“Today, JW Foundation officially announces that it will downgrade the credit ratings of 130 core index stocks in the United States Dow Jones Index. It is recommended that investors sell and do not consider buying for a short period unless there is a major change in the company.”
“On the other hand, JW Foundation is optimistic about the stocks of high-tech companies in the United States and suggests that they can be held for a long time.”
“Now, we will have a Q&A session. Reporters who have questions or need to ask questions can raise their hands. I will select a few at random to answer.”
Although professionals had already told Jake and Baz about the entire process before the press conference began, Jake and Baz were still nervous because this was their first time holding such a major press conference while the densely packed reporters below were almost all blond and blue eyed foreigners.
At the same time, they felt slightly proud inside.
After all, not just any Somerland company could hold a press conference which foreign media would flock to. The current JW was really strong. Yet, all of this was due to the man who was not present today.
After Jake said that, a group of reporters raised their hands enthusiastically.
During this kind of occasion, there would be some insiders arranged for by the organizer. Their job was to ask some peaceful and easy to answer questions.
Jake kept the characteristics of the insiders that the staff told him before in his mind. Then, he pointed to a female reporter wearing a red sweater and said, “You, please ask your questions.”
When the other reporters saw this, they sat back in disappointment. The insider was calm on the inside, but she had a surprised look on her face. She took the microphone and asked, “Mr. Cullen, Mr. Willis, the question I want to ask is, does JW Foundation have any future action plans for the United States stock market?”
Jake glanced at Baz and motioned to Baz to handle this easy to answer question set up by the insiders.
Baz understood what Jake meant. So, he smiled and said, “This is our trade secret. Therefore, of course, it is not convenient for us to disclose the details.”
“However, what I want to say is that JW Foundation will never target a certain stock market or even the financial market of a certain country. JW Foundation is a profit oriented hedge fund. We have only ever had one goal, that is, to make money for customers using their money.”
At this moment, a reporter from a Western country suddenly stood up and asked loudly, “I just received the news that JW Foundation launched a hostile takeover of ExxonMobil Petroleum. Is this also one of your plans?”
As soon as this question was asked, there was an uproar at the scene.
Then, the reporters caused chaos.
Everyone was asking this question while the reporter who asked the question loudly at the beginning resisted the pull of the security guard with all his might. He was staring at Baz who was completely stunned as he stood on the stage, waiting for him to answer.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Jake immediately picked up the microphone and said, “Everyone, stay calm. If the scene continues to be chaotic, I have no choice but to end this press conference early. If that’s the case, I won’t be able to answer what you want to ask me.”
This sentence immediately calmed down the reporters on the scene.
Seeing that the situation had gradually calmed down again, Jake let out a sigh of relief. After he pondered for a moment, he said, “In regards to the question just now, although the way you asked your question was very out of line, out of the courtesy of the people of Somerland, I will still answer you.”
“However, this will be the only time I will allow it. If something similar happens next time, I will have to end the press conference early.”
“In response to the targeting of ExxonMobil, I want to declare that this is not a so-called hostile takeover. Rather, JW Foundation is optimistic about the future development of ExxonMobil and has decided to invest in it. There is only so much I can say about this. If there are any updates in the future, please continue to pay attention to the announcement on the official website of the JW Foundation.”
Although Jake barely deceived everyone with his answer, this question still grabbed everyone’s attention and changed the vibe of the whole press conference.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cullen, did the trading curb on the Dow Jones Index some time ago have anything to do with JW Foundation?”
This was something that everyone in the world knew and it seemed like a very idiotic question. However, this question made Jake very uncomfortable. After all, even if everyone knew, he could never admit it during such a public and formal occasion.
“I’m sorry, the trading curb that was triggered on Dow Jones was a market protection mechanism. Although JW Foundation has some investments in the United States financial market, we can’t trigger a trading curb in the financial market, and we would not have done so given the choice. We will continue to observe the specific situation. Thank you.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Cullen…”
Cold sweat started to appear on Jake’s forehead when the questions grew tougher and tougher.
Just when he felt that he was unable to go on, a staff member hurriedly walked over. He got close to Jake’s ear and said, “Mr. Laine is on the phone. He wants you to end this press conference immediately.”
Jake felt as if he was just given amnesty.
“Well, everyone, today’s press conference is over. Thank you for coming. If there are any new updates, we will announce them on the official website or hold another press conference. Thank you, everyone.”
After Jake finished speaking, he left with Baz, who could not even speak, without looking back regardless of all the reporters’ trying to stop them.
“They’re still too inexperienced.”
Jasper turned off the live broadcast and smiled at Wendy who was video calling with him on another computer.
“Don’ t be too demanding of them. You can’t make a single mistake at this level of press conferences, otherwise, the consequences will be very serious. Coupled with these reporters deliberately making things difficult, it is normal for them to be flustered.” Wendy defended the two of them.
Jasper had absolute power over the entire JW system. Although Jasper felt that he had never been a harsh tyrant and he was even pretty easy going and kind, the people below would naturally be in awe of him since he held so much power.
This could be seen in Malcolm, who later joined the company with a huge reputation, or Jack, who followed him in the early days of the business because their attitudes toward Jasper had grown so respectful.
While there were tens of thousands of people in the entire JW system, the only one who really dared to speak their mind in front of Jasper was Wendy.
Still, this was only because Jasper did not have a choice. If Wendy was not allowed to speak in the company, then he would not have the right to speak at home…
