[Chapter 813: The Value of Gold]
Bush Sr. certainly didn't understand it, and neither did William White's won. This guy, he didn't really want to ascend to heaven.
For soone who has a fear of flying, it is better to shoot him than to ask him to ride a space shuttle.
"Athena, Daddy's not going to Mars. Ahem, um, you can't go either." William White found his daughter's request quite overwhelming. Rocket launches weren't a joke. It was one thing to fool others, but if he ended up being fooled too, that would just be stupid.
"Daddy, that rocket you ntioned sounds really impressive. And that suit you're wearing is just too cool!"
Seeing the look of speechlessness on his face, Suzuki and Michelle found it amusing. They originally thought this guy might actually be going crazy, but it seed like it was just business.
To be honest, satellite launches were definitely a good business. With launch costs in the hundreds of millions, plus various insurance fees, even sending a tal ball would be very expensive.
The Falcon rocket of the future didn't even use particularly advanced engines. The rlin rocket engines dated back to the Apollo era. After so many years, a few tweaks were still applicable.
Elon Musk rely solved the issue of engine parallelism; the engines themselves hadn't changed significantly. It was just like CPUs evolving from single-core to dual-core and then to many more cores. The Falcon rocket eventually had twenty-seven engines, so why not go bigger?
After all, it was cheaper, the technology was mature, and it could be mass-produced and reused. If it couldn't make a profit with all that, then it simply wasn't right.
Of course, it wasn't as simple as William White could decide just with a wave of his hand. It was like air conditioning: without variable frequency, it was just a simple on-off switch, heating until reaching a set temperature, and cooling when it dropped below that.
With variable frequency, it was a different story; you just increased by a certain percentage. Digital control could save electricity, but accuracy in temperature beca a priority.
In the rocket business, things got quite complex, but as long as the direction was correct, how difficult could it really be?
Elon Musk was short on cash, and if he hadn't had decent luck, he would have gone bankrupt in 2008. As for William White, he was dirt poor except for his money, so there was no comparison.
...
Looking at the large piece of natural gold on the table, William White seed a bit dazed. Wow, this thing must weigh around thirty pounds, right?
"Filson, was this dug up in Australia?"
"Yes, sir. With this piece, the mine holds a lot of potential. But right now, gold prices are a bit low."
William White didn't care about the highs or lows; actual gold was precious no matter how you looked at it. Even if the gold content was less than eighty percent, it was naturally ford. Plus, if this legendary "dog's head gold" showed up, there had to be so significant veins nearby.
For a mine owner, this was the most important thing. Dog's head gold symbolized luck and wealth.
Well, so might say it represented death and greed.
"Filson, does this piece weigh thirty pounds? Usually, this kind of thing is quite rare, right?"
"More than that; it's about fifty, actually. They've asured its density, and with a gold content over eighty percent, it's a remarkably rare natural crystal."
"Great, let's call it Gold Mountain then. Tanner, have soone make a fra for it. We need to store it in a vacuum; if it oxidizes, it won't look as good."
"Sure thing, master."
People are sotis strange. Telling soone how much money you have doesn't hold much weight. But having a literal mountain of gold right in front of you? That visual impact is different.
"Filson, I've decided. Since gold prices aren't rising, let's hold onto more physical gold."
Filson smiled wryly. According to the boss's saying, bulk commodities wouldn't have a strong performance before 1999.
Maintaining a strong dollar was essential to keep the dollar's international settlent position stable. Therefore, gold and oil, both priced in dollars, couldn't possibly rise in price.
Production and demand simply didn't determine their prices. The price of gold per ounce directly depended on the Federal Reserve's decisions, as did the price of oil per barrel.
"Sir, if that's the case, we must hedge in the futures market. Otherwise, if gold prices drop suddenly, White Bank could face a run."
"Of course. And if gold prices fall below $400 an ounce, we should double our short positions imdiately."
"Okay, that price range is quite reasonable. Unfortunately, storage costs for oil are too high; otherwise, we could do the sa with it."
In that sense, gold proved to be more reliable than oil. The dollar hadn't turned into worthless paper because the U.S. controlled the prices of oil and gold.
Otherwise, it would have gone bankrupt hundreds of tis already.
Think about it: how many short-term loans does xico have?
It was just a few hundred billion dollars.
The United States was indeed stronger than them, but you wouldn't see such high premiums. Hundreds of trillions in governnt debt was simply shocking.
Of course, this ga the U.S. was playing wouldn't work after 2008. Pressuring oil prices was futile; gold wouldn't drop. Rather than holding onto dollars, it was better to exchange them for gold.
You didn't want paper gold; you needed to see piles of the shiny stuff. Who could vouch for how much actual gold was behind paper promises? Sure, you could trade gold with paper, but if you wanted reserves, it was another story.
Not convinced? Don't even think about swapping all your assets for physical gold; even half would be impossible for most banks to provide. Not even for the U.S. Treasury.
Forget about private individuals; the governnt couldn't do it either. Rest assured, no matter how high the stakes got, no country would empty their gold reserves.
If all else fails, they could always resort to conflict, right?
Excuses were readily available, disrupting the U.S. financial order. Don't worry, once war breaks out, the dollar would still be the strongest currency.
Aricans found themselves in a tight spot, with massive healthcare costs draining resources. And let's not forget all those inexplicable military expenses. Getting through without a fight was not an option.
Without guns and shells, the U.S. would still supply them.
No kidding! Bin Laden and friends did just that in Afghanistan.
They fought for twenty years, and yet they had the audacity to mock the Russians. The Russians might have their flaws, but they maintained a clear advantage.
The U.S. also had its strengths, but you couldn't deny that their opponents were getting stronger. At this rate, they might even be worse off than the Russians.
If they didn't wrap it up soon, Afghanistan could beco a regional military powerhouse. At that point, it would be a face-plant into the Pacific.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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