Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.
(John Maynard Keynes)
It was unfair, utterly unfair – and cruel, mused Alice whiningly and downed another shot of gin. Yeah, she was drunk, and she was determined to get more drunk. She chuckled maliciously. – It could have been so terrific. The plan, the preparations and the execution had been excellent. Everything had been working to flush money into their pockets... – But then, these fucking morons had blown up the world. And now, Toby was dead, and she was sitting here, poor and forlorn.
Australia was an inhospitable environment, for the most part. But it offered a wealth of natural resources: copper, tin, zinc, iron, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, coal, bauxite, diamond, opal, you name it... However, exploitation was far behind of what was really possible. Of course, gold and gemstones had been mined ever since they had been discovered. And coal, black and brown, was used as domestic fuel. But for the rest, the forbidding environment and lack of transport had impeded exploitation.
In addition, fear of Asian covetousness had led to rampant understatement. Seven million Australians living in 1940 had faced 550 million Chinese, 73 million Japanese, 24 million Vietnamese, and many more Asian peoples. It had seemed that these vast masses would naturally be attracted by Australia, which was as good as unpopulated. Hence, one had sought protection and had allied with the US – after Britain had dropped out as protecting power. But then, the US had withdrawn – and the Asian masses hadn't come.
Slowly, a change of thinking had occurred. If the Asians weren't keen on overrunning Australia, perhaps one could even trade with them? This was the gap Alice and Toby had tried to exploit: guiding Asian enterprises that intended to mine Australian resources. Alice had studied sinology and was fairly fluent in Mandarin, or rather Běijīnghuà, the dialect spoken in the former Qing capital. Toby had grown up in Osaka until the age of nine; his Japanese was flawless – on mudlark level.
Oh, it had worked well. Until those idiots had activated the Great Qing Doomsday Device. All of a sudden, nobody had been interested in natural resources anymore. And Alice and Toby had been deep in debts, because they had generously invested – in some office stuff and a lot of luxury... While the farmers in New South Wales had started filling their barns with bank notes, Alice and Toby had been hunted by debt holders and the justice. Eventually, Toby, the dastard, had hung himself, and had left her alone...
She emptied another shot, burped and refilled the glass. Holy shit!
(John Maynard Keynes)
It was unfair, utterly unfair – and cruel, mused Alice whiningly and downed another shot of gin. Yeah, she was drunk, and she was determined to get more drunk. She chuckled maliciously. – It could have been so terrific. The plan, the preparations and the execution had been excellent. Everything had been working to flush money into their pockets... – But then, these fucking morons had blown up the world. And now, Toby was dead, and she was sitting here, poor and forlorn.
Australia was an inhospitable environment, for the most part. But it offered a wealth of natural resources: copper, tin, zinc, iron, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, coal, bauxite, diamond, opal, you name it... However, exploitation was far behind of what was really possible. Of course, gold and gemstones had been mined ever since they had been discovered. And coal, black and brown, was used as domestic fuel. But for the rest, the forbidding environment and lack of transport had impeded exploitation.
In addition, fear of Asian covetousness had led to rampant understatement. Seven million Australians living in 1940 had faced 550 million Chinese, 73 million Japanese, 24 million Vietnamese, and many more Asian peoples. It had seemed that these vast masses would naturally be attracted by Australia, which was as good as unpopulated. Hence, one had sought protection and had allied with the US – after Britain had dropped out as protecting power. But then, the US had withdrawn – and the Asian masses hadn't come.
Slowly, a change of thinking had occurred. If the Asians weren't keen on overrunning Australia, perhaps one could even trade with them? This was the gap Alice and Toby had tried to exploit: guiding Asian enterprises that intended to mine Australian resources. Alice had studied sinology and was fairly fluent in Mandarin, or rather Běijīnghuà, the dialect spoken in the former Qing capital. Toby had grown up in Osaka until the age of nine; his Japanese was flawless – on mudlark level.
Oh, it had worked well. Until those idiots had activated the Great Qing Doomsday Device. All of a sudden, nobody had been interested in natural resources anymore. And Alice and Toby had been deep in debts, because they had generously invested – in some office stuff and a lot of luxury... While the farmers in New South Wales had started filling their barns with bank notes, Alice and Toby had been hunted by debt holders and the justice. Eventually, Toby, the dastard, had hung himself, and had left her alone...
She emptied another shot, burped and refilled the glass. Holy shit!