Manhattan Reborn 1978

(Not finished yet, there is still one paragraph left)

sunset.

new York.

Manhattan, upstairs at Wildfire Bar on 42nd Street.

David returned home, locked himself in a new study room that was not used much, found a lot of blank paper, and tried to slowly smooth out the ideas according to the notebook he originally wrote down, writing on each piece of paper. More or less records~

Some of them are the name of a person and a brief description of his or her life experience; some are the name of a company and its future development trajectory in memory; some are the combination of certain people and certain companies in memory, which produces unexpected chemical effects; Some of them are major events that happened in the past life that affected the development of the world~

. . .

After working for several hours, David discovered that the entire study desk and floor were covered with notebooks and papers~

He took a few deep breaths, adjusted his state, and started the next round of work: classification!

If the time is too long and the span is too far, there will be many uncertain factors. .

David prioritized them and put them aside for now!

The records of the past five and ten years were left. David sorted them out in the chronological order in his memory and read them carefully~

. . .

The night is getting darker.

in the study.

David rubbed his forehead, which was beginning to swell, and reviewed the records of the past ten years. He took the records of the past five years and briefly looked through them~

Really are. .Very easy to browse ~

Because the records of the past five years are only a dozen pages~

On each of them, there is just a beginning written at the top of the record~

David can remember many major events from the late 70s to the early 80s, a turning period in the history of world economic development, but he has almost no impression of the small ones~

For example: If he didn't work hard to find information, he wouldn't have known and understood that the investment banks on Wall Street were going through an era of unprecedented change~

Stanley, this famous investment bank built by the legendary J.P. Morgan and self-proclaimed "aristocratic" on Wall Street, has reached the point where it will face the dilemma of being eliminated by the evolving market and era if it does not make radical changes~

Another example: After many interviews with Morgan Sr., as well as meetings with Sr. Wharton, Sr. David and others, David concluded that although many people are very concerned about the second oil crisis that will occur, and Each made some preparations to deal with the crisis.

But~

None of them knew that this oil crisis would not end as quickly as the first oil crisis in 74~

Moreover, the wide area and strong influence of this crisis will greatly exceed people's psychological endurance bottom line. .

In fact, the fate of many people and many countries will undergo huge changes in just three years~

For example. .Saudi Arabia in the Middle East!

And Iran and its former good neighbor, Iraq!

. . .

After a few minutes.

David stopped looking through the records and looked at several pieces of information recording changes in the gold commodity market~

In David's memory, the causes and consequences of many events are not very clear~

But among the information he could find, he was lucky enough to find key factors that could affect his plan~

For example: Ten years ago, in 1968, there was a run on gold in London!

After World War II, the United States established the hegemony of the dollar as the mainstream international settlement currency due to the Bretton Woods system~

But with the development of the times, the economic recovery of European countries after World War II, and the economic recovery of Asian island countries due to the U.S. war in Vietnam, was as fast as a rocket. .

Many manufacturing industries and factories in the United States are unable to bear the increasingly arrogant labor unions and rising labor costs. They have chosen to transfer their business to countries in South Asia where labor costs are lower, and build factories~

This made the U.S. economy, which was already running a fiscal deficit due to the impact of the Vietnam War, even worse. The credibility of the U.S. dollar hegemony also began to decline~

As a result, the pound and the franc launched a challenge to the hegemony of the dollar in the mid-to-late 60s~

The climax of this series of times was March 1968~!

The United States announced that it has closed the window for private individuals and companies to exchange gold, and only accepts central banks of various countries.Gold exchange business of state-owned banks~

After the decision was promulgated, the international hot money who originally ran between London and New York, relying on New York's 35 meters per ounce of gold and London's 41 meters per ounce of gold for arbitrage, became even more concerned about the international credibility of the rice dollar. , lost confidence~

Only then happened from March 1968 to 3, 9. In just one week, the gold reserves of major banks in London were exchanged, and the gold reserves were about to bottom out. The Federal Reserve Bank of America, which sought the United States, demanded that the gold reserves be exchanged for $15m/ The official price of an ounce in the Bullington Woods system, exchangeable for gold. .event~

but. .Unfortunately, France encountered the May storm in the implementation of its plan to return its sovereign currency, the franc, to the mainstream status of the international currency market. .Attack~!

In March 1968, the "May Storm" began to take shape. The ambitious French President Charles de Gaulle at the time had no choice but to withdraw the franc from the war to compete for the international currency, leaving this battlefield to the established international currencies, the British pound and the British pound. The new world currency hegemon, the rice dollar~

Emm. .

Of course~

The emergence of the gold run in London also greatly changed the views of all walks of life in the United States at that time. .The bottom line of character and moral cognition of international bankers. .

This move, using the convenience of the central banks of the two governments to exchange gold reserves, and the method of squeezing out the gold reserves of the United States, allowed the big international players in London to make a lot of money and have fun~

It also made some veteran bankers and capitalists in London, as well as those active on Wall Street in New York, pay more attention to the timely circulation of international funds and information, which in disguise promoted the development of the international free financial market and the rapid and timely exchange of information. Process ~

At the same time, the London gold run, which was stripped of its wool, also made the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government finally understand that the collapse of the Bollington Woods system is close at hand!

The slightest illusion that some people had in their hearts was ruthlessly shattered~

On August 1971, 8, President Richard Nixon announced that the dollar would be decoupled from gold.

Gold was finally taken away by Mi Yuan~

For the rice dollar, in order to maintain its position in the national currency currency market, it must find another currency value anchor or commodity in the market~

Therefore, after the third Middle East war and the first oil crisis~

Kissinger, then the U.S. Secretary of State, began a journey to the Middle East that was later called "shuttle diplomacy" ~

According to incomplete statistics that David could find, Secretary of State Kissinger has visited Israel at least twenty times. .

William Simon, then Secretary of the Treasury, also visited various countries in the Middle East for more than two weeks!

. . .

David put down the record in his hand and leaned back in his chair, recalling the period that was widely reported by newspapers, the United States' fire-fighting tour of the Middle East, and the following few months when the United States joined forces with the Saudi government to jointly announce "Immovable Agreement"~

The specific terms of the "Immovable Agreement" signed by the United States and Saudi Arabia in 1974 have not been made public to this day ~

but!

Its main contents are already well known~

The agreement stipulates that all oil exported by Saudi Arabia will be settled in U.S. dollars, and the proceeds from these oil exports will be used to purchase U.S. government bonds in exchange for full military, economic, and political support and assistance from the United States~

In these agreements, the so-called "all-round" support and assistance included what David could find. .The United States must ensure that Israel, the largest explosives country in the Middle East, will not take the initiative to cause trouble to Saudi Arabia in the future. .

Another important clause is that the U.S. government is responsible for coordinating the interests of major domestic oil companies and supporting the Saudi government's request to buy back its domestic U.S. oil company shares~

So~

In 1974, the Saudi government’s shareholding in domestic American oil companies increased to 40%~

In 1976, the Saudi government once again held a closed-door meeting with various domestic oil companies and reached a basic agreement for the Saudi government to fully take over the production, management, and operation rights of domestic oil companies~

. . .

David casually put together all the information he compiled today and prepared to lock it in a safe for temporary storage~

He rubbed his forehead, went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on his cheeks several times, stared at himself in the mirror, and showed a trace of ridicule~

Now, it's November 1978!

estimate. .Many people would never have thought that after Saudi Arabia bought back all its shares in domestic oil companies, it would become the world's largest "tycoon" country in just a dozen years~

hehe~

It seems that the "prince" Difar, who came to New York from Saudi Arabia, once said that he studied in London?

David wiped the water on his face and prepared to find a time and an excuse to meet and chat with Prince Defar before going to London~

----

District of Columbia.

Washington.

Mag Ludwig led his "old friend" Janet Patrick to a private party in Georgetown.

The hostess of this party, Pamela, the wife of the wealthy Harriman, had a flash of surprise in her eyes when faced with the two people's impromptu visit~

However, she reacted quickly, let Mag and the others into her home, and started chatting enthusiastically~

After some pleasantries and courtesies~

Pamela took the initiative to lead the two Magers to meet one of the two protagonists of tonight's party. Phil J., the next popular presidential candidate of the Elephant Party, came from a well-known swing state in the country, Illinois. Crane!

(Illinois is located in the east-central part of the United States map. The largest city in the state and its economic center is Chicago!)

Phil Crane, who had met Mag, saw the surprise and surprise in his eyes when he saw Janet Patrick following Mag.

Janet Patrick, in Washington a few years ago, was the media’s favorite figure~

The "Women's Equal Rights Movement Promotion Group" she leads continues to produce "women's news" that almost feeds dozens of newspapers, large and small, in the Washington area. .

If it weren't for her temporary show of mind, she stood up and publicly spoke to the media to support President Nixon after the "Watergate Incident" broke out. .

She would not have quickly disappeared from the public eye after President Nixon announced his resignation. .

Janet Patrick. .lady!

Yes, it’s Mrs. Patrick~

Tonight, her unexpected appearance made Phil Crane feel as if countless votes from the hands of "new free women" were coming towards him in front of him. .

Therefore, he expressed his goodwill to Mrs. Patrick very gently~

At the same time, she developed a very strong interest in Mag Ludwig, who was by her side and nicknamed the "Stupid Loyalist"!

. . .

After another greeting that was in line with social etiquette.

Phil Crane quickly glanced around with the corner of his eye. He didn't find his "rival" Wood, so he proposed to Mag and the other two that they go to the small garden outside to have a further chat~

The two Mages came to this party today with a clear purpose, and they happily accepted Crane's invitation~

They followed Crane to a table in the small garden.

The three of them sat down and started a conversation that both sides were looking forward to~

"Mag, the last time I heard my friend mention it, you were at Johns Hopkins University..."

"Haha~ Phil, we are very familiar with each other~"

"It's better to skip those time-wasting tests and just talk directly~"

"I am no longer suitable to appear by your side or join your campaign team~"

"Neither will Janet!"

“Only if you can win the internal competition within the Elephant Party, we will do our best to help you defeat the presidential candidate of the Donkey Party and win the next presidential election~”

"..."

Phil Crane, after hearing such "direct" words from Mag Ludweis, did not feel disappointed, but felt more of the other party's "sincerity"!

He kept a very relaxed smile on his face and continued: "You also know my old opponent in the party, Wood~"

"When he was governor of California..."

"Wood? Is he your opponent this time?"

"...Yes~!"

Mag Ludwig turned to look at Janet beside him, stood up quickly, and said with a smile.

"I think... you have misunderstood my willingness to reappear here~"

"I, we, will only choose the winner among you and cooperate with him!"

"I'm sorry, Phil~"

"Janet, you don't know Wood yet, do you?"

"Let's go~"

Ma pulled up to Janet who kept smiling, and turned around to walk into the big house to find the other protagonist of tonight's party, Astaire K. Wood~

The smile on Phil Crane's mouth froze. .

He took a deep breath, and several thoughts quickly flashed through his mind. He stood up and took two big steps to catch up with Mag. After saying sorry, he asked.

"You just said... us?"

"You can tell me, it..."

"No!"

"Who else do we represent?"

Mag Ludwig smiled freely, patted Janet's little hand on his arm, and whispered.

"I'm from New York!"

"My current boss is on Wall Street~"

"..."

"ok~"

"Thank you, Mag!"

"You're welcome, Phil~!"

. . .