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A social reception with a small circle is being held here, and the visitors are basically the top wave of dignitaries in the Big Apple area.

"Simon, the recent situation in Nasdaq seems to be very bad. If you have any funding needs, please feel free to ask."

The speaker was a taller, round-faced, gray-haired middle-aged man named Thomas Renyi, who held the position of CEO of the Bank of New York.

Simon smiled and raised his glass to the other party: "Of course, Tom, if necessary, I will definitely not be polite."

The reason why the two are so hot at this time is because of the series of incidents before.

After the turmoil in February, the Bank of New York's takeover and swallowing of Mellon Financial Group was not very smooth. In addition, the collapse of the Nasdaq Index in March severely damaged the financial market, making Mellon Financial Group completely powerless to resist. Basically negotiated the price tag of the merger and acquisition.

$ 120 billion.

The main reason is that Mellon Financial’s share price rebounded again after it was reported that Mellon Financial was taken over by the Bank of New York and other positive news, from the lowest point of US$86 billion to more than US$100 billion.

Even so, the Bank of New York also took a huge advantage.

You know, the Bank of New York tried to acquire Mellon Financial last year, and considering the premium, the budget made at that time reached 200 billion US dollars.Now, it is equivalent to saving the purchase price of 80 billion US dollars for nothing, how can this not make people happy.

More importantly, with the tacit understanding between the two parties this time, the Bank of New York has also caught the line of the Westeros system.

Whether it is shareholders, investors or the board of directors, they all responded enthusiastically to this positive news.

Because before this, the Bank of New York, which had an asset size of only 700 billion U.S. dollars, could not even enter the ranking of Bank of America in its previous life. International first-class standards, and the total assets scale has been promoted to Bank of America No.400, which is also a very important threshold.

The combination of the two, coupled with the conceivable future cooperation with the Westeros system, it is not a problem for the Bank of New York to hit the top of the pyramid of the United States or even the World Bank in the future.

After continuing to chat with Thomas Renyi, Simon entertained some other guests, and then came to James Raybould again.

Or the Bank of New York.

"After the merger, the new bank will be named Bank of New York Mellon. Simon, you should be fine, right?"

"Oh, of course not."

Simon smiled and shook his head. He didn't expect James to bring up such trifles, or maybe the Bank of New York was a little bit overwhelmed, thinking that the conflict between him and the Mellon family might be deep. I don't know if keeping the Mellon prefix would make him uncomfortable Joy.

Of course, Simon wouldn't care about this kind of thing.

James was also expected, just smiled and said: "Also, after the merger, the number of members of the new bank's board of directors will increase from the current 7 to 11. I have already negotiated with Thomas, and we can get two places." , Simon, what are your plans?"

Whether it is the Bank of New York or Mellon Financial Group, they are all private companies held by the public, that is, the kind without an absolute majority of shareholders.

In such an enterprise, it seems that many shareholders belong to the common boss, but in fact, it is equal to being controlled by the board of directors of the enterprise.

Just like before that, the entire Mellon family’s total shareholding in Mellon Financial Group is only 7%, but by controlling 8 of the 5 board seats, it maintains long-term absolute control over this old-fashioned bank .

Simon has long understood this rule hidden behind the scenes of many established corporate giants in the United States. Therefore, on the premise of maintaining absolute control over the core enterprises of the Westeros system over the years, Simon has been direct or indirect through various enterprises in the system. Strive for various board positions.

In fact, it is tantamount to quietly striving to control the US economy.

This time, the Westeros system helped lead the Bank of New York to annex the Mellon Financial Group. Of course, it can't be in vain. Even if it doesn't have any shareholding in the two companies, it still puts forward conditions, requiring a seat on the board of directors of the new bank after the merger.After all, the more fundamental purpose of attracting a money bag of direct descendants, in addition to the interest relationship of the future cooperation between the two parties, also needs to be supported by real power.

Even if the number of members of the new bank's board of directors increases to 11 and has two seats, it is equivalent to getting 18% of the voting rights, which is definitely not dispensable.

It is also very clear that this is the root of some kind of power. Even though Simon has great trust in James, he still did not casually hand over this personnel power to the other party, but said: "I will think about it, and I will give you a list of candidates soon."

This is not the first time that the two of them have discussed similar matters. James just nodded with a smile and didn't say much, because he gradually understood the thoughts of his daughter, a man.If it was himself, he would not easily let go of this power, just like no king in ancient times would let his subjects accept their appointment as officials.

It was already ten o'clock at night when I left the party at Raybould's house and returned to my apartment on Fifth Avenue.

After entering the door, I quickly found two women in a small living room next to the bedroom on the third floor of the duplex apartment, Grace, who was six months pregnant, and Bryce Levison, who followed Grace.

Seeing that Grace was still holding her stomach while watching TV while waiting for her, while the other woman was sleeping soundly on Grace's lap, Simon walked over and easily lifted Bryce up, and gently threw it on the carpet. Sit down.

Bryce Levison woke up, opened his eyes in a daze, saw someone on the sofa and his own situation, and dissatisfiedly stretched out a small foot and kicked the man's leg twice before getting up, Leaning to the other side of the man again, curled up into a ball and leaned down on Simon's lap to continue sleeping.

Simon didn't throw her away this time, he pressed the woman's smooth face and rubbed it, then let a finger be bitten by the woman, and said to Grace: "How are you feeling tonight, is the little guy making a fuss?"

Before Grace could answer, Bryce had already spat out the man's finger, and hurriedly said: "It's so noisy, I was kicked, otherwise you think why Grace is not asleep now, so she is waiting for you. "

Grace waited for Bryce to finish, and explained with a smile: "She was stuck on my stomach to listen to the baby, and then she was kicked."

Bryce rushed to add: "It will definitely be like his dad in the future, bad guy."

Simon simply blocked Bryce's small mouth with his fingers again, and let the woman on his lap whine and did not let go, so he was able to chat with Grace for a while. After a while, he remembered what happened at the reception and smiled at Grace. Lace said, "By the way, did you know about the Bank of New York's acquisition of Mellon Financial?"

"I know, you're in charge."

"That's right, I got two board seats this time, just so I'll give you one."

Grace shook her head immediately: "How can this work, I don't know anything about banks."

Hearing this time, Bryce finally broke free from the man's clutches again, and rushed to say, "You don't need to know anything about this kind of thing, Grace, he just needs you to be his puppet."

Seeing what Bryce said, Grace looked at Simon.

If that was the case, of course she wouldn't mind, or rather be happy to be his puppet.

Simon also nodded: "In fact, many boards of directors of large companies are like this. In order to maintain independence in name, they just choose some people who have nothing to do with the industry as directors, such as scholars, politicians, athletes, etc. As for me Side, indeed, what I need is a trustworthy person, because you will have the right to vote at that time."

Just as Grace was about to agree, she thought of the little guy in her belly, and motioned: "But, I'm pregnant now, Elite doesn't care too much?"

"It doesn't matter. It will take some time for the two companies to fully merge. By then, the little guy will probably be born."

Bryce, who was still pillowing on Simon's lap, said again at this time: "Actually, I can too, Simon, let me earn a pocket money too?"

Simon looked down and said with a smile, "I don't need to bother you. If I want pocket money, I'll give you [-] million later."

For the two places, Grace absolutely trusts her, and for the other one, she must not give it to the lazy woman in her arms, but plans to choose a more professional agent.

Bryce was stunned for a moment, until Grace patted the man's shoulder and chuckled, then she realized that she wanted to rebel again, but was soon suppressed by the man again, and her mouth was also gagged.

Because the man will leave tomorrow, it is difficult to get along with each other. Even though she was a little sleepy, Grace didn't think about going to rest, and continued to talk about another thing: "This year's Elite Model Contest has been launched in various sub-divisions, mainly me. The former assistant of Michelle, you met, she is in charge, and I will help you to keep an eye on it. However, if you need anything else, you can also talk to her directly. "

Simon just nodded slightly.

"Also, that Angela Lindelwald and last year's Michelle Alves have never been touched by you. Why don't you take them to Europe this time? It hasn't been long since Fashion Week, and they are very happy now. leisure."

Bryce really couldn't see it, and broke free from the man's clutches again, hating iron and steel: "Grey, you are just his lover, not his procuress, why do you always help him find women."

Grace simply ignored Bryce's poisonous tongue, and followed the strength of the man's grip on her hand, leaning gently on his shoulder, looking very satisfied.

I don't care what I am.

As long as it's his 'what'.

This completely hopeless appearance made Bryce even more annoyed, or she didn't know whether she was annoyed or something else, seeing that Grace also imitated a man's appearance and stretched out her hand to block her mouth, she couldn't help opening her mouth, but , after the man glanced lightly, he didn't dare to use any force.

Alas, could it be that I can't save myself?

The next day is Thursday, April 4th.

After breakfast, and saying goodbye to Grace and Grace, Simon boarded the first plane to London.

The UK will hold a new general election on May 5.

The current Westeros system is getting bigger and bigger, and it is more and more affected by a country's macro-policy. Simon has to spend more time on this aspect.

This time, I communicated with some politician candidates in advance.

In fact, the construction of a network of contacts is like this. It is far less complicated than some people think. When you meet each other at a party, even if you talk about something that is not painful, as long as you express some inclinations and wishes, a thread is considered After the construction is completed, of course, in order to maintain it, various substantive mutual benefits are required.

After the UK, there is Finland.

Nokia headquarters needs a visit.

Then there is Italy.

And, the last stop in Europe, Ukraine.

The schedule is still arranged in advance. During Simon’s stay in Ukraine, the Rivny Free Trade Zone will be officially established. Kuchma has also confirmed that he will personally attend the first batch of representatives from 17 countries that have been negotiated with the Rivny Free Trade Zone. The official ceremony of signing the free trade agreement, of course, Simon will not appear in public, but the two will definitely have contact in private.

After the Sherban assassination last year, he gradually discovered that his Prime Minister Lazarenko was not only becoming more and more restless, but also threatened his own power. Kuchma has basically determined that Lazarenko will be taken down.

However, even though they both belong to the Petrovsk gang, Lazarenko won't win if he wants to. The two sides are playing games at this time.

The strength of Simon and the Westeros system in Ukraine represents the Rovno gang, who is completely watching with a cold eye.

Of course, it was just a cold-eyed bystander on the bright side.

Because even this cold-eyed onlooker actually represented Simon's attitude. He didn't want Ukraine's evidence to be too stable. Once Kiev stabilized, it was inevitable that the self-contained Rovno Gang would become more and more eye-catching.

Again.

People can't be too idle, and accidents will happen if they are too idle.

In the cabin of the Boeing 767, Simon was flipping through a personal resume of Anthony Blair in the study, while writing and drawing with a pencil on the draft paper at hand.

Two names had been written and crossed out on the scratch paper.

The Spice Girls.

Harry Potter.

In an old capitalist country like the UK, the political system has a strong continuity, so even his big butterfly has not been able to affect Anthony Blair’s candidate for the new British Prime Minister. According to polls in the UK, It will also basically be the next prime minister.

However, such as the famous Spice Girls in memory, and another "Harry Potter" fantasy series that made a certain female writer who was once down and living on relief have more wealth than the Queen of England, but they were lost by the butterfly.

Neither caught Simon by surprise.

The Spice Girls should have been born last year. However, after the "American Idol" hit, it was quickly introduced to the UK last year, which also caused a sensation.As a result, "British Idol" attracted most of the attention of the music circle in the UK last year, including new music talents who rose due to this, and they were also taken by Daenerys Records, which expanded to the UK at the same time.

With so much going on, it's no surprise that the Spice Girls disappeared.

Then there's Harry Potter

The former "Harry Potter" is similar to the "My Fair Princess" that Simon just handed over to Ren Jingxi some time ago. When J.K. Rowling took a train, he happened to see a belt outside the window. A little boy with black-rimmed glasses had a burst of inspiration and produced a series of ideas.

This time, it is basically impossible for J. K. Rowling to have the same encounter again. .

Chapter 1122 Small Cotton Jacket

The Spice Girls are simple. Daenerys Entertainment has been scouting out teen pop stars for years, and it's easy to replicate them. Even if they fail, it doesn't matter much.

On the contrary, the "Harry Potter" series, such a super big IP, would be a pity if it was dropped by the butterfly.

Inside the front cabin of the Boeing 767.

Simon was thinking about this with two minds. Girl A knocked on the door and came in and delivered a document that had just been sorted out: "Boss, this is from Chris Lee."

At the reception at Jonathan's house two days ago, Simon met Chris Lee, the president of Sony's Columbia Pictures, and chatted for a while. The next day, someone sent a message to ask Chris Lee to sort out a Sony All the project information that the film industry is incubating to itself.

In fact, it was some kind of temptation.

Sony has been in Hollywood for so many years. If it was in the past, foreign capital lingered in Hollywood, which was actually in line with Simon’s plan. Times have changed. Since Daenerys Entertainment does not intend to retain its strength and seek coexistence, it should be the Japanese The driver who was swept away from Hollywood.

In the past, Sony successfully survived the difficult period around 2000 and gained a firm foothold in Hollywood for a long time with the help of "Men in Black" and "Spiderman" and other popular series.Now, since the Japanese are going to be out, Simon needs to control Sony as much as possible to control the variables like the sudden emergence of blockbuster movies.

Chris Lee is a chess piece that Simon's temptation falls.

Now that Chris Lee shared the information, it is obvious that this Hollywood executive not only understood Simon's intentions, but also decisively sent the nomination certificate requested by Simon.

Simon took the document handed over by Girl A and opened it, and found that the information given by Chris Lee was more detailed than what he requested, including Sony's film list for this year, and the internal evaluation tendency of various incubation projects, etc. wait.

After several years of continuous losses, the two major labels controlled by Sony, Columbia and Samsung, are expected to produce only 11 films this year, including 7 for Columbia and 4 for Samsung.

In addition to "Walking with the Devil" which was a disastrous box office release on the Easter schedule, the key films of 1997 also include "The Plague of Anaconda" and "Absolute Power" scheduled for the summer, as well as "As Good as It Gets" and "Starship Troopers" at the end of the year. , and the others are small films with a budget of less than $3000 million.

This is quite different from Sony's 1997 film list in Simon's memory.

Sort out the information in my mind a little bit. In the past, 1997 was a year of great recovery for Sony. In the previous life, Sony occupied 4 of the annual box office list, namely "Men in Black" and "Air Force One". , "As Good as It Gets," "My Best Friend's Wedding."

Officially because of the big sales of four movies in a year, Sony survived the most difficult period at that time, and waited until the millennium to rely on the "Spider-Man" series to gain a firm foothold.

This time, things obviously changed too much.

First of all, under the strong impact of Daenerys Entertainment, and Sony's subsequent years of losses, the Japanese electronics giant, like several other Hollywood studios, had to take the initiative to reduce film production.There are 11 films under the two labels, which is not too small, and Fox has less than 10 films this year.

However, compared to a series of big hits such as "Men in Black", "Air Force One", "Walk with the Devil", "Starship Troopers", and "The Fifth Element" that were successful or failed in 1997, this time, the budget reached For the $5000 million blockbuster, there are only four films: "Walk with the Devil", "Absolute Power", "As Good as It Gets" and "Starship Troopers".

After a more careful analysis, the four main films distributed in the summer and the end of the year are also very interesting.

"Absolute Power" is a crime drama film directed and acted by Clint Eastwood again. The old cowboy has no longer hung on the tree of Warner since the death of Steve Ross. The box office has always been very guaranteed, and it is quite popular with major studios. This time, it was recruited by Sony and spent 5000 million US dollars to shoot this new film.

"The Plague of Anaconda", a typical Hollywood monster adventure film, once starred Jennifer Lopez, and it was a typical bad film, but the box office was not bad, coupled with the popularity of the video tape market, the follow-up production A string of sequels, some of which went straight to videotape and DVD like the "Alien" follow-up.

This time, because Jennifer Lopez was busy judging on "American Idol", the heroine was replaced by Demi Moore.

Obviously it was still influenced by Simon, the big butterfly.

Without the rise of Daenerys Entertainment, the couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore would have been very moist in the 90s.

Even if there is no representative work after "Ghost Story", Demi Moore still relied on the huge amount of hot money pouring into Hollywood in the 90s, and took over big-budget films such as "Devil Female Soldier" and "", regardless of whether these projects How miserable the investors are, but Moore's salary of more than [-] million US dollars in a row is in his pocket.