Chapter 2334: Concern

Feng Yiping wanted to ask for help, but frankly speaking, the situation he was facing was purely his own fault and he did not deserve sympathy.

Not only did he not deserve sympathy, if he told others about the situation he was facing, many people would immediately say, "Can you stop showing off?" or "Let me go!" and so on.

However, another person who wanted to ask for help at this time was really worthy of sympathy.

He was Ben Bernanke, who succeeded Greenspan as the chairman of the Federal Reserve at the beginning of last year.

Before he became the head of the Federal Reserve, he had actually worked in the Federal Reserve Bank in many cities in the United States. At the same time, until 2002, he had been teaching economics at Princeton University. Before leaving, he was the director of the Economics Department of Princeton University.

Of course, the situation faced by this scholar-turned-Federal Reserve Chairman at this time was somewhat similar to that of Feng Yiping. It can be said that both of them were a bit like Ye Gonghaolong.

Because looking at Bernanke's academic career, it is not difficult to find that his research direction is mainly focused on the Great Depression.

In 2000, he published an academic monograph called "The Great Depression" through Princeton University Press. The book includes 9 papers he co-authored from 1983 to 1996.

As the name suggests, these papers are all related to the "Great Depression", so in the American folk and academic circles, he is a master of the Great Depression, inflation, and monetary economics.

The so-called "Great Depression" is the name given by the United States to the great capitalist economic crisis in the 1930s.

It is very instructive that the crisis not only announced the end of free capitalism, but also was the first financial crisis that showed that the planned economy pursued by the only socialist country at that time, the Soviet Union, had certain advantages over unregulated free capitalism.

During that crisis, the Roosevelt New Deal in the United States borrowed some practices of the socialist planned economy to adjust and regulate the US economy, forming an interventionist capitalist economic system that has continued to this day.

In short, in the eyes of the outside world, letting Bernanke serve as the current chairman of the Federal Reserve is like letting some guys who like Japanese ***** to be porn appraisers. It is really the best choice.

Because they finally found a job that fits their interests very well.

But for Bernanke at this time, he did not feel very happy that he finally had the opportunity to apply what he learned.

He just felt frustrated, very frustrated.

All things were completely caused by Greenspan, the old guy who only knew two tricks, either lowering interest rates or raising interest rates.

In the two years after the bursting of the Internet bubble in 2000, he cut interest rates 27 times in a row, lowering interest rates to 1%. It was this low interest rate that gave the real estate market an upward momentum and ultimately promoted the prosperity of the US real estate market.

Then, in view of the overheating of the real estate market, he felt that such an extraordinary housing boom was undoubtedly unsustainable, so he started to use another of his only two tricks, raising interest rates, starting in 2003.

From 2003 to 2006, he raised interest rates 17 times in a row, and finally raised the benchmark interest rate from 1% to 5.25%.

But what this guy with a name in name only did not expect was that the sharp rise in interest rates increased the repayment burden of homebuyers, and mortgage defaults continued to occur, which in turn accelerated the bursting of the US housing bubble, and then there was the current situation that made him very worried.

So why is the old guy who caused the current situation wearing all kinds of laurels and enjoying his comfortable retirement life at this time, while I have to clean up the mess he left behind?

The key is that he is still praised, while I am now being scolded everywhere?

Many times recently, Bernanke wanted to ask loudly, is there any justice in this world?

And because of his professionalism, this time, the pressure he faces is actually double. If he fails to deal with this seemingly very difficult crisis, people will not only question his ability to control the Federal Reserve, but also deny his academic achievements.

A master who studies the "Great Depression" but cannot solve a similar crisis is as ironic as a famous general who cannot win a battle.

To put it bluntly, if he does not deal with this crisis properly, not only will he not be able to stay at the Federal Reserve, but he will also not be able to retreat and develop in the academic world. In other words, this time, he has no way out.

Looking at the various news summarized by his subordinates, none of them made him feel optimistic. He straightened his beard, which was originally very smooth but has always looked messy recently. "Contact Paulson and Geithner (Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve). It seems that we have to prepare to inject capital into the financial system again."

…………

Paulson, who is an old friend of Feng Yiping and is now the US Treasury Secretary, would probably surprise Feng Yiping if he appeared in front of him at this time.

This former Wall Street emperor, who is known for his vigorous energy, now looks like his eyes are full of bloodshot, and his dark circles are really comparable to our national treasures.

After receiving Bernanke's call, Paulson's face became a little colder.

He already had the answer in his mind. If the investment this time was less than 20 billion US dollars, it would have no effect at all.

These days, he often thinks of the first meeting he attended at Camp David in July last year as an important member of the Bush administration's economic team after taking over his current position.

He remembered that he talked about a lot of things at the time, from welfare reform to economic overcapacity, the opacity of financial derivatives, and the size of hedge funds, but he didn't talk about the real estate market.

What impressed him most was the question the president asked at the end of the conversation, "Hank (Paulson's full name is Henry "Hank" Merritt Paulson Jr.), what will cause a financial crisis?"

He still remembers his answer at the time, "I don't know, sir, but when it happens, everything will be clear."

Now, it has happened!

But it seems that everything is not clear.

As for the extent of the subsequent development of the crisis, he still has no definite view.

However, it is obvious that someone has a clearer understanding of this issue than everyone else.

He looked at a magazine on the table. Some pages in that magazine looked very different in color from those next to them. They were much darker and had rough edges.

That's because, recently, he always couldn't help but flip through those pages.

That magazine was the January issue of Frontier magazine this year, and those pages were exactly the signed article published by Feng Yiping.

Feng Yiping!

Paulson recalled his several meetings with Feng Yiping, as well as some of the exchanges between Goldman Sachs and his company. He had to say that he was really an amazing young man. Goldman Sachs served as the financial advisor of his American company several times and assisted him in completing those acquisition plans. The process was amazing, and his acquisitions were all in the service of his existing and long-term plans.

His vision is indeed unmatched.

Wait! Thinking of this, Paulson glanced at the magazine again, and suddenly felt that he might have made a serious mistake when he was at Goldman Sachs.

Because Feng Yiping's vision is unmatched, then he agreed to accept the shares of Alibaba held by Goldman Sachs so readily, and later heard that he simply acquired Alibaba, so, will Alibaba's future development be very strong?

It should be, right!

Then... Paulson's head suddenly hurt more. He felt that the original proposal to transfer the shares of Alibaba held by him to Feng Yiping might be the most wrong decision in his entire career.

…………

At the same time, in Wall Street in New York, where Paulson had fought and worked, there was a person who was also thinking about Feng Yiping at this time.

He was the co-founder and head of Blackstone, who had a very Chinese name in China, Su Shimin.

Today, he finally knew who was the mastermind behind the Chinese sovereign fund and his own $3 billion transaction.

"Yiping Feng!" At this time, because of the crisis, Mr. Su, who was also a little anxious, couldn't help but grit his teeth when he mentioned Feng Yiping's name.

ps: Happy Dragon Boat Festival to everyone! When eating zongzi, remember to give me a few recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, which never rest.