Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 15 Outbreak
The clock on the wall kept ticking, and with each small tick forward, the end of the midday session was just a second away.

Larry's heart was beating five times per second.

Just then, the price quote machine started clicking, and Larry unconsciously turned his head toward it, but the black-haired boy wasn't calling out DuPont's stock price.

"Wesson Weapons, $36.8!"

The entire sales department erupted in cheers.

The stock jumped by $4 in one go!

Larry's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, suddenly fell!

It's not a big problem anymore!
Larry bought DuPont because of the unusual surge in the defense industry, represented by DuPont.

DuPont had previously been the leader in the entire sector.

The leading stock isn't immune to turning back, but as long as it finds other stocks in the same sector still moving forward, the leading stock will eventually follow suit.

Larry abandoned his idea of ​​getting his 100 shares of DuPont stock back, folded the transaction slip neatly, put it back in his pocket, and left it with the remaining $200.

No new stock price was reported for DuPont by the end of the morning session.

This made Larry somewhat uneasy.

However, Larry remained calm and confident because he was not making the trade based on personal likes or dislikes or on a momentary impulse. He had genuinely seen the entire sector moving, which was the overall behavior of the sector and a precursor to a trend.

During his lunch break, Larry returned to Paine Weber Securities.

At this moment, the brokerage firm's waiters are sitting in chairs eating lunch, while the big players in the trading hall are gathered in twos and threes, either chatting or exchanging very serious gossip and scandalous stories from upper-class circles.

Larry sat down in a chair, but before he could even rest, Mr. Porter walked in holding a copy of the Boston Globe.

"Gentlemen! I have some good news to announce!" Mr. Potter flashed a perfect smile, looked around at everyone, and when he saw that everyone's attention was on him, he held up the newspaper. "Remember the Baltimore incident? The Chilean mob attacked our brave naval sailors. Now, the Chileans are paying the price for their atrocities."

A hush fell over the hall as the gentlemen stood up and stared intently at Mr. Potter.

Mr. Porter continued, “Some time ago, President Harrison issued an ultimatum to Chile, demanding that the Chilean government severely punish the perpetrators and issue an apology. The President also delivered an inspiring speech to Congress, where the esteemed members of Congress unanimously agreed that without punishing this serious violation of our national interests, the basic human rights of the American people would not be guaranteed.”

"The president had once ordered war preparations! However, the Chilean government has now come to terms with reality, accepted our compensation demands in their entirety, and intends to pay $7.5 in reparations. War has been averted, and the interests of the United States have once again been protected."

After Mr. Porter finished speaking, a round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the sales hall. At this time, the United States was rising rapidly, and ordinary Americans possessed a strong sense of patriotism.

Hearing this, Larry frowned, his heart tightening again.

Logically speaking, if war could be avoided, then military stocks would definitely fall, which is what later stock market investors summarized as "profit-taking."

But here's the problem: if insiders or big players in the stock market know the war will end, why would they still buy stocks?

You have to understand that news travels very slowly in 1891.

It takes a long time for an event to go from happening to being accepted by a newspaper and finally appearing in print.

Those with inside information, unlike Larry, could not have only heard about the Chilean government's capitulation at noon; they probably knew a week earlier!

This is the problem: if they knew this, why did they buy into the arms sector?
Larry was full of questions, and when Mr. Potter wanted to return to his office, Larry borrowed his newspaper.

There must be some important information in the newspaper that has gone unnoticed!

Larry felt he had to solve this mystery.

Opening the newspaper, the front page headline was about the Chilean authorities announcing an apology and paying the US government $7.5 in compensation.

In the bottom left corner of the front page was a seemingly insignificant news item.

Navy Secretary Benjamin Tracy announced that the U.S. Navy would embark on its most radical fleet modernization since the American Civil War. The new U.S. Navy would draw inspiration from the British Royal Navy, establishing a battleship-centric fleet for decisive battles in the open ocean, fundamentally transforming the U.S. Navy from a "coastal defensive navy" to a "blue-water hegemonic navy." Congress would then discuss and approve the construction of the first 1.7-ton battleship, the USS Connecticut, equipped with the world's largest main guns and the fastest speed at the time.

Benjamin Tracy also emphasized that he would build a global maritime power based on Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power on the World" as its theoretical core.

At the same time, the United States will also build the world's leading shipyard.

After reading the newspaper, Larry remained silent, letting it fall to the ground, and turned to leave Paine Weber Securities Company.

When Larry arrived at the betting shop, it was only 12:18 PM. He clutched the $200 in his pocket and stood straight by the counter, neither eating nor drinking.

I waited until 1 a.m.

The moment the market opened, Larry slammed $200 on the counter and shouted,

"Buy another 100 shares of DuPont and 100 shares of Holt Manufacturing!"

The two tellers looked at each other in bewilderment.

The telegraphic quotation machine has just started working, and according to the betting company's usual practice, they should submit their buy orders based on the last stock quote from the two companies at the close of trading in the morning.

But Larry's anxious demeanor really surprised them.

"Hurry up! I want to buy!" Larry yelled at them.

The teller turned to look at the front desk manager wearing a monocle. The manager thought for a moment, then concluded that Larry Livingston was inevitably going to be liquidated, and then raised his hand to let the teller fill in the form according to the previous price.

The teller glanced at the price list and began filling in the information based on the last price quoted that morning.

Meanwhile, in the lobby of the gambling house, many traders had already been drawn to Larry's loud shout and turned to stare at him.

"Oh, this little brat, he actually bought $200 worth of stocks in one go!"

"Yeah, it's DuPont. Their stock went up a lot this morning, aren't they worried it'll drop at the close?"

"Why buy Holt Manufacturing? What does this company do?"

"My God, betting $200 in one go, what a high-stakes gambler!"

……

People were talking about Larry, but Larry just kept his eyes on the teller filling out the transaction form. At that moment, the quotation machine also printed out a new quotation.

"United Steel, $40.6!"

"Hilton boiler, $15.9!"

Upon hearing the price quote, everyone's attention was immediately drawn, and they turned to stare at the price board, muttering to themselves.

"Why are they all going up? And by such a large margin?" someone shouted to the market clerk.

The scribe was not obligated to answer; he simply lowered his head and continued copying in silence.

At that moment, the teller had already filled out the two transaction forms and handed them to Larry.

Larry clutched the transaction slip tightly, retreated to the back of the crowd, and nervously awaited DuPont's first offer...

At the same time, the receptionist wearing a monocle also stood up, his hands unconsciously gripping the edge of his desk, waiting for DuPont's first quote...

Finally, the black-haired clerk looked at the quotation machine and drawled out his words.
"DuPont~~~~$100.5!!"

Immediately, the entire trading hall erupted in a clamor!

(End of this chapter)