"Then I'll be in touch again."
"I'll be waiting for good news."
After exchanging a handshake, Sherman left the office with the staff member who had accompanied him.
As Seok-won turned back and was just about to sit down, the vibration alert from the phone on his desk went off.
Checking the screen and seeing Landon's name, he answered immediately.
"It's me."
[It's me, Boss. The Democratic and Republican parties have reached an agreement on the economic stimulus package they've been dragging out.]
"Is that so?"
Seok-won's eyes gleamed as he stepped up to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the broad Han River.
[They've excluded the income tax cuts and corporate tax benefits that were the main sticking points. Instead, they've agreed to extend unemployment benefits by an additional thirteen weeks beyond the existing twenty-six, and to include some tax reductions to help with New York City's reconstruction efforts.]
As soon as he heard that, Seok-won clicked his tongue softly and said,
"If the core income tax and corporate tax cuts are gone, it's basically an empty shell."
[I feel the same way. The size of the stimulus package has also been drastically reduced compared to what was initially proposed. You could say the White House and the Republicans effectively lost the power struggle.]
"With the midterm elections coming up, the economy deteriorating rapidly, and unemployment shooting up, the White House must have gotten desperate. Looks like they rushed through a half-baked bill just to get something passed and start pumping money into the system."
As the war on terror progressed successfully with the fall of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, President Bush's approval rating soared to ninety percent, sending his popularity skyrocketing.
However, once the Enron scandal erupted and the U.S. economy slid rapidly into recession, his approval ratings began to plunge just as sharply.
Avenging the September 11 attacks, the first assault ever carried out on the American mainland, was important. But for ordinary Americans, a collapsing economy and the loss of jobs were issues directly tied to their day-to-day survival.
Naturally, with the midterm elections approaching, President Bush and the Republican Party could not help but feel increasingly anxious as their support eroded.
[Understandably, they're getting desperate, but I think the White House and the Republicans made a mistake this time. Once the details of the agreement become public, there's a strong chance the market will show its disappointment.]
Seok-won nodded slightly in agreement.
"Since the corporate tax benefits everyone was expecting are gone, the market will probably take it as bad news instead."
[Exactly.]
At that moment, Na Seong-mi knocked lightly and stepped inside. Seeing that Seok-won was on a call, she quietly cleared the cups from the table and left.
[Also, it looks like WorldCom won't last more than a few days before filing for bankruptcy.]
"Did something happen to push them over the edge?"
Seok-won glanced briefly toward the closing door, then straightened his gaze again as he asked.
[Wall Street analysts are unanimously predicting that WorldCom's revenue is likely to slow this quarter, and on top of that, the creditor group has effectively refused to extend repayment on their thirty-two billion dollars in debt.]
"If they're already running out of cash and can't get their debt repayment extended, that's basically a death sentence."
[It looks like WorldCom's management is scrambling to find some kind of breakthrough, but it'll be hard to come up with a solution.]
"When it's obvious the ship is sinking, no one is going to lend money to a company like that."
[Maybe that's why they're panicking. They reached out first, saying they're willing to sell UUNET, which they'd always insisted was a core business they would never part with.]
At the news he had been waiting for, a deep smile spread across Seok-won's face.
"Good. Then let's move forward with the acquisition right away, no need to drag things out."
[Understood. And as you instructed last time, if WorldCom's stock price drops below thirty cents, we'll immediately liquidate the position.]
"Do that."
After ending the call, Seok-won allowed himself a satisfied expression. With the acquisition of UUNET following Enron Broadband, he would effectively have complete control over the U.S. broadband internet communications market, a future golden goose poised to lay endless eggs.
***
New York, Manhattan.
On the 31st floor of the One New York Plaza building overlooking the ferry terminal, the trading floor of the Eldorado Fund was as hectic as ever today.
Beep! Beep!
"Sell five thousand shares of IBM at 106.78 dollars!"
"Fifty-four dollars and thirty cents? Okay. Dump it!"
"Breaking news just came in. The SEC has launched an informal investigation into Quest Communications' corporate disclosures!"
As one junior trader shouted out the breaking news that had appeared on the Bloomberg terminal, Dan Baradan, the senior investment chief with his dress shirt sleeves rolled up, furrowed his brow.
"Don't tell me they got caught cooking the books too."
From the other side of the partition, Mason set down the handset and replied.
"With rumors already swirling that WorldCom's bankruptcy is imminent, telecom stocks are getting absolutely crushed. If it turns out they really did tamper with their accounting, that entire sector is going to fall straight into the abyss."
Just as Mason said, telecom stocks, which had been highly celebrated during the dot-com boom, had been dealt a fatal blow. On top of business slowdowns caused by the bursting of the bubble, the successive Enron and WorldCom scandals had hit them hard, sending the entire sector into a steep plunge and reducing stock prices to little more than scraps of paper.
Looking at the screens filled with red across the telecom sector, stocks that had been among the hottest performers alongside dot-com companies only a short while ago, Chief Investment Officer Baradan wore a bitter expression.
"Sell off any Quest Communications stock we're holding, and don't touch it for a while!"
Chief Investment Officer Baradan shouted as he scanned the wide trading floor.
It might turn out to be nothing serious, but in a market as fragile as this, where it felt like walking on thin ice, it was better to steer clear the moment something smelled risky.
Sure enough, it seemed others were thinking the same. Ever since the Bloomberg breaking news hit, Quest Communications' stock had begun sliding, already plunging more than one percent.
Given the sharp drop and the steady buildup of sell orders, it did not look like the stock would rebound anytime soon. Instead, the downward trend was likely to continue for a while.
"Breaking news just came in. Iraq has notified the UN that it will not accept weapons inspections!"
At the nonstop stream of updates, Chief Investment Officer Baradan turned his head and asked another trader,
"How's oil reacting?"
"WTI for April delivery is up forty-nine cents, hitting 28.22 dollars per barrel. That's the highest since September last year."
At that, Mason furrowed his brow with concern.
"Seeing international oil prices surpass their levels from the time of the 9/11 attacks, does this mean we're really heading for another war with Iraq?"
"I don't want a war to break out either, but the way things are unfolding, it certainly feels like that's where we're headed."
Chief Investment Officer Baradan replied with a grave expression.
"Every time I see things like this, I'm reminded of just how incredible he is."
"Incredible who?"
"The boss, I mean."
Mason spoke as he remained seated, running one hand back through his brown hair.
"When everyone else had their eyes fixed on Afghanistan, he accurately predicted that the sparks of war would spread to Iraq and placed long bets on oil. We've already made a huge profit from it."
Chief Investment Officer Baradan found his gaze drifting to the monitor displaying the international oil price chart.
Looking at the graph, which had been climbing at an ever-steeper slope since last month when the weapons of mass destruction issue began to surface in earnest, all he could do was marvel.
"This isn't the first or second time the boss has pulled something like this."
"True enough."
Mason let out a soft chuckle and nodded.
Seok-won's judgment, predicting market movements with uncanny accuracy and raking in huge profits as if he had seen the future, was undeniably astonishing. But after witnessing it so many times, Mason, Baradan, and the rest of the Eldorado Fund staff had reached the point where they almost took it for granted.
Chief Investment Officer Baradan picked up the tumbler resting on his desk, refueled with a deep sip of strong Americano, and turned his gaze to the monitor on his left.
[WCOM : 0.31 (↓0.16)]
With creditors refusing to extend repayment on a staggering thirty-two billion dollars in debt, WorldCom's stock price had blasted through the basement floor and was now plunging straight into hell.
Chief Investment Officer Baradan shook his head slowly and muttered under his breath.
"An ROI of ninety-eight percent… I thought I was getting used to it, but seeing numbers this insane still leaves me speechless."
And it wasn't even a small bet. Pulling off returns like that in a game worth tens of billions of dollars left them with nothing but awe and a hollow laugh.
"The profit the boss made just from the WorldCom play is way bigger than what the entire trading department earned this quarter. This is honestly humiliating."
Chief Investment Officer Baradan muttered the self-mocking remark with his hands planted on his hips.
Despite his words, there was no trace of resignation on his face. His eyes were still sharp, very much alive.
"Even if we can't beat the boss, at the very least we can't afford to be a burden."
He steeled his resolve, his expression hardening.
At Mason's words, Chief Investment Officer Baradan snapped out of his brief reverie and sharply lifted his head.
"WorldCom's stock just broke thirty cents!"
Checking the monitor immediately, Baradan's eyes flashed.
[WCOM : 0.29 (↓0.18)]
"Now the timing's right."
Chief Investment Officer Baradan raised his voice and shouted with authority.
"Everyone, pay attention!"
The trading floor, which had been noisy with ringing phones and shouted orders, suddenly fell silent, as if time itself had stopped.
With the eyes of nearly a hundred traders now on him, their ranks having grown significantly, Chief Investment Officer Baradan straightened his back and spoke.
"From this moment on, we're starting to close out our short positions in WorldCom. Buy back all the shares we sold short and sell every single put option."
The moment the order was given, the trading floor, which had been frozen in place, roared back to life.
As if even responding verbally was a waste of time, the traders all started hammering away at their keyboards at once. Those who grabbed their handsets filled the room with shouted orders.
"Buy ten thousand shares of WorldCom at the current price!"
"Sell two hundred and fifty WorldCom put options at 18.11!"
"Okay. Done!"
As the Eldorado Fund began placing large buy orders to scoop up the shares it had previously sold short, WorldCom's stock, which had been plunging relentlessly, rebounded slightly and briefly looked as though it might recover the thirty-cent mark.
But it was only a momentary illusion.
Under normal circumstances, once short covering began, other investors would have locked up shares in anticipation of a rebound. This time, however, fear of bankruptcy was far stronger. Instead of sell orders drying up, they continued to pour in.
The same was true for put options. As WorldCom's stock collapsed, premiums had ballooned to absurd levels, and sellers who had been calling several times a day, practically begging to unload the options they had sold, now scrambled frantically to buy them back the moment the Eldorado Fund started releasing its positions.
As Chief Investment Officer, Baradan watched the smooth unwinding of the short positions with a satisfied expression, the phone on his desk rang.
He picked up the receiver without sitting down, and Andrew's voice came through the line.
[Have you started closing out the WorldCom positions?]
"Yes."
[As you know, once the court issues a bankruptcy ruling and trading is halted, it becomes a real headache. We need to unload every last position before that happens.]
"Of course."
[Call me as soon as everything's wrapped up.]
"Understood."
Dan Baradan, Chief Investment Officer, replied briefly and set the receiver back down.