shining for the second industrial revolution.

Chapter 6 The Big Dump

New York, the largest city in the United States, became even more prosperous after the war.Beginning in 1865, the U.S. economy began to resume growth, and everyone's life seemed to get better all of a sudden.

Of course, this is just an illusion.There is a sense of happiness when there is comparison. Compared with the war period, life now has indeed improved a lot.

The United States is rich in resources, and the population has been greatly reduced due to the war, especially the young and strong.

Affected by the relationship between supply and demand in the market, in order to obtain enough labor, capitalists had to introduce cheap black labor while raising wages to retain the original workers.

The increase in income has eased social conflicts.Today is the weekend, and Tom asked his girlfriend Elena out to play.

"Tom, have you noticed that the latest products are much cheaper. The price of a dress I was looking at last month has actually dropped by half."

Tom said distressedly: "I'm sorry, my dear. Our budget for this month has been spent, why don't we wait until next week to pay wages?"

Influenced by American culture, young people do not have the habit of saving money.As a member of the salary group, Tom only cares about prices in the half month after salary is paid.

In addition to keeping money for living, his salary can only support half a month at most.This is because he has a good job, an honorable employee of a securities company, and can barely be regarded as a member of the middle class.

The city of New York is both heaven and hell.

This place is only suitable for the rich to live, and it is better for the poor not to go out.Otherwise, the more you know, the sadder your life will be.

For Franklin's sake, Elena nodded.No way, with a limited income, if you don't plan carefully, you can't survive in the city of New York.

Not seeking the best, but seeking the most expensive, is New York in this era.The most expensive area in the United States, or the most expensive area in the world.

During the stroll, Tom's face gradually became gloomy.Advertisements for discounts and promotions are everywhere, ranging from clothing and footwear to machinery and equipment.

As a top student who graduated from Columbia University and is engaged in financial work, Tom is more sensitive to the economy.

This large-scale price reduction made him feel that something was wrong.Don't look at the fact that there are many people rushing to buy, but the total market demand has not changed.

The rush to buy now is equivalent to advance the purchasing power in the future.Fortunately, there is a tradition of the moonlight clan in the United States, and there is no advance consumption, which means that credit cards have not been born.

It's not that the capitalists are kind, it's mainly because the technology is not up to standard.I can't play with such a high-end thing, otherwise I would have advocated advanced consumption.

Tom smiled bitterly and said, "Eileen, it seems we are going to have a hard time."

Even if he can detect the problem, won't the higher-level capitalists not notice it?Any economic crisis is foreshadowed in advance.

In almost every economic crisis, the consortium standing at the pinnacle of capital has made a lot of money.If they lose, they are either too stupid to be cheated by their opponents, or they are too greedy to get the last Franklin.

Elena asked in surprise: "What's going on, are you unemployed?"

"No, but it's going to be soon," Tom replied.

Elena comforted: "It doesn't matter. With your ability, it's easy to find another job. The big deal is that starting next month, we will cut expenses."

……

While the two were discussing, the market had already fed back to the final production company.Affected by cheap Austrian goods, many companies' products cannot be sold.

The economic crisis in Britain is unknown to ordinary people, but it is not a secret among capitalist circles.

……

At the executive meeting of Citibank, President James said: "Everyone, according to the information we have collected, the number of ships coming from Austria has increased sharply recently, and they are all transporting industrial and commercial products.

From toothbrushes, screws, nails, to mechanical equipment.Almost all walks of life are involved, there is no doubt that this is a dumping.

Not only the Austrians are in action, but the British are not idle either.The number of ships departing from London to the United States increased by one-third.

The British are also dumping their wares on us, which is not a good thing for us.Our customers, in the face of the price war they set off, have no resistance at all.

In other words, the vast majority of American companies are powerless to resist.So we must take action, otherwise a large number of bad debts will appear in a short time. "

Citibank is the oldest bank on Wall Street, and it is not the giant Citigroup of later generations.The main business of banks is not arms, but lending and financial securities.

In this era, the U.S. military industry was very small, and the international arms export market was monopolized by European powers. In peacetime, these industries could not afford to support a bank.

At present, the connection between Citibank and military enterprises, that is, commercial loans, has not yet directly invested.Now that there is a crisis, the bank will naturally have to protect itself first.

Shareholder Babuno asked: "Mr. James, what are you going to do? If you want to push Congress to legislate, raise tariffs, and restrict the entry of foreign goods, I'm afraid it's too late."

Action was inevitable, a hangover from the Civil War.While intervening in the American Civil War, the four countries of Britain, France, Occidental and West also opened up the American market.

Naturally, it is not that simple to raise tariffs to protect the market.This is also the reason why Austrian goods can be quickly dumped in the United States. Without tariff restrictions, low prices become unfavorable.

The most troublesome thing is that these industrial and commercial products are not only cheap, but also surpass American products in all aspects of performance.

In this era, American industrial and commercial products have always been synonymous with knockoffs and inferior goods. Compared with imported goods, they can only rely on cheap to seize the market.

Now it is a tragedy. Austrian products began to sell with tears, and the British followed suit with discount promotions. The cold winter of the American manufacturing industry has come.

James shook his head and said: "Of course not, we are not the savior. The outbreak of the economic crisis is inevitable, even if it is to raise tariffs and protect the market.

What we have to do now is to stop losses and make a fortune in this crisis.I want authorization from the board of directors to temporarily suspend external loans.

For risky loans, I am also going to send someone to collect them in advance.At the same time, most of the securities and stocks in their hands were sold, and the bank dispatched professional traders to prepare to short the stock market. "

This is not to rescue the market, but to add insult to injury.But that's not the point, as long as you can make money.

A qualified capitalist always puts profit first.Conscience, sense of social responsibility, these lofty words are enough to talk about, anyone who takes it seriously would be stupid.

Especially in the 19th century, the bloodiest era of capital, the back of every Franklin was covered with blood and sweat.

There is nothing to discuss, and it's time to shuffle the cards again.Before resisting the invasion of European capital, you must first ensure your own survival.

What happened in the last economic crisis is still vivid in everyone's mind.Due to insufficient preparation and lack of sufficient cash in hand, there was a frenzied money panic in the United States, and Citibank almost went bankrupt.

With the development of the capitalist economy, economic crises are becoming more and more commonplace.In the beginning, it was once every few decades, then it became once every ten years, and soon it will become once every few years.

There are many financial capitalists who make the same choice, and there is no warmth in front of interests.In this age of the jungle, if we want to survive, we need to be ruthless.

Banks tightened their lending, and soon there was a chain reaction.Many companies are in trouble, including some companies with good profits, but also because of the broken capital chain, they are in the midst of life and death.

Instant layoffs and production cuts have become the most popular words in American society.The streets and alleys are full of people looking for work, but few companies are recruiting.The post-war economic boom that had just begun died just like that.

Not only in the United States, the same thing is happening in many places around the world.Austria just took the first step to open the door and diverted the economic crisis.

Immediately afterwards, the actions of the British directly dragged the whole world into the water.The world's largest industrial country is also the country with the most serious backlog of goods in the world.

In order to survive, the British capitalists dumped goods directly to the European continent.

France was the first to suffer. A large number of British textile products were imported at the price of cabbage. The Paris government raised tariffs repeatedly but failed to stop it.

There is no way, this time Austria took the lead and dumped goods to countries with relatively backward economies.By the time the British reacted, the purchasing power of the market had almost been exhausted.

There is no industry in these countries, and the dumping of industrial products will not affect the agricultural economy, and many people are even lucky to buy cheap goods.

European countries are different, everyone's industry has started.The dumping of goods by the British has seriously affected the economies of various countries.There is nothing to say, and they have played with the tariff firewall.

The crisis has magnified in continental Europe, and no one, including Austria, can survive alone, and a large number of companies go bankrupt every day.

Under the effect of tariffs, our international market is shrinking sharply.Fortunately for the colonial empire, at least the colonies have flood relief, which can alleviate the crisis.

Countries without colonies will suffer. For example, Belgium, a small industrial powerhouse, has been hit hard.Without overseas markets, Belgium's industrial production capacity was cut in half in 1868.

Poland, which had just gotten rid of independence, was not able to escape.Without the big market of the Russian Empire, Poland's fragile industrial system fell in the first wave of shock.

Even the export of agricultural products has not been spared.Originally affected by the economic crisis, international food prices plummeted.

In addition, they do not have access to the sea themselves, which increases tariff costs and directly causes Poland's agricultural products to lose their competitiveness.

This complicates the already contradictory Pubo relationship.The Poles hated the Kingdom of Prussia more and more, and imposed tariffs on their agricultural products.

In fact, the Kingdom of Prussia is also difficult to protect itself, and it doesn't care about the Poles at all.After the outbreak of the economic crisis, the British did not let go of their little brother.

A large number of British goods swept in, the fragile industry of the Kingdom of Prussia was hit hard, a large number of enterprises went bankrupt, and the unemployment population increased sharply.