не только наращивал цену, но и повышал ликвидность акций «ANDмпериал стил».
After I began operations, there was not a moment when my shares could not be bought or sold instantly in the market; I mean, to buy or sell quite impressive blocks of shares without the price changing very much. Gone is the fear that you can buy these stocks and be stuck with them forever or sell them and be squeezed dry. Постепенно среди профессионалов и публики в целом укрепилось доверие к постоянству рынка для акций «ANDмпериал стил», а это постоянство было результатом стабильной активности и роста. Having bought and sold many thousands of shares, I did raise the price. Каждый хотел купить «ANDмпериал стил» за сотню долларов, а почему бы и нет? Now everyone knew that these were good stocks, that one could do business with them. The proof was growth. If the stock is up thirty points from 70, why not go up another thirty? So many people argued.
After raising the price by thirty points, I accumulated only seven thousand shares. Heи пришли ко мне в среднем по 85, так что на них я имел прибыль пятнадцать пунктов. But in целом моя прибыль была намного выше. Heа пока еще оставалась бумажной, но была достаточно гарантированной, потому что у меня был рынок для всего, что я пожелал бы продать. With reasonable manipulation, the price will still rise, and the price of my calls was in the range from 70 to 100.
Circumstances prevented my plans to convert paper profits into good, reliable money. This был, позволю себе сказать, великолепный образец манипуляции, проведенной абсолютно законными методами и завершившейся заслуженным успехом. The company was valuable property, and its shares are still far from reaching the highest possible price. One of the members of the original syndicate, a large banking house with sufficient resources, had a desire to consolidate control over the corporation. Очень может быть, что контроль над процветающим и растущим предприятием типа «ANDмпериал стил корпорейшн» более привлекателен для банковской фирмы, чем для частного инвестора. IN любом случае эта фирма предложила продать им мои опционы на акции. For меня это означало грандиозную прибыль, и я, разумеется, тут же согласилсI. When the opportunity arises to sell everything in one fell swoop and for a decent profit, I always go for it. I was quite pleased with the results of this operation.
Before I could give them my 100,000 share options, I learned that these bankers were bringing in their own experts to take a closer look at the company. ANDх отчеты и стали причиной предложения о покупке моих опционов. I kept a few thousand shares as a long-term investment. I believe in this company.
INсе мои манипуляции с акциями «ANDмпериал стил» были в высшей степени нормальными и здравыми. As long as the price rose in response to my purchases, I knew for sure that everything was going well. Stocks never once tried to freeze in place, as they sometimes do. ANDсчезновение адекватной реакции на покупки — это лучший признак того, что пора продавать. INсегда есть уверенность, что, если акции того стоят и условия рынка будут соответствовать, ты всегда сможешь вернуть их назад, даже если они откатились на twenty points. But с «ANDмпериал стил» мне ни разу не пришлось проделывать ничего подобного.
When manipulating stocks, I never deviate from the basic principles of trading. Do you want to know why I talk so often and insistently about this and that I never argue with the stock telegraph and that I never lose my temper because of the behavior of the market? Many people think that strong, hardened men who have made millions in their businesses and have been successful on Wall Street should be dispassionate about the game. But it is simply amazing how often successful and smart traders react like absurd women to market movements that are undesirable for them. Heи ведут себя как если бы им нанесли личную обиду, и, потеряв присутствие духа, они начинают терять деньги.
IN свое время много сплетничали о ссоре между Джоном Прентиссом и мной. It was assumed that some exchange operation had failed, or someone was trying to trip someone up, which cost me - or him - millions, or something like that. But ничего этого не was.
We have been on friendly terms for years. Порой он передавал мне информацию, которую я мог выгодно использовать, и я дал ему совет, которым он был волен воспользоватьсI. If I had, I would have saved my money.
He was очень эффективен в ходе организации и продвижения на рынок компании «Петролеум продактс». After a more or less successful market debut, general market conditions took a turn for the worse, and the new shares did not perform as well as Prentiss and his allies had hoped for. As conditions improved, Prentiss formed a pool and began trading in Petroleum Products shares.
I can't say enough about his technique. He не рассказывал мне о своей работе, а я и не спрашивал. But it was clear that for all his indisputable intelligence and despite his experience on Wall Street, his actions, whatever they were, did not bring success, and the participants in the pool very soon found that they could not get rid of the shares. He must have used every trick he knew, because usually the pool manager doesn't ask for a replacement until he feels he can't handle the task, which is the last thing the average person is willing to admit. Anyway, he came to me and, after a brief introduction, told me that he was asking me to take care of the market for Petroleum Products and sell the shares of the pool—a little over a hundred thousand shares. Then they walked along 102-103.
Ситуация представлялась мне довольно сомнительной, и я, поблагодарив, отказалсI. He настаивал. He сослался на личные отношения, и мне пришлось уступить. According to the constitution, I do not like to get involved with enterprises in the success of which I do not believe, but at the same time I believe that a man has duties to friends and acquaintances. I promised that I would do what I could, but added that I had doubts about success, and listed the adverse factors that would have to be dealt with. Prentiss only replied that he was not asking me for guarantees of millions in profits for the pool. He лично уверен, что если я возьмусь за это дело, то добьюсь результатов, которые удовлетворят любое разумное существо.
INот так я оказался втянутым, против моей воли, в это дело. As I feared, I found that everything is extremely confusing, mainly due to Prentiss's mistakes in manipulating the shares of the pool. But главным неблагоприятным фактором было времI. I was convinced that we were rapidly approaching the end of the market rally, which meant that the improvement in the market situation that Prentiss had been so excited about would quickly end in poof. I feared that before I could do anything significant for Petroleum Products, the market would turn completely bearish. But я уже дал обещание и решил сделать все, что сCan.
Я приступил к вздуванию prices. Success was moderate. I remember I raised the price to 107 or something, and it was quite decent, so I even managed to sell some shares in the end. This было не много, но я был рад уже тому, что не увеличил запасы пула. INне пула было множество таких, кто ждал минимального роста, чтобы сбросить свои акции, и я для них оказался просто божьим даром. If the general conditions were better, I could also do better. It's a shame they didn't call me sooner. I felt that all I could do was get out of the business with as little loss to the pool as possible.
I sent for Prentiss and told him of my understanding of the situation. He начал возражать, и мне пришлось объяснить, почему я занял именно такую позицию. I said:
— Prentiss, I feel the market pulse very clearly. IN ваших акциях нет материала для подъема. There is nothing easier than understanding how the public reacts to manipulation. Listen, when you make Petroleum Products as attractive to the stock market as possible and give these stocks all the support they need, and then you find that the public is not interested in you, then you can be sure that the problem is not the stock, but the market. Абсолютно бесполезно пытаться изнасиловать market. You will inevitably lose. The pool manager should only buy his own shares when someone follows him. If he's the only buyer in the market, he's going to be screwed. If I buy five thousand shares, the public should buy the same amount. And I не намерен все покупать в одиночку. If I went for it, I would be stocked up to my ears, and I don't want that. Here you can do only one thing - to sell. And selling means selling.
“You mean sell at any price?” Prentiss was outraged.
— INерно! — ответил I. It was noticeable that he was ready to throw himself into an argument. “If you want me to sell the shares of the pool at all, you must be prepared that the price falls below par and...
— No! Never! he roared. You'd think I was suggesting he join the suicide club.
“Prentiss,” I tried to reason with him, “the basic principle of stock manipulation is to raise the price in order to sell it off. No one can sell many stocks on the rise. You can't. Many sell only on a rollback from the very top. I can't raise your shares to a hundred twenty-five or a hundred and thirty. Я бы хотел, но это не получитсI. Так что тебе придется продавать от текущего уровнI. In my opinion, all stocks are