The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 253



Only Noblemtl

253. Unexpected reaction (2)

The next morning.

While I was resting at the hotel, a truly unexpected guest came to visit me.

It was the appearance of a grandfather who I saw more often than anyone else in Korea, but whom I never thought I would meet in the United States.

“Grandpa, what are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t bear to see you resting alone in America, so I flew to America.”

“I want to rest too, but I have so many schedules that I can’t rest properly. But what brought you all the way to America?”

“Do you know if you are the only one with connections in the U.S.? I also have quite a few connections in the U.S., although not as many as you. This time, Taewoo Engineering & Construction came to meet Trump in connection with building the third Trump Tower in Korea.”

The relationship between Trump and my grandfather was quite deep.

The person who helped Trump’s real estate business when it was at its most difficult was my grandfather, and that relationship has continued to this day.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have come to America with my grandfather.”

“What good is there in traveling together? If an accident happens, wouldn’t one of us have to survive?”

“It makes me feel a little sad when you say that. It’s a harsh world where grandfather and grandson can’t even travel together.”

“The more things you have, the more things you have to worry about. By the way, I also heard about the motor show through various sources.”

There was a separate reason why my grandfather came to see me early in the morning.

He was a grandfather who had devoted his entire life to the growth of Taewoo Motors, and he seemed to have come because he was curious about the response to the Taewo-Kai Motors electric vehicle that was exhibited at the motor show.

“The response was not bad. Not only electric cars but also internal combustion engine cars were well received.”

“It’s a little different from what I heard. I heard that Taewo-Kai Motors is doing meaningless things. There’s even talk of them spending money on unreasonable things.”

“Was this an unexpected reaction? I was expecting this.”

I said while pouring a drink for my grandfather.

Since the grandfather was showing his disappointment without hiding it, he lost his sense of playfulness and continued talking.

“The electric vehicle market is just beginning. You know better than anyone else how hard the Korean automobile industry worked to survive in the internal combustion engine vehicle market dominated by the United States, Germany, and Japan.”

“It was really hard. I really worked hard and managed to create Taewoo Motors as it is today.”

“Now we will be in a situation where other car companies will come after us.”

“Hmm, if the electric vehicle market grows as you say, yes, but after listening to German and Japanese car companies, I heard that they are not investing heavily in electric vehicles. Doesn’t that mean they are skeptical about the electric vehicle market?”

The higher a person is, the more they dislike change and uncertainty.

Because if the current situation is maintained, you can continue to sit in a high position.

“You will regret it. I will show my grandfather how much he regrets his decision not to invest sooner and boldly in the electric vehicle market.”

“You’re confident. But you know that if you make a mistake, Taewo-Kai Car may fall behind, right?”

“We are still investing heavily in internal combustion engine vehicles.”

“There will be quite a few people criticizing us for not investing the same amount of money in internal combustion engine vehicles as we should in electric vehicles.”

“Just listen with one ear and let it go, that’s it.”

“Hehehe, how did someone like this come into our family?”

Grandfather laughed heartily.

It was a laugh so hearty that it made you wonder if it was the same person who had been unable to hide his disappointment just moments ago.

“We already expected that there would not be an explosive response like smartphones. Little by little, electric vehicles will take over the metallurgical automobile market. When other automobile companies come to their senses, our Taewoo Group will have already taken a large chunk of the pie. ”

“Yes, don’t believe it. Considering what you’ve done for Taewoo Group so far, I should believe it even if the electric car business fails.”

“I will definitely live up to your trust.”

He said, holding my grandfather’s hand tightly.

The warm atmosphere was maintained for the first time in a long time, but it was broken by the appearance of the chief secretary.

“Mr. Chairman, it is time to go see President Trump.”

“Has it happened already? Vice Chairman Kim, I’ll see you in Korea. I’ll just settle this schedule and then go back to Korea.”

“Why don’t you stay a few more days?”

“If the chairman and vice-chairman are all absent from Korea, who will manage the company? The country should also return to Korea early.”

“Then please do me a favor.”

“Even if he doesn’t say anything, he never says I’ll go to Korea first. He’s such a gentle guy.”

Grandpa said with a smile on his face.

I wanted to keep telling jokes, but the old man seemed to be leaving the hotel first, as it seemed like there was really not much time left until his appointment.

Knock knock!

Not long after grandfather left, David came to visit.

“I heard the chairman of Taewoo Group came and went? This was a good opportunity to say hello after a long time, but it’s too late.”

“You can say hello at any time. Why did you come here in the morning?”

“I didn’t come alone. A team leader also came with me.”

When David turned, the figure of a team leader was revealed.

Unlike the bright David, it was a team leader with a dark complexion.

My hair was frizzy, as if I hadn’t washed it in days, and dark circles around my eyes made me look like a panda.

“Take it easy. Then I’ll go into the coffin and go back to Korea.”

“I would like to, but the situation is moving quickly. Look at the indicators here.”

A team leader took out a laptop and showed several indicators.

These were indicators related to the U.S. real estate market, and included confidential data that could not be viewed by outsiders.

“You managed to obtain this information.”

“We are updating the data every day through David’s connections. After analyzing the data and indicators, the increase in the number of people going bankrupt because they cannot repay real estate loans is not unusual.”

“It looks like the bubble has finally reached its peak.”

The moment the bubble reaches its peak, abnormalities begin to occur.

The abnormalities in the real estate market were loan delinquency and bankruptcy.

“As soon as real estate price growth slowed down, delinquency and bankruptcy rates increased significantly.”

“The moment the loan interest amount and the real estate price increase amount became similar or reversed, the bubble was over.”

“But there is a bigger problem. Delinquency and bankruptcy rates are increasing, and rating agencies are still maintaining the reliability ratings of long-term real estate loan products. According to my calculations, they should be lowered by at least one level, and at most three levels.”

The market is changing, but trust remains the same?

Rating agencies are either incompetent enough to not detect changes in the market.

Or, it meant that the rating agency was not even thinking about detecting changes in the market.

“Since the rating agency and the bank are in the same company, of course we cannot lower trustworthiness arbitrarily. We are simply acting to suit the bank’s tastes, so Team Leader Han’s calculations are not correct.”

“I heard that a lot of American bank employees are retiring and moving to rating agencies. I guess the issue of military honors is the same in Korea and the United States.”

“You’re saying it’s obvious. In some ways, you could say that America is a place that values ​​personal connections more than Korea.”

People and companies ultimately follow where they give money.

This was a natural result since the rating agency was a bank.

A team leader is frustrated by this situation.

He sighed and looked through the material with a helpless smile.

David, who was quietly watching the scene, quietly stepped forward, scratched his head and opened his mouth.

“Banks and rating agencies are pretending not to notice what is going on, but some are not.”

“Is it the U.S. government?”

“The call came from the Federal Reserve, not the U.S. government.”

“By the Federal Reserve? From the Federal Reserve? Have you heard from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve?”

Federal Reserve System (Fed).

It was an institution that issued dollars, and also had authority over monetary policy and banking institutions.

Is there anyone who does not know the power of the dollar?

Just by being the place that prints dollars, you can see how much power the Federal Reserve has.

It was a position with such great influence that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve was called the President of the World Economy, and he was also called the second-in-command after the President of the United States.

“I did not get a direct call from the Federal Reserve Chairman, but an inquiry from one of the local Federal Reserve banks.”

“The inquiry came from a local Federal Reserve bank, not from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors? They still don’t realize they’ve hit the nail on the head.”

“There is talk that the Federal Reserve is in a bit of disarray due to the change in the Federal Reserve Chairman this year.”

Yeonjun was still in a festive mood.

They were celebrating several years of boom and praising themselves for their achievement in raising real estate prices through interest rate cuts.

“Please answer the inquiries from the local Federal Reserve Bank with sincerity. We give them all the information they need. That’s actually a good thing. We can secure more evidence that we did what we could.”

“Can we just hand over all the data we have? I don’t know if the local Federal Reserve will be able to handle it.”

The moment when David says something playful.

A team leader who was just looking through the data suddenly stood up.

“Oh! And I also got a call from the IMF. I got a call from Rajan, an IMF economic analyst who won the Fisher-Black Prize.”

“That’s a bit of an unfamiliar name.”

“Boss! I know. You’re an Indian economist, right? You’re the first Asian chief economist at the IMF, and you’re famous for criticizing the former Federal Reserve Chairman at the Jackson Hole meeting.”

The courage to openly criticize America’s second-in-command.

That too at the Jackson Hole meeting where bank presidents, finance ministers, and economists from around the world gathered.

“What did he say?”

“He himself has been claiming that the U.S. economy is in a bubble since 2005. In particular, he said that there is a very high possibility that a crisis will occur due to substandard housing mortgage loans.”

We were not the only ones predicting an economic crisis.

There were forces purchasing mortgage insurance products, and even economists like Rajan warned of an economic crisis.

“I’d like to meet you sometime. If you’ve been making predictions since 2005, I might be able to hear something that would be quite helpful.”

“It is said that he served as the Governor of the Central Bank of India but resigned from his position due to worsening relations with Prime Minister Mimoan Singh. He is currently in the United States. Would you like to meet him?”

“Prime Minister Mimoan Singh did not recognize a talented person. Of course, if he is such a talented person, he should meet him. It would be better to recruit him if possible.”

“Then let’s make an appointment right away.”

A talent who predicted interest rate cuts and real estate bubbles.

If we could recruit such talented people, we could relieve a heavy burden from a team leader.

Moreover, since Team Leader Han had to return to Korea once this incident was over, he needed the right person to take charge of SAVE Investment Company.