Source: Economic Daily
In the city of New York and Sex, broadway singing and dancing is only "face", and the terrifying waves of Wall Street are "Lizi". What it believes in is the extreme pursuit of profit, and even life towards death. In a cycle of creation and destruction, Wall Street capital sings and dances while pricking up its ears to identify signals that the music has stopped, ready to take the road and flee. The head of every financial institution understands that the first person to successfully escape is not a coward but a wise man, and only by being quick can he survive and get qualified for the next feast.
MARGIN CALL is a film about the 2008 international financial crisis. The title of the film was originally meant to be a margin call, but it was strangely translated as "Shang Hai Tong". The chairman of the film, at the time of the company's life and death, said the true meaning of Wall Street, "either the action is fast, or the people are smart, or they have to cheat."
This scene may make many people feel uncomfortable, but it is not strange for Wall Street. Wall Street is a place where there are no scruples. What it believes in is the extreme pursuit of profit, and even life towards death.
In the United States, New York is called "city" and Washington is called "town". When a small-town youth chooses to leave their hometown, the preferred target is mostly New York. Much of New York's unique appeal stems from Wall Street.
Wall Street is located in the narrow streets of Lower Manhattan, New York, usa, from Trinity Church in the west to South Street next to the East River, which is the financial center across Manhattan in New York. Although most financial institutions have moved to Midtown Manhattan and New Jersey, the 1,000-meter-long, 10-meter-wide Wall Street remains a symbol of the U.S. financial center.
Even today, whether in Europe or Asia, many people still feel that the United States is an "upstart". Of course, wall Street's "credit" is indispensable. What's more, how much cultural heritage can a country with a history of less than 250 years have?
However, from the perspective of cultural history, it is somewhat inappropriate to separate the history of the United States from the history of Western civilization. Once the two are seen as the same civilization system, it can be seen more clearly that for thousands of years, the "capital" of Western civilization has moved frequently, from Rome to Vienna, from Paris to London; until after World War II, it was divided into political centers and financial centers, of which the political center moved to Washington and the financial center moved to Wall Street.
From the perspective of financial history, Wall Street and the development of the Western financial system are more in line. New York is younger than Boston and Philadelphia. It grew out of a city called New Amsterdam built in the lower Hudson Valley, so it has a distinctly Dutch style. After being occupied by England on 8 September 1664, New Amsterdam was renamed New York (New York) in honor of the Duke of York. Because the city at that time was modeled after Amsterdam, some place names in Manhattan can still be seen today, such as Canal Street and Water Street. Wall Street is home to new Amsterdam's northern walls.
The Dutch established the most advanced financial system at that time in the mainland and handed it over directly to New Amsterdam. Its business model is based on written documents and relies more on written contracts, notarized agreements, books and mortgages, as well as financial instruments such as bonds, than in the UK. All kinds of people who come to Wall Street, etc., either look for ordinary people in the legend, or look for legends in ordinary people. It was this series of institutional innovations by the Dutch that gave Wall Street the opportunity to create a legend.
The American political system is known as the "Washington-Wall Street" axis system, washington is the place where politicians trade, and Wall Street is the center of capital transactions.
The former prefers silence. With quadrennial elections and biennial midterm elections, Washington as a whole operates at nearly the same pace. Politicians from both sides of the government, academics looking to cross the revolving door to the ranks of White House and Congressional officials, and corporate executives or advisers who want to get a half-time job in the government through funding often follow the old practice and play their part in their respective circles.
The latter loves hustle and bustle. Wall Street also has cycles, from innovation bringing credit expansion, attracting capital into new territories, bubbles, to eventually bursting, oscillating adjustments in a depression, and then re-entering reincarnation. The ups and downs of finance are really common in the history of Wall Street.
In the city of New York and The Sex, Broadway's singing and dancing is only "face", and the terrifying waves of Wall Street are "Lizi".
The Great Depression of 1929 lasted 32 months and the stock market fell by 86%; in 1937, due to the premature tightening of the Federal Reserve, the stock market fell by 60% and the bear market lasted for 61 months; after The end of World War II, the Financial Road of the War in the United States was broken, confidence collapsed, and entered the third bear market in history, which lasted for 36 months; the Cuban Missile Crisis triggered the flash crash of 1962; in 1973 there was a textbook stagflation; in 1980 Volcker tightened, interest rose to 20% Then black Monday in 1987; the dot-com bubble burst with the 9/11 terrorist attacks; and the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008.
In a cycle of creation and destruction, Wall Street capital sings and dances while pricking up its ears to identify signals that the music has stopped, ready to take the road and flee. The head of every financial institution understands that the first person to successfully escape is not a coward but a wise man, and only by being quick can he survive and get qualified for the next feast.
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. After the terrorist attack that year, in order to boost everyone's confidence in New York, Hollywood filmed a romantic movie set in New York, called "Destiny". Although in reality, the ice cream in the dessert shop in the play is indeed as sweet as the heroine, people who have experienced crises know that the "sweetness" of Wall Street is only the appearance, the truth is, watching him rise up, watching him feast on guests, watching him collapse.
The gorgeous and sad city of New York and the high-rise buildings of Wall Street are both heaven and hell, and if you don't have the courage to die, please stay away. (Guan Jinyong Source: Economic Daily)