The roller coaster-like index turbulence lasted for more than half a month. On September 23, when the S&P 500 index fell below 310 points, Noah Scott finally received Simon's order to close his position again. In three days from September 23 to September 25, the 6,000 short contracts held by Westeros were cleared at an average of around 307 points, and Simon once again made a profit of US$76.26 million.
In addition, one month after "Run Lola Run" was released, as the two parties still maintained a close cooperative relationship, Orion Pictures did not delay and readily paid the Westeros Company a total of US$32.51 million in box office share in accordance with the contract. .
Therefore, excluding the loan that is no longer ready to be used, Simon's total funds before the recent layout had reached 387.33 million US dollars.
When Noah Scott and others were still wondering about Simon's conservative operating intentions in September, the liquidation was over, and after a few days of brief silence, on September 30, Simon suddenly transferred Westeros's assets in Lehman Brothers' accounts. All the funds were transferred out, and Noah Scott finally realized that whether Simon discovered Lehman Brothers' intention to follow suit or not, the other party was wary of them.
After all, Wall Street is not that big. What’s more, the stock index futures market is still using the on-site manual outcry trading model at this time. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s trading order for stock index futures is actually very obvious.
Therefore, after a little observation and inquiry, Noah Scott basically determined that Simon had dispersed the funds to several other brokers and began to build short positions in a large amount again.
However, Simon's "failed" operation in September caused Lehman Brothers to have doubts about whether to follow up. Moreover, Quantum Fund, another major client of Lehman Brothers, began to establish a long-term contract that was completely opposite to that of Westeros almost at the same time as Simon in early October, which further aggravated the hesitation of Noah Scott and others.
Although it is not as famous as it was later, George Soros's Quantum Fund has achieved an average return rate of more than 30% per year for more than ten years since its establishment, which still makes him famous on Wall Street.
On one side are hedge fund tycoons with outstanding performance, and on the other side are Hollywood newcomers who have suddenly emerged.
The operations of the two people are completely opposite.
After several hesitations, James Robinson, who was making the decision behind the scenes, still couldn't make up his mind and just asked Noah Scott to watch from the sidelines.
US$500 million in cash cannot be underestimated for any company in this era. If the funds controlled by Noah Scott fall into losses, black market operations will be more easily exposed. By then, James Robinson will no longer be able to hold the position of CEO of American Express.
Lehman Brothers is on the sidelines, but time will not stop at all.
In the last ditch effort, Simon completely let go.
Starting from October 1, several futures brokers that Simon secretly re-identified began to build positions at a rate of 2,000 contracts per day. At the same time, the North American stock market also began to accelerate its decline after entering October, and the S&P 500 index once again fell to a low of nearly 280 points in just two weeks.
…
Here in Los Angeles.
While "Pulp Fiction" was wrapping up, "When Harry Met Sally" also officially started shooting in New York on September 14.
Simon completed the filming of "Pulp Fiction" and neither immediately entered the post-production period of the film nor rushed to New York, because the final editing of "The Last Day" was also completed in late September, and the film was not released until October 23. There is only one month left in the release date.
With the supervision of Amy Pascal, Simon is not worried that Fox will not do its best in the promotion and distribution of "Dead Man". However, in order to gain some experience in film distribution for Daenerys Pictures, he still personally participated in these At work.
With a lot of work to do, time inevitably flies by.
These days, Paramount Pictures' "Fatal Attraction," a dramatic thriller starring Michael Douglas, is an unexpected hit at the box office.
Although it was thrown into the unpopular schedule at the end of September, which is also a cemetery, in just four weeks, the film's box office has already reached close to 50 million US dollars. It is undoubtedly the best film in 1987 after "Run Lola Run", "The Butterfly Effect" and After "Beverly Cop 2", it is another movie with a North American box office expected to exceed 100 million.
The box office success of "Fatal Attraction" actually reminded Simon of Michael Douglas's other more famous film, "Basic Instinct."
After several successful internal test screenings of "Dead Man", Fox began to urge Simon to complete the last script in the original contract as soon as possible. Influenced by "Fatal Attraction", Simon wrote the outline of the script for "Basic Instinct" in recent days.
In the blink of an eye, it’s Monday, October 19th.
Inside the Palisades mansion.
Simon woke up just after four o'clock in the morning, and he was completely sleepless.
After getting up, he went directly to the study next to the master bedroom and leaned back in the large leather chair. Simon did not rush to pick up the phone, but once again flipped through the recent trading reports of several futures brokers and the stock market market reports these days. .
From October 1st to October 16th, during the 12 trading days, Westeros Company established a total of 26,700 short contracts between 300 points and 280 points of the S&P 500 Index, and all positions in each account were A staggering 100%.
With all 387.33 million US dollars invested, even if he was absolutely sure, Simon would inevitably feel uneasy when things came to a close.
Good thing.
Some things in my memory still happened on time.
Just yesterday, US Treasury Secretary Baker claimed on a TV show that if the Federal Republic of Germany does not lower interest rates, the United States will continue to consider letting the dollar fall. It is obvious that the price of a certain kind of goods will definitely drop, and the holders will definitely sell it subconsciously. If the dollar continues to depreciate, it will naturally prompt capital to flee.
The previous Friday, the North American stock market had already shown signs of collapse. On October 16, the Dow Jones Index had fallen from the highest point of 2,700 points in August to 2,200 points. The U.S. trade deficit and financial deficit worsened again in the third quarter. This has already made the North American stock market appear to be in danger.
Baker's completely inappropriate remarks on the TV show were like the straw that broke the camel's back.
Simon believes that many things never happen for no reason. Therefore, yesterday's speech by Baker on the TV show and the subsequent media hype naturally reminded Simon of the level of conspiracy theories.
Of course, these things have nothing to do with him.
Even if the U.S. economy returns to the Great Depression, he won't feel much of it.
The opening time of the New York Stock Exchange is 9:30, and the opening time of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is 8:30 Central Time, which is actually synchronized with the New York Stock Exchange.
As for Los Angeles, Simon only has to wait until 6:30.
However, just after 6 o'clock, the three telephones that Simon had specially installed in the study these days began to ring one after another.
Although the prescribed trading time is half o'clock, in fact, floor trading on the New York and Chicago trading floors often begins before the market opens.
Before withdrawing funds from Lehman Brothers, Simon had secretly opened stock index futures accounts at three investment banks with futures brokerage businesses: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and First Boston.
Simon actually still knew nothing about Lehman Brothers’ previous secret follow-up, but he also believed that the other party must have noticed his actions during this time. However, when things got to this point, Simon couldn't care too much.
If Lehman Brothers follows suit, it will at most add some resistance to Westeros' liquidation of positions in the next few days. However, Simon did not believe that Lehman Brothers would easily expose its previous trading records to other investment banks, prompting several companies such as Goldman Sachs to follow him in building positions. Competition on Wall Street is fierce. Once Lehman Brothers did this, competitors like Goldman Sachs would not mind dragging fishermen into the water while eating the 'bait' thrown by Lehman Brothers.
Traders from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and First Boston informed Simon on the phone one after another that there were already a large number of long buying orders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange more than 20 minutes before the opening, and the lowest quotation had even reached 253 points. , compared with the closing price of 281 points last Friday, a plunge of 28 points, a decrease of nearly 10%.
Simon's first trade took a full month and a half for the S&P 500 to rise from 270 points to 290 points.
Now, just one weekend later, and just before the market opened, the quotation points of the S&P 500 Index had fallen by 28 points. Even though he was thousands of miles away, Simon could imagine that the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were at this time. What a scene with dark clouds looming over the city in the hall.
Janet walked in at some point, still wearing suspender pajamas and bare feet. However, this time the woman was not the lazy kitten she used to be. Her eyes were bright, and she no longer leaned into Simon's arms. She quietly pulled up a chair and sat across from the desk, listening to Simon's incessant chat with Chicago. While on the phone.
Although the quotation had dropped by 28 points, more than any previous round of operations, Simon still decisively rejected the trader's suggestion to close the position.
After making three calls in a row, Simon put down the phone. Janet's eyes suddenly flashed, and her expression was obviously a little uncertain as she asked: "How much is it?"
"It has dropped to 253 points."
Simon said, picked up the remote control, and turned on the TV that had just been installed in the study in recent days. The screen showed a scene of boiling chaos in the New York Stock Exchange, and the host was almost vibrating. explanation.
Through the host's words, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, in just ten minutes, the New York Stock Exchange has also accumulated a large number of stock selling.
After listening quietly to the report on the TV screen for a while, Janet turned to look at Simon, her expression obviously filled with a little excitement that she was worried about the world being in chaos, and she whispered in a cowardly voice: "Oh, dear, do you think you will fall?" How many?"
Simon looked at Janet's appearance and wanted to pinch the woman's nose, but he just shook his head and said: "It's so messed up, how could I know."
Janet's eyes flickered a few times, her lips curled up, but she stopped asking.
Although he understood that Janet must have been vaguely aware of something, in any case, Simon would never admit it directly. This is not to say that he does not trust Janet enough, but that his own experience is too bizarre, and Simon simply cannot cope with the consequences of certain things being exposed.
On the TV screen, amid the chaotic scenes of continuous switching between major exchanges, the last ten minutes passed quickly.
At 6:30 Los Angeles time, the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened at the same time.
In New York, the Dow Jones index fell 67 points at the opening, and then began to plummet.
The situation inside the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is even more shocking.
The S&P 500 index jumped directly after the opening and plummeted from 281 points at the close of last week to 198 points, a drop of 29%.
The average number of short positions held by Westeros is around 290 points.
According to the lowest value of the S&P 500 index of 198 points, each short contract held by Simon has generated a profit of US$45,000. Compared with the average margin of US$14,500, the profit margin exceeds 300%.
Of course, Simon does not expect to be able to close his position at the lowest value of 198 points.
Since the stock index futures market at this time does not adopt a daily debt-free settlement system, as long as sufficient margin can be added before tomorrow's trading, most of the wrongly pressed long contracts will not be forcibly closed. Therefore, only those that are completely gone will not be forced to close. Only those who have prepared chips will choose to cut off the market and leave the market. The number of short positions closed today is definitely far lower than usual.
Therefore, Simon just locked the closing range between 200 points and 210 points.
Even if calculated based on 210 points, the short contract held by Westeros Company can still make a single profit of US$40,000, which is enough.
October 19, 1987, was undoubtedly a long day for many people.
While Simon kept answering the phone, he felt that the day ended quickly.
By the time the Chicago Mercantile Exchange officially closed, it was just after noon in Los Angeles.
According to statistics, of the more than 26,000 short contracts in the Westeros company's account, only more than 8,000 were closed in one trading day, and 18,000 contracts remained in the account waiting to be processed.
In the final phone conversation, the Morgan Stanley trader sounded obviously regretful, and his words did not accidentally imply that Simon was too greedy. If Simon could set the upper limit for liquidation higher, perhaps Westeros Company could liquidate more than half of its positions today.
Now, once the federal government steps in to rescue the market, maybe tomorrow, the S&P 500 index may rebound again, and Simon will completely miss such an opportunity to make more profits.
However, Simon didn't pay too much attention to the trader's advice.
If memory serves him right, he still has at least two days left.