章 146: Chapter 146 Making Dumplings
In addition to investing part of the funds in the process of absorbing Manchester United Club, DS Capital's current main operation is to close its previous long positions on international crude oil and gold prices, and concentrate funds on shorting crude oil.
In fact, the trend of international gold prices before and after the Iraq War was very similar to that of crude oil prices.
In the first half of last year, the international gold price continued to be below US$300 per ounce. By the beginning of 2003, the international gold price had risen to around US$340 per ounce.
As the war atmosphere continued to deepen, by early February, the international gold price had risen to over $390 per ounce, and at one point was close to $400 per ounce - the highest gold price in nearly six and a half years.
It was around this point that DS Capital, under the command of Baron, began to close their free funds and the private equity fund Mars Fund's long positions in gold and crude oil.
Gold will also fall next.
However, its amplitude is not as large as that of crude oil price. Therefore, DS Capital's main operation in the short term is to short international crude oil after closing its positions.
In addition to DS Capital's own 200 million pounds, in order to raise funds, DS Capital closed all its long positions in addition to its long positions in London copper, raising a total of 200 million pounds.
In addition, the Mars Fund, which initially started with a capital of 50 million pounds, has increased its capital to 120 million pounds in less than half a year, after closing its long positions in gold and crude oil futures, an increase of 240%!
Plus the 200 million pounds that Barron just got from Barclays Bank by mortgaging his own assets...
This time, DS Capital will use up to 520 million pounds for short selling!
However, the Mars Foundation will short sell the international gold price, while the 400 million pounds of its own funds plus loans will short sell the international crude oil price.
The main reason is that the funds of the Mars Fund are managed by Barclays Bank. Relatively speaking, DS Capital's own funds are more convenient for hiding positions.
…
"Happy Chinese New Year, Laura."
February 1st of this year is the Chinese New Year. After getting in the Rolls-Royce, Barron said this to his personal assistant Wang Wanting.
"Happy Chinese New Year, Your Highness. I almost forgot about it if you hadn't mentioned it."
This is mainly because she now lives in Kensington near Barron's home. If she were in China City in Soho, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival would still be quite strong.
"It's a pity that we can't eat dumplings during the Spring Festival..."
Barron said with some regret.
Also because of the Chinese New Year, he gave his Chinese chef two days off so that he could reunite with his family. He himself knew how to make dumplings, but he only knew how to make them. Kneading the dough, rolling the skins, and mixing the stuffing were far beyond his ability.
"If you want to eat dumplings, Mr. Duke, I can make some more for you."
Hearing Wang Wanting's words, Barron's eyes lit up and he said with a smile:
"Are you going to make them while you prepare dinner? How about this, you can come to my house and make them together. This way the atmosphere will be better. I have learned a little bit about making dumplings."
"Will it not disturb you and Miss Bonnie?"
Barron shrugged and said,
"Bonnie is on a business trip, and my Chinese chef is on vacation. I was planning to ask someone to go to the Chinese restaurant to buy some dumplings..."
Bonnie is indeed not in London now, because she has gone to Callan Castle in advance - in two months, she will start preparing for the filming of the second season of the reality show "The Traitors". Because the filming location of this season of "The Traitors" will be changed from Chatsworth House to Callan Castle, she needs to go to Callan Castle in advance to make some renovation plans there for the filming of the show.
…
"Barron, I'm very glad I made the choice I did."
Today, according to the agreement in advance, the Crown Prince came to DS Capital. After learning about the current rate of return of the Mars Fund, the Crown Prince was very happy. He patted Barron on the shoulder and asked:
"I am going to make additional investments. When can I make additional investments?"
"We originally planned to settle the Mars Fund after the one-year period. However, in addition to you, there are many investors who want to invest in the Mars Fund again, including previous investors and new investors. Therefore, we plan to open the investment channel of the Mars Fund again in early April."
Baron has also considered this matter. After all, in his opinion, the current size of the Mars Fund is still too small.
Previously, DS Capital did not have sufficient qualifications and track record, and was not very attractive to investors. However, with the outstanding performance of Mars Fund in less than half a year, it has also attracted more investors. Some people have been asking when they can invest in Mars Fund, so he made this decision.
"Okay, remember to let me know when the time comes, Barron. I'm going to invest another 20 million pounds."
"No problem, Your Highness."
Barron was also happy to tie the interests of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more closely to his own. After all, many things in the future would require the influence of the other party.
For example, because the timing was not yet ripe, he had not yet mentioned his plan to acquire O2.
You should know that O2 was spun off from British Telecom, which was originally a state-owned enterprise. Later, it publicly sold 50% of its shares and became a private company, but 50% of its shares still belong to the state.
The state-owned shares in O2, the company that was spun off from it, also account for a large proportion. It can be said that if Barron wants to acquire O2, the government's attitude is absolutely crucial.
In this regard, Barron prepared a dual strategy. One was to use the influence of the royal family to persuade the management of O2. The other was that after Britain participated in the Iraq War and anti-war voices arose in the country, he planned to reach a "tacit understanding" with the prime minister on the condition that his media would refrain from "making trouble" in this regard, in exchange for their approval of the acquisition of O2.
Of course, this alone is still not enough. Barron will also have a dedicated acquisition team to communicate and negotiate with O2's management.
After get off work, Barron took Wang Wanting directly back to his residence.
His home was already well stocked with Chinese food ingredients, and he also asked his housekeeper Ramos to prepare some corresponding vegetables in advance.
As for dumplings, Barron's favorites are the ones with cabbage and meat and the ones with leeks and meat. It can be seen that Wang Wanting is indeed very experienced in making dumplings. The fillings she prepared smell very tempting.
Ramos had become the butler of the London residence at this time. He had never seen the noble Duke go into the kitchen in person, so he hurriedly took the maids to help.
But making dumplings was too difficult for them, so Barron finally exerted his authority as a duke and drove them all out of the kitchen.
"I didn't expect you to make dumplings so well, Your Highness."
Wang Wanting was quite surprised to see that although Barron was not very skilled, he at least made pretty dumplings, and she began to praise him.
For Barron, this scene brought back memories of similar scenes in his previous life.
Perhaps it is a mark engraved deep in the soul, the Chinese people always have a warm feeling when it comes to making dumplings.
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