When the U.S. stock market closed on the afternoon of August 15, the first trading day officially listed, Verizon's stock price had soared 71% compared to the issue price of $10.75, and the closing stock price was $1.838 billion. Based on the total share capital of 3.973 billion shares after the listing, Verizon's market value increased from US$42.7 billion before the listing to US$73 billion.
The next day is July 16, Friday, the last trading day of the week.
Not only did Verizon's stock price not show a correction, but it rose again by 51% amid the crazy pursuit of the capital market, quickly breaking through the 100 billion U.S. dollar mark, with a closing market value of 110.9 billion U.S. dollars, becoming another giant in the Westeros system with a market value of 100 billion U.S. dollars. No tyrants.
Not only that, Verizon's listing once again strongly boosted the rise of the entire Nasdaq market.
In just two days, Nasdaq achieved two '5000' achievements in one fell swoop.
First, the Nasdaq index broke through 5,000 points. At the close of Friday, the Nasdaq index finally reached a high of 5,073 points.
At the same time, the U.S. stock market also gave birth to the first company with a market value of 500 billion US dollars, Yigrit. The market value was fixed at 513.6 billion U.S. dollars on Friday afternoon. It was only a short time since Yigrit’s market value exceeded 400 billion on July 15. For a month, the crazy state of the technology stock market was once again demonstrated.
In addition, as the world's largest network equipment supplier, Cisco's market value closed at US$436.5 billion that afternoon, becoming another US$400 billion technology giant.
Cisco is actually the third company.
Daenerys Entertainment, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has unexpectedly overtaken Cisco in market value due to group performance and other factors. Its market value at the close of the afternoon was as high as US$453.5 billion.
For the entire Nasdaq sector, as the Nasdaq officially broke through 5,000 points, the total market value of all listed companies on the Nasdaq market reached a new high that day, reaching US$5.96 trillion.
Among them, there are only 6 companies with a market value of more than 100 billion US dollars that are fully controlled or controlled by the Westeros system, including Igrit (US$513.6 billion), Cisco (US$436.5 billion), and AOL (US$296.5 billion). , Tinker Bayer (USD 263.7 billion), Verizon (USD 110.9 billion), and Nokia (USD 138.2 billion), both listed in Europe and the United States, have a combined market value of USD 1.76 trillion, occupying the entire Nasdaq sector 29.5%.
Nearly 30%!
And if you include technology giants such as Microsoft ($267.1 billion) and Intel ($134.1 billion) that prefer investment rather than control, or relatively small technology companies with a market value of only tens or billions of dollars, the impact of the Westeros system on The proportion of the entire Nasdaq will increase significantly.
Even though the miraculous rise of the Westeros system over the years has repeatedly washed away the nerves of spectators and numbed too many people, when relevant statistics were released one after another with the listing of Verizon and the Nasdaq index breaking through 5,000 points, it still triggered widespread concern around the world. focus on.
Amid the avalanche of awe, controversy inevitably arises.
as well as.
The traditional powerful classes in the United States are increasingly jealous and wary of the continued expansion of the Westeros system.
Washington.
After a busy week, Bill Clinton still could not rest after the dinner. Instead, he summoned two of his closest confidants, Leon Panetta, the White House Chief of Staff, and Chester Carville, the campaign manager, to discuss the Nasdaq in the past two days. The potential impact that hot topics may have on your upcoming campaign.
Today is August 16, and the Democratic Party will hold its national convention in 10 days to formally determine the party's nomination for the 1996 general election.
Clinton is a done deal.
After this, the final candidates of both parties have been finalized, and the 1996 general election will enter the final sprint.
Although the current public support rate is as high as 60%, Clinton still dare not take it lightly. After all, in the history of US elections, it often happens that the support rate leads in the early stages and is eventually overturned.
Looking at the Clintons sitting side by side on the couch in front of them but clearly distant from each other, White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta handed over two identical documents and said: "Wright just had an interview with Joseph Schlapp this afternoon. Meeting, this is a public relations plan that will be launched over there in the near future. What ordinary people are most worried about right now is that the rise of the Internet will impact traditional industries and reduce job opportunities. The Westeros system will launch targeted initiatives in the next few months. Publicity, responding to public concerns through a large number of clear examples, and detailed data are also listed in the document.”
The rise of the Internet industry can be said to be Clinton's most dazzling political achievement since taking office.
However, this political achievement was overshadowed by the fact that the Westeros system occupied too many interests in the Internet industry. Although this matter had little direct relationship with Clinton, after all, before Clinton was elected in 1992, a series of new technology giants had emerged. Already in that young man's plan.
However, as the election becomes increasingly fierce, the easily incited public and his political opponents will not pay attention to this.
Simon Westeros became a trillion-dollar super-rich man during Clinton’s term. This serious concentration of wealth and the unfair social distribution it represents are obviously the president’s fault.
Looking through the public relations plan in his hand that focused on promoting the opportunities that the Internet industry brings to all walks of life in federal society, Clinton was about to speak, but Hillary beside him was already rushing to say: "This plan looks good, and it may bring some benefits to Bill's campaign. Come with some help, but this is obviously not the key to the problem. Dole will definitely only attack us for being too close to the Westeros system."
"In this case," said campaign manager Chester Cavill on the other side: "Perhaps, we should respond in advance and change our attitude towards the Westeros system like we passed the Kassebaum-Kennedy Act."
In order to build momentum for the upcoming election, Clinton has recently signed and passed a number of latest bills involving welfare reform, health care, environmental protection, etc. The Kassebaum-Kennedy Act is an important one, ensuring that the federal public can change jobs or temporarily change jobs. You can still enjoy medical insurance even if you are unemployed.
The main reason why Chester Carville specifically mentioned this bill is that it was actually "snatched" by Clinton from the Republican Party. The bill was originally proposed by two Republican congressmen, Nancy Kassebaum and Ted Kennedy. , because this bill would significantly increase federal health care spending, Clinton initially did not agree, and Congress was also full of controversy, so it was shelved for a time.
However, when he learned that the Republican Party was recently re-starting to promote this bill and considering the pros and cons, in order to prevent the Republican Party from using this to gain leverage in the subsequent election campaign, Clinton took the initiative and quickly signed the bill in the form of a presidential executive order. , directly shattering the Republican Party’s wishful thinking.
When Chester Cavill said this, his meaning was obvious.
In the next election campaign, the Republican Party will definitely make a fuss about the good relationship between the White House and the Westeros system. If they do not want to fall into passivity, then the best way is to take the lead in changing their attitude and become tougher on the Westeros system.
After Cavill finished speaking, Clinton was thinking about it, but Hillary next to him had already said before him: "This is a good idea, Chester, do you have any specific ideas?"
Clinton frowned slightly, but still looked at the campaign manager opposite.
Chester Cavill pretended not to notice the inappropriateness of the First Lady's continuous talking. He glanced at Mr. President, and with permission from his eyes, he said: "Use Igritte to launch an antitrust investigation. After all, this company's The monopoly tendency is too obvious, and as the company with the highest market capitalization in the federation, launching an investigation into Yigrit can achieve the greatest impact in the shortest time."
As for the monopoly issue of Yigret, as the company rushed to the number one market value position among American companies after its listing, there have been numerous related lawsuits and disputes, but it has been deliberately ignored by Washington before.
Now, if you want to launch an investigation, all the reasons are readily available.
This time, before the president and his wife spoke, Leon Panetta had already said: "Chester, have you considered what impact this might have on the Nasdaq stock market?"
The Nasdaq broke through 5,000 points, and the bubble in the technology stock market became more serious.
At this time point, rashly launching an antitrust investigation against Ygritte is likely to lead to the collapse of the Nasdaq market.
If this happens, the most dazzling achievements of Clinton's first term may be wiped out in the coming months. The most important thing is that when technology stocks collapse, investors in Wall Street, Silicon Valley and even the world, who will inevitably suffer huge losses, will direct their anger towards the White House.
No one can bear such a result.
There was a sudden silence in the living room in the West Wing of the White House.
Everyone remembers that Simon Westeros tried to suppress the excessive madness of the Nasdaq index in the first half of the year through continuous reduction of holdings and other actions. However, in the face of strong pressure from all aspects, even this man with a trillion-dollar net worth The super rich also have to stop.
Now, the White House is even more afraid to take this risk easily.
If you think about the Republican side, this has almost become a dead end.
To gain the initiative, the White House must strike first. In comparison, on the Republican side, Bob Dole, who has already been confirmed to be nominated by the party, only needs to emphasize that he will take tough measures on the Westeros system after being elected. As for whether he will actually do so in the future, who knows
After a moment of silence, it was Hillary who spoke first, looking at her husband and saying: "Bill, you must make a decision and take action against the Westeros system."
The First Lady's attitude was clear.
Leon Panetta and Chester Cavill looked at each other in silence.
Clinton, who was tapping his fingers on his knees and thinking over it, couldn't help but feel a little angry when he heard his wife's words. He knew clearly what Hillary was thinking. Rather than saying it was for his re-election, it was better to say that Hillary was doing it for her future politics. Paving the way forward.
If he launches an anti-trust investigation into Ygrit, and if he messes up and bursts the technology stock bubble, both Wall Street and Silicon Valley will only blame him as the president. Even if there is any impact on the first lady, , it will probably be resolved in a few years. As for him, even if he wins a second term as a result, he will definitely not have an easy time in the future.
Not to mention after stepping down.
However, the first lady can continue to seize political capital and accumulate deeper political connections through his second term.
Although he thought so, Clinton was not a person who lacked decisiveness after all. He quietly made up his mind, and then looked at his chief of staff: "Leon, what do you think?"
Leon Panetta thought for a moment and said, "Even if... the bubble really bursts, voters, I think they would be more happy to see this scenario."
yes.
The impact of offending capital will not be immediately apparent. After all, enough campaign funds have already been raised.
If the bubble does burst, the effect on voters will be immediate.
It’s easy to understand the mentality of ordinary people. It’s very satisfying to see things destroyed when you can’t get them. In addition, after launching an antitrust investigation into Ygritte, Dole will not be able to use this topic to attack itself in the next few months.
In the final analysis, fighting for re-election is the first priority.
Now that the decision was made, Clinton ordered: "Well, Leon, let Jenny come to see me tomorrow morning."
Clinton was talking about Janet Reno, now attorney general.
In order to maximize the initiative, the antitrust investigation against Ygritte must be initiated by the Ministry of Justice, one of the presidential cabinet.
Leon Panetta agreed, thought for a while and then said: "Bill, this matter...does it need to be discussed with Westeros in advance?"
Clinton thought about it for a moment and was about to say something, but Hillary already said: "No need, if the Republicans find out, this matter will have no meaning, but it will become a handle to attack us..."
Seeing that Hillary wanted to continue, Clinton finally interrupted and said to Panetta: "I will make a decision after discussing these details with Jenny tomorrow."
“Then, I’ll notify Jenny later.”
After talking about this matter, Clinton did not give Hillary a chance to interrupt. He turned to his campaign manager, changed the subject directly, and said: "Chester, tell me about the situation of the major newspaper unions."
The TV industry can still resist the rise of the Internet industry, but print media has been severely impacted in recent years.
Millions of jobs are involved in the print media industry. During this election, major newspaper industry unions in the United States were also quite active.
Although everyone understands that the rapid rise of the Internet and the rapid decline of the paper media industry are almost as irreversible as the replacement of handicraft workshops by textile factories using steam engines, but whether it is drawing a big pie or writing a blank check, striving for the current stage is still very influential. The support of the large print media industry is also a focus of the tug-of-war in this election.
Speaking of which, this matter is ultimately closely related to the Westeros system.
When his thoughts came to this point, while continuing the discussion, Clinton couldn't help but think, wondering what the young man was doing at this time
Thinking about the fact that the other party is in New York at this time, at least one thing must be that he is surrounded by people.
This is what Clinton envies most about someone.
The beauty is too deep.
Manhattan.
After attending Verizon's launch ceremony during the day, Simon did not leave immediately, but still stayed here to arrange some follow-up arrangements.
On the other side of Los Angeles, Janet has flown to Melbourne with her two older children, Nick and Seattle, today, and Jennifer will follow tomorrow with her two little ones.
Simon will leave on Sunday.
In order to avoid certain things from happening to the greatest extent, Simon personally made the decision that the family would not take the same plane as much as possible. Janet was reluctant to do this. She had a strong desire to die with Simon if she wanted to die, but In most cases, the man's wishes are followed.
Unlike Clinton's suspicion that he was in the White House, Simon was also busy all day long. Simon was not surrounded by celebrities at this time, but was attending a gathering of high-level circles in the Westeros system at James Raybould's house.
Because of Jennifer, even though Irene Lauder had been hanging around her throughout the day, the girl didn't insist on coming with Simon to join in the fun.
"I have always admired Buffett's words: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. Ray, although Verizon has just received a large amount of money, I hope you understand that with the current overheated market situation, We have reached the moment when we start to fear. Next, in addition to deepening the field of mobile communications, I do not want to see Verizon making irrational follow-up investments in other areas."
Simon's tapping was very straightforward, but Raymond Smith's expression was not displeased at all. The young man in front of him, who was burdened with a series of miracles, had impressed too many people over the years, and Raymond Smith was one of them.
"Simon, I understand," while assuring, Raymond Smith added: "Also, there is one more thing. Simon, speaking of which, don't you think that if AOL and Verizon can merge, it will be a big deal?" Is it a good thing?"
Simon didn't expect Smith to mention this. He looked at the 61-year-old man in front of him but didn't look old at all. He smiled and said, "Let's not mention the obstacles in Washington. Ray, you and Steve have talked about this matter." ?"
Raymond Smith nodded, and of course understood Simon's subtext, and said: "Actually, Keith and I have always had a good relationship, and although I don't want to admit it, my age... So, if we can merge, I hope to become the new The company's chairman and CEO, Case will be my deputy. In fact, in my opinion, Case is not stable enough, and he is young enough, so it should be no problem to wait for about five years."
If AOL and Verizon could merge, it would definitely be a strong alliance.
Simon had had this idea for a long time.
However, the idea is one thing, and the feasibility is another. One of the more important issues is how the management leadership should be redistributed once the two companies merge.
Now it seems that this problem is not big.
Raymond Smith is 61 years old this year. Although the legal retirement age in the United States is no longer valid at this level, it is impossible to continue working forever. The time to retreat to the second line is probably around 65 years old.
However, although the problem of power distribution can be solved, there are still too many obstacles to overcome in order to actually implement it.
After all, the current size of the Westeros system is too huge. Even though AOL and Verizon are both companies under the absolute control of the Westeros system, many people obviously do not want to see these two companies. Combining the two into one, after all, with the scale of the two companies at this time, once merged, it would be almost stronger than AT-T back then.
In addition, there are also the most direct benefits.
Although the two companies remain independent, it will inevitably lead to redundant waste of resource investment, but they can relatively gain more benefits from their respective businesses. Moreover, if they want to develop new businesses such as cable TV, barriers Also smaller.
Considering integration, Simon would also prefer to merge the two companies if possible.
However, although I don’t know that the President in the White House has planned to take action against Ygritte, as the scale continues to expand, the pressure on the Westeros system from all parties will inevitably increase significantly. This fact is certainly not controversial.
To put it bluntly, the merger of AOL and Verizon is not a question of whether Simon wants to merge, but a question of whether it can be done.
There are just too many obstacles.
James Raybould, who had just finished talking with Henry Paulson, the latest CEO of Goldman Sachs who recently took office, also came over at this time. The three discussed this issue for a while, but no result was reached for a while.
We can only take a long-term approach.
In short, things can start to be pushed forward, whether it is success or failure, but it cannot be too forced.