《股票作手回忆录·第六章·旧金山地震·做空联合太平洋》第16节
I sold out all my Union Pacific. Of course if it was unwise to be long of it, it was equally unwise not to be short of it. So after I got rid of my long stock I sold four thousand shares short. I put out most of it around 162. The next day the directors of the Union Pacific Company declared a 10 per cent dividend on the stock. At first nobody in Wall Street believed it. It was too much like the desperate manœuvre of cornered gamblers. All the newspapers jumped on the directors. But while the Wall Street talent hesitated to act the market boiled over. Union Pacific led, and on huge transactions made a new high-record price. Some of the room traders made fortunes in an hour and I remember later hearing about a rather dull-witted specialist who made a mistake that put three hundred and fifty thousand dollars in his pocket. He sold his seat the following week and became a gentleman farmer the following month. Of course I realised, the moment I heard the news of the declaration of the unprecedented 10 per cent dividend, that I got what I deserved for disregarding the voice of experience and listening to the voice of a tipster. My own convictions I had set aside for the suspicions of a friend, simply because he was disinterested and as a rule knew what he was doing.
注释摘要
这一刻，我们站在1906年初夏的萨拉托加温泉，空气中还残留着旧金山大地震后金融余震的尘埃。为了更好地理解这个戏剧性的转折，我们得先摸清几个关键的拼图。当主角说他把联合太平洋铁路的股票“卖掉”然后“做空四千股”时，他指的是一场纯粹的投机交易。在那个时代，像哈丁兄弟这样的正规经纪行，为客户在纽约证券交易所实实在在地买卖股票，这和对赌行里赌价格涨跌的空气单有天壤…