Chapter 503: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Japan's troubles are indeed huge, so big that even the Japanese government cannot handle them and can only reluctantly burst the bubble.
Although there may be pain associated with popping the bubble, if it is not done the entire country risks collapse.
Once upon a time, the export trade industry was a strong driving force for Japan's economic development.
But in just a few years, everything has changed drastically, and judging from the average data, the export trade industry is even lagging behind.
In order to save the physical manufacturing industry, the government has also introduced a series of subsidy support policies.
However, these investments have not received any meaningful positive feedback in the face of declining trade volume.
Therefore, from the perspective of input-output ratio, the export trade industry is indeed lagging behind.
However, where has the wealth of Neon, which is becoming more and more prosperous day by day, gone?
Its wealth has turned into rootless duckweed in the stock market and real estate market. Its wealth only circulates between finance and real estate, and even flows overseas.
Over time, the physical manufacturing industry, high-tech fields, cutting-edge technology development, education and people's livelihood, etc. will all wither and die.
By then, the country will no longer be a country, and where will the people go?
It is precisely because the Japanese government has seen through the connection behind this that the surging sense of powerlessness has increasingly stimulated the government to do something quickly.
Therefore, two interest rate hikes became the initial tests, and when the results were not good, Mieno Yasushi took charge.
The neon bubble has reached the point where it will collapse if it is not eliminated.
Before implementing a new round of interest rate hikes, the Ministry of Finance even warned the Japanese people, reminding everyone of the risk of a "securities crisis" and asking citizens to avoid it.
This is actually the Japanese government’s last warning to burst the bubble and the people’s last chance to escape.
However, except for a few individuals, most people are still living a life of drunkenness and dreams.
At the end of December, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates, with the loan rate rising from 3.75% to 4.25%, while the discount rate increased from 1% to 6%.
The so-called discount rate is the interest calculated by commercial banks based on a certain interest rate when handling bill discounting business.
To put it simply and crudely, the higher the discount rate, the less money the company can get.
Raising the discount rate means that financial institutions and real estate companies will receive less profit when they invest in the stock market or property market in the future.
The Bank of Japan's move is to impose two-way restrictions on capital investment in the stock market and the real estate market.
As luck would have it, this time point happened to be the last day of 1989, and the next day was New Year's Day, when most companies had already closed for holiday.
This of course also includes the Tokyo Stock Exchange. From January 1st to the 3rd of the new year, the Japanese stock market will be closed.
So on this special New Year's Eve, the Bank of Japan's third round of interest rate hikes seemed calm on the surface, with no discussion among the public at all.
However, the calmness only applies to ordinary people. I wonder how many corporate executives are anxiously waiting for the stock market conditions after the new year.
“Have all our funds been withdrawn?”
"Hayi, all the stock market investments and foreign exchange market funds have been cashed out in the middle of this month."
At a time when families should have been celebrating the New Year together, Shirakawa Kaede, Arai Yu and others were still sitting in their office .
With the booming Japanese stock and foreign exchange markets, Shirakawa Holdings naturally had no reason to miss out.
Otherwise, where would the funds for the extremely high employee benefits within the group come from? We can't let Baichuan Feng pay for it himself, right?
So Shirakawa Holdings is also doing financial investment.
However, starting from half a year ago, those purchased stocks and foreign exchange have been slowly being sold.
After half a year, I finally cashed out all the financial products I had and withdrew them intact.
Shirakawa Feng breathed a sigh of relief after getting a positive answer. December 31st, the Ministry of Finance really knows how to choose a date.
"It is rumored that Mitsui and Mitsubishi are also interested in selling the stocks they acquired previously."
At this time, Arai Yu told Shirakawa Kaede another unexpected news.
"Hmm?" Bai Chuanfeng raised his eyebrows, "When did they start to move?"
"It's just these two days, but because the market is closed for the New Year, there are not many stocks sold."
It seems that they are also cautious about the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike. After all, the series of measures make it seem that the government is deliberately suppressing the expansion of the stock market.
Shirakawa Feng didn't know whether they had any inside information, but that Sanye Yasushi acted too quickly.
This drastic measure came less than a month after he took office, and the decision was deliberately made before the end of the month, New Year's Eve, in an attempt to not give the market time to react violently.
Or is this period of time reserved to give certain groups time to discuss and make decisions?
"Ding-ling-ling~" Just as Baichuan Feng was daydreaming, the phone on the table suddenly rang.
"Moshimoshi?"
"Shirakawa-san, I'm Watanabe."
"So it's Watanabe-san. You called me on the first day of the new year. You're not just here to wish me a happy new year, are you?"
"Haha, Shirakawa-san is still so humorous. I know I can't hide anything from you."
Baichuan Feng smiled and responded twice while holding the phone. Given his relationship with Watanabe Ichiro, there was no need to call to wish him a happy new year.
Usually, a few friends in the industry will meet up one day after the New Year. Many things are not convenient to talk about over the phone.
Since the topic has come to this point, Ichiro Watanabe is no longer polite.
"Let me guess, is Shirakawa-san still in the office?"
Baichuan Feng responded naturally, "Let me guess, Watanabe-san should still be in the meeting at the Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank headquarters building, right?"
"Haha~" As soon as the words fell, the two of them laughed at the same time.
"It seems that Mr. Shirakawa is also pessimistic about the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike this time~"
"It's always better to be cautious."
"It is said that the financial market is the most unpredictable.
I just contacted JPMorgan and ABN AMRO, but they have not made any statement on this matter. "
Baichuan Feng's face was solemn in vain. In the past, when the Japanese government tightened its policies a little, these foreign representatives would clamor that Japan was interfering in the market.
As a result, the other party remained silent in response to the Bank of Japan's action this time.
With such abnormal behavior, there is only one possibility: these foreign investors are preparing to run away.
Overseas capital is different from Japanese capital. They only pursue short-term returns, so the stock market becomes the best place to go.
In industries like real estate, which pursue long-term returns and are closely related to local policies, overseas capital has little involvement.
For example, now, if there is any slight disturbance, foreign capital can withdraw at any time without any other restrictions.
With a slight sigh, Baichuan Feng knew that what was coming would eventually come.
"Thank you Watanabe-san for letting us know. Shirakawa Holdings has always been cautious, so we can handle it."
"Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank's investment in the securities market is still controllable, but the real estate market..." Suddenly, Ichiro Watanabe stopped talking halfway through his words.
It’s too early to say this now, and it’s just my guess, so it’s better not to make any assertions too early.
The two sides exchanged a few words on the phone, and Baichuan Feng hung up the phone with a serious expression.
Watanabe Ichiro actually didn't say anything on the phone just now, but Shirakawa Kaede could hear the worry in his words.
The stock market is actually okay, the most terrifying thing is the real estate industry.
If anything changes, the bank's decades-long loans will simply not be recovered in a short period of time.
If that's the case... I guess the banks will be powerless too.
"President Shirakawa?" Arai Yu's call brought Shirakawa Feng back to his senses.
Seeing the other party 's inquiring eyes, Baichuan Feng shook his head.
These things have nothing to do with Baichuan Holdings anymore, they just need to wait and see.
"Shirakawa-san, Shirakawa Electric is holding a new recruitment reception after the New Year...?"
"Cancel it"
"Eh?" Hase Izu was stunned.
"Hasegawa-san, we will start working on a new company welfare plan after the new year.
The theme is to overcome difficulties together, and the goal is to cut welfare benefits by 60% within 90 years, and then reduce them every year for the next three years.
Shirakawa Kaede's speech stunned not only Hasegawa, but even Yasuda and Iwata Satoshi.
Seeing everyone's puzzled expressions, Baichuan Feng simply stood up.
"Everyone, winter is coming, please prepare warm clothes."
After saying that, he left the office without looking back. There were still many government officials waiting for him to visit in the New Year.
The meeting fell into silence due to Shirakawa Kaede's departure, but before anyone could speak, Arai Yu had already stood up and started to take over Shirakawa Kaede's leadership of the meeting.
The content of the meeting was nothing else.
There are various overt and covert indications that Japan's economy has changed, and everyone should respond to the government's call and withdraw from the securities market in a timely manner.
Having said that, how could everyone still not understand what was going on?
After all, everyone had actually been paying attention to Baichuan Holdings' actions over the past six months, but they didn't expect this day to come so soon.
Moreover, when the outside world is generally bullish, only Shirakawa Holdings is facing a formidable enemy.
This strong sense of separation made everyone unable to adapt for a while.
Especially Hasegawa, he was still thinking about the budget issue for the new recruiting reception after the New Year, but he didn't expect it to be cancelled in the blink of an eye.
Nowadays, if you don't offer "good food, fun and good reception" to recruit new employees, no college students will pay attention to you.
Has Japan’s employment environment deteriorated to this extent?
"Hasegawa-san, just cut the budget where it should be cut. College students will never have such a good life again in the future."
Arai Yu's inexplicable words made the surprised Hase Izu even more confused.
However, this confusion will not last long, because the New Year holiday is short after all.
On January 4, 1990, major companies in Tokyo began to recover, and the stock market, which had been closed for three days, reopened at 8 a.m.
As usual, the stock market continued to rise within two minutes of opening. The anxious public had been waiting for the Nikkei index to reach 50,000 points.
But what is strange is that the stock market rose for half a day, then suddenly started to fall, and then started to rise again after a while.
Then the stock market continued to rise and fall throughout the day.
This situation did not arouse the vigilance of stock investors because there were too many people speculating in stocks.
Some stocks were just sold off in the market, but they were quickly bought up by the noobs.
It doesn’t matter even if the closing stock price is slightly lower than when it opened in the morning.
The stock market will not fall at all. If everyone works together, 50,000 points will not be a problem.
With such blind confidence, the weekly index experienced ups and downs for a whole week.
On January 11, the stock market suddenly soared again and reached its highest peak in several days before the close.
The excited people are rubbing their hands, ready to get down to work tomorrow.
