Capital Feast

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The panic buying began. Ferdinand sent people to spread rumors that prices were about to rise.

There was a basis for this; Vienna, which had always had the highest prices in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, had actually seen lower prices than other regions over the past six months.

Everyone knew this wasn't normal. Capitalists are not philanthropists, and such a situation could certainly not last.

Faced with hard evidence, the citizens of Vienna believed it. The good life they had enjoyed for just half a year was about to end.

Naturally, they went on a buying frenzy. Before dawn, long queues had formed in front of every supermarket in Vienna. The panic buying had arrived.

Volvo, having prepared early, had naturally moved many of its goods. Long-term staples were no longer in stock, replaced by crafts and short-term perishables like bread and various snacks.

These were quickly bought out. When Volvo's staff opened the warehouse and the crowd saw that these items couldn't be stored for long, they naturally weren't the primary targets for ordinary citizens.

They left one after another and flooded into other supermarkets. Soon, many stores were emptied. Looking at the bare shelves, many capitalists were left wanting to cry but having no tears.

One must know that many supermarkets restocked on credit, usually settling monthly. Delaying payment for half a year or a year was considered normal.

Now, they were selling at a loss. The more they sold, the more they lost, yet the debts remained exactly the same.

If you had the strength to continue operating, then to retain customers, delaying payments for a while was fine. But if you were suffering heavy losses and wanted to close down, you couldn't blame others for kicking you while you were down.

Kotei, having just emerged from its own predicament, was dealt another heavy blow. Its stockpiled goods were bought out, and an awkward situation arose: there was nothing left to sell!

The retail industry in Vienna suffered a devastating blow. Many capitalists faced a single problem: a lack of capital turnover.

Department stores were now losing money the more they sold. The proceeds from clearing out stock weren't even enough to pay the debts owed to manufacturers.

Forced into a corner, they turned to borrowing. The banks of Vienna naturally wouldn't miss this feast of capital; for a time, they descended like vultures, looting and kicking those already down.

The smaller capitalists were even worse off, facing the danger of insolvency. Many simply embezzled funds and ran away; after all, this era lacked the capability for cross-border asset recovery.

The crisis spread to the manufacturing sector, and many factories were caught in the crossfire! With debtors running away, payments couldn't be collected. Many small factories fell into dire straits due to too many bad debts!

The capitalists who had survived the initial wave were naturally unwilling to give up. Many had a flash of inspiration and created all sorts of "clothing cities," "dining cities," and "machinery cities," hoping to make a killing and recoup their losses.

Thinking that their properties were already there and couldn't be sold off, they decided to fight for survival. Relying on the popularity they had previously accumulated, the pioneers naturally made money, but the side effect was that the entire retail industry suffered.

A massive wave of bankruptcies erupted. A large number of capitalists went under, one dragging down another. Unemployment rose by the day, and Vienna was in a state of depression. The economic crisis had arrived.

The financial giants who had been gloating just moments ago were perhaps unfamiliar with this kind of operation. They gorged themselves at first, only to choke on their own indigestion.

Holding a massive pile of collateral, they found themselves unable to liquidate assets during the financial crisis, watching helplessly as values plummeted day by day, unable to cry.

Then it spread to the stock market. Due to a lack of liquidity in the market, stocks began to crash, and countless fortunes evaporated.

The financial crisis in Vienna soon spread throughout the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire. A large number of enterprises went bankrupt, workers lost their jobs, and society became unstable.

Bank deposits began to drain away rapidly. Finally, a small bank called Boston ran out of capital and went bankrupt.

Due to the improper handling by the Austria government, a run on banks began, and more institutions were implicated. Many that had insufficient capital reserves followed in Boston's footsteps.

At this point, the slow-to-react Austro-Hungarian Empire finally realized it needed to save the market. On December 8, Austro-Hungarian Finance Minister Murdoch-Hollman held a press conference to announce the launch of a rescue plan.

Ferdinand knew the harvest season had arrived. The economic development of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was still quite good; as long as sufficient capital was injected, this financial crisis would soon pass.

Taking advantage of the depressed stock market, Ferdinand fully utilized his "buy, buy, buy" strategy, acquiring many valuable enterprises at bargain-bin prices. He even took the opportunity to buy shares in Skoda, leaping to become its second-largest shareholder.

Of course, Skoda wasn't as formidable then as it would be in later generations. Its true explosion wouldn't begin until 1899, reaching its peak in 1937, when its artillery production surpassed that of the entire British Isles. Ferdinand was simply positioning himself in advance.

Kotei Department Store, already in Ferdinand's pocket, naturally couldn't escape his grasp.

Kotei Department Store had first suffered heavy losses in the retail sector, and after the financial crisis broke out, the banks' early demands for repayment dealt it a fatal blow.

The 200,000 pounds in loans once sent by Hungarian capitalists had now become Kotei's death warrant.

Ever since their reputation was ruined, Kotei Department Store had been required to pay cash for all goods, tying up a massive amount of capital.

Now that the banks were demanding early repayment, the capital chain snapped, and Kotei Department Store was beyond saving. After holding on for a while, the Hurd Family finally decided to give up.

After all, they were the fuse that ignited this financial crisis; the government would likely pin the blame on them. Being a scapegoat wasn't an easy job!

By selling the company now, everyone could still walk away with a share. The key was that Ferdinand could provide cash, which they could use to bail out their other industries.

With 50,000 pounds in cash and the assumption of all debts, Ferdinand easily annexed Kotei Department Store, a giant company valued at 800,000 pounds.

Opportunities like this only existed during a financial crisis when a large number of companies were going bankrupt. Everyone else was busy merging and restructuring, so naturally, no one competed with Ferdinand.

Ten years of hard work cannot compare to a single moment of explosion!

This instance perfectly illustrated that saying. Ferdinand had profited immensely this time. The gains from this single event were enough to save the Kohary Family ten years of struggle.

The occurrence of the economic crisis was still somewhat beyond Ferdinand's expectations; the power of the butterfly effect exceeded his imagination.

As the butterfly effect fermented, the power of his foresight would become smaller and smaller. Ferdinand felt a bit of panic; he seemed to need to prepare a few more escape routes.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was out of the question; although this was the base of the Kohary Family, it was destined to have no future.

The Alliance was also out of the question; Ferdinand didn't have the confidence that he could change the outcome of the World War on his own!

It seemed that turning his gaze outside of Europe and developing in the colonies was a good choice. After all, many places were currently blank slates with no competitors. He probably still remembered several famous mineral deposits in the world; at the very worst, he could become a mining tycoon.

There wasn't much time left. It seems the trip to London needs to be moved up, Ferdinand said to himself.