Chapter 71: Filling the Coffers

As the London market began to offload, William White's wallet grew fatter. Fulton finally understood; trading silver was like a game of hot potato, where cashing in profits quickly was the key. Compared to their investment, the current returns were already a hundredfold, which was staggering. There wasn't much difference between this and hitting the jackpot. "Dang it, who's unloading all this silver?" Old Hunter looked frustrated. "Boss, we can't find out. The accounts they're selling from are too scattered." For the Hunter family, such an unloading level was disrupting their plans. If they couldn't buy the silver being sold, the silver prices would definitely be volatile. With the Russians preparing to handle Afghanistan, America might not intervene directly, but cheering from the sidelines was unavoidable. Tension in surrounding areas was inevitable as well. As the only hedge instrument, gold prices would absolutely skyrocket, which had a correlation with precious metal prices, making another silver surge inevitable. Given that a lot of selling happened at this critical moment, you can imagine Old Hunter's mood. They now judged that the sellers were not from American backgrounds. It was an easy deduction, as the first place they offloaded was the US, and they were very meticulous in their pacing. The situation now was entirely different. The operations in London were reckless, unloading without reservation as long as the market didn't crash. No hedge fund could withstand such continuous bleeding. The key was their low cost of setting up positions, allowing them to play the market without fear. The Hunter family had to keep borrowing, and it wasn't their only headache. Many futures guarantee companies noticed the risk. Without increasing collateral, this game became too dangerous. ... Futures leverage had reached a ridiculous level. It was no longer about increasing collateral; it required a complete change in the trading model. The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, and banks were suffering. They had no intention of lending and even began reclaiming large amounts of funds. Even users with good credit records were affected. Banks had never been places to offer lifelines. By aggressively pulling back loans, many small and medium-sized businesses went bankrupt. The economic crisis began to worsen. In these times, the public had become utterly disappointed, only hoping the crisis would pass soon. In the current election, no one talked about anything else. The economy was the only topic. The Democrats were in their death throes, hoping for a turnaround next year. Jim Carter was just the scapegoat. It's not as if he had exited the Bretton Woods system. But unfortunately, the public didn't care about these things; they only focused on their immediate interests. ... William White's strategies in navigating financial markets had been noticed by many forces. Even outside the financial world, institutions like Bank of America and Citibank couldn't possibly ignore it. They might not know exactly how much he's made, but estimating an approximate figure wasn't difficult. This not-yet-20-year-old kid caught the attention of many. Now his assets were measured in the billions. At the current growth rate, reaching ten billion didn't seem overly challenging. Birds of a feather flock together. A billionaire in America was at the pinnacle of society. There weren't many on record in the whole country, definitely not someone you could easily mess with. As a philanthropist, William White had long been in many's sights, and it now seemed evident it was his long-term plan. Adding the recent threats, it's clear he's not one to be trifled with. Now, he even had a sizable security company. Considering all these scattered bits of information, one conclusion emerged: William White cared a lot about his image, consistently elevating his status. At the same time, he seemed to lack a sense of security. Not many young people liked having so many bodyguards around, but William White was an exception. His bodyguards almost protected him 24/7; you couldn't even approach him at school. For someone this difficult, unless you wanted a fight to the finish, it was best to tread lightly. He's the kind that would hold a grudge and never let it go. The Hunter family? Ha! Serves those bastards right. Trying a hostile takeover of someone else's company has really created a mess for them now, hasn't it? Good grief! White Oil was a major risk. If things went as suspected, he already controlled over 50% of the shares, and he was just waiting to strike. The mess caused by the Hunter family held little interest for anyone. It was their mess to clean up. Everyone in this industry was a seasoned player, not some newbie. The Hunter family was again trying to have the government take the fall, similar to the soybean futures disaster from a few years back. But this time, they played bigger, risking lives. ... William White didn't attempt to hide this forever - it was impossible. By now, he was very satisfied. Some people chattered that silver would rise to fifty bucks. Exiting now wouldn't maximize profits. William White was well aware, but he realized this silver mess seemed like the Hunter family's solo act. Forget fifty; they wouldn't surpass thirty. It was a significant sum, not easy to cash out. Quite amusing when you think about it. Normal futures trading evolved into this bizarre state now. William White didn't have much in the game left. If another guy like him came along, they'd have to negotiate a resolution. The Hunter family lacked the ability to pay; William White wouldn't wait any longer. If these paper contracts turned into betting agreements, it would have been another major American invention. London had demanded increased margins long ago, nothing as absurd as America. If the situation hadn't been tense recently, liquidating those contracts would've been tough. But William White didn't mind crashing the market. If the banks couldn't handle it, that wasn't his problem. After all, they were the Hunter family's accomplices. Taking them all down together sounded pretty good. ... Home Alone was about to release its final trailer, and the hype surrounding the movie had reached its peak. Due to early snow in Toronto this year, the film's post-production was complete, and now it was just awaiting review. The review department was dissatisfied, clearly noticing he bypassed the usual processes. If they didn't approve the review, did William plan to release it as an R-rated film? However, they were in no position to sulk. The film's advertising never mentioned its rating, and trying to meddle could turn them into a laughingstock. Talking about Police Academy, they'd been thoroughly ridiculed. Envy and jealousy turned them into figureheads of hate, even earning the title of Hollywood bigwig's hatchet men. A movie making 250 million dollars at the global box office wasn't something these nobodies could criticize. They should achieve such success first before speaking. ***** https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.