The prosperity of the market also led to the prosperity of the stock market. In the face of good news, everyone's confidence had reached its peak.
Compared to selling the physical industry, it was easier to retreat from the stock market. Originally, there were selling and buying in the market every day. An increase of a few percent was also a normal market fluctuation.
It was not a period of economic crisis. This small fluctuation was completely within the market's tolerance range. The most typical example was the continuous rise of the stock price.
Frankly speaking, speculating in the stock market was far more profitable than manufacturing. However, there were advantages and disadvantages. High profits also came with high risks.
Not playing with leverage could not make much money, and playing with leverage was very risky. Many times, a random fluctuation in the market could take away a large wave of speculators.
In contrast, the physical industry was still much more stable, at least in the 19th century.
No matter how the market changed, as long as there were no problems with the company itself, the losses would be controllable. If the market was not good, they could just reduce production.
"Bankruptcy" was usually a problem with the company itself. For example: debt was too high, and a large amount of profit was needed to repay the loan; or management problems, and the equipment was not replaced in time, and the product lost competitiveness in the market; or inventory was too high, and a large amount of funds was used …
In the case of the company itself having no problems, bankruptcy was very rare. To put it bluntly, everyone did business to make money.
Blindly lowering the price and making a loss, capitalists were not that stupid. Except for those who wanted to monopolize the market. In order to monopolize the market and lose money, it could only be considered as the initial investment.
For most industries, there were no conditions for a monopoly. The threshold to enter was too low. After suppressing a wave of competitors, new competitors would appear, and it was impossible to monopolize the market.
Business was not a battle of emotions. Capitalists usually did not do things that hurt themselves to kill a thousand enemies.
The cruel competition in the market was nothing more than a decrease in profits. If the entire industry entered a state of loss, it meant that the industry would be eliminated.
Under normal circumstances, even if the economic crisis broke out and the Great Depression came, only a portion of the companies would suffer losses. Most of the companies' performance would decline and profits would decrease.
If the operation was normal and there was no large amount of debt, the companies with strong market competitiveness would still be able to survive.
After all, it was only the late 19th century. There were less than ten countries in the world that had completed industrialization, and there were only two and a half real industrial powers. The market was still in a state of barbaric growth, and the competition was far less intense than in the future.
Under the law of the jungle, after some of the weak were eliminated, the market would return to normal. Before the victors finished digesting the spoils of war, a new round of war would not break out.
It could be said that this was the golden age of capitalism. As long as one grasped the opportunity, there were too many opportunities to make a fortune.
…
The market was booming. Factories rose from the ground, and recruitment advertisements were posted all over the streets. However, there were only a few applicants.
As the largest city on the border between Austria and France, Milan was also the first choice for Italian workers to enter Austria. The advantages of being close to home and having high salaries attracted a large number of Italians every year.
With the British textile industry dominating, the Milan textile center was able to go against the trend and become one of the top three textile centers in the world. The cheap labor in the Regions of Italy also played a big part in this.
Although Austria had some restrictions on foreign workers, it was not a complete ban. After passing the language test and being accepted by a company, one could enter the country.
This was very inconvenient. It was very troublesome for companies to recruit people across borders, not to mention the time needed to teach them to speak German.
"There are policies from above, and there are countermeasures from below." Many of the migrant workers were brought over by their relatives and friends. They were looking for jobs after entering Austria.
Compared to other parts of Austria, the Kingdom of Lombardy was not so strict with the management of migrant workers due to its own special characteristics.
Many people first worked and then learned the language. Anyway, the factory was also semi-closed. As long as they did not go out and get caught by the police, no one would investigate further.
Under this background, the underground talent recruitment market was born. Newfoundland Street outside Milan was one of the places where factories recruited cheap labor.
At this time in normal times, Newfoundland Street was already bustling. A large number of people who needed work lined up, looking for a job opportunity.
No one knew when it started, but it suddenly became deserted. Not only Newfoundland Street, but many labor recruitment markets in Austria were deserted. Some areas even had more recruiters than applicants.
Mirko was one of the recruiters. He worked at the Darnielle Group's machinery factory. Usually, he would not go to Newfoundland Street. This was the lowest end of the talent recruitment market in Milan. Most of the applicants were foreign workers.
Not only was the level of education not enough, but it also required a lot of time for skill training. After wasting a lot of energy, only basic industrial workers were trained.
In contrast, Mirko preferred to go to the talent recruitment center outside the city. Although the salary was higher, the quality of the applicants was also higher. After a few years of training in the factory, the excellent ones could be used as junior technical workers.
For the machinery factory, these workers with certain skills were far more valuable than pure labor.
Only industries with high labor demand, repetitive work, and no need for skills would recruit a large number of such laborers.
Despise was despise. Recently, many companies were expanding their production capacity. There was a huge labor shortage, and the competition was fierce.
He participated in several job fairs in the city, but he was not able to complete the recruitment task. The equipment had been debugged, and they were just waiting for the workers to start working. Mirko had to lower the recruitment standards.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Mirko could not believe his eyes. Was this still the hottest talent recruitment market in Milan? How come there were only a few people?
Working in the recruitment industry for a long time, Mirko's network was still very wide. Soon, he met acquaintances in the same industry.
"Fayern, what's going on? Did you guys snatch all the people?"
The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and asked, "Do I look like someone who got something?"
Mirko nodded, "Indeed. With the benefits of your textile factory, it is indeed a bit difficult to snatch people. But you can bluff foreign fools. "
Fayern frowned and said unhappily, "Mirko, enough. We are all in the same industry. Helping the boss to save costs is our job.
Every time we recruit, I will clearly state the benefits and sign the contract according to the law. How can this be considered bluffing? "
Mirko smiled and did not continue this topic. If one did not know this middle-aged fat man, one would really think that he was a good person.
Thinking back to the past, Mirko was almost fooled into signing a contract as a fledgling. Fortunately, he was a local and graduated from high school. After understanding his identity, Fayern did not want to get into trouble and gave up.
Although Milan was a subordinate state, with the advancement of the integration of laws, labor protection laws also needed to be followed.
This was a seriously unfair contract. It was fine if no one sued, but once it was reported, the company would still be in trouble.
In comparison, bluffing foreign workers was much safer. As long as the contract was signed overseas, it would be considered a transnational case. The law of the other side would also be consulted. The Milan government was not so free. At most, they would rule that the contract was invalid.
Even if they were not cheated, their relationship was not good. It was only because of their business relationship that they had to interact a lot of times. As they slowly became familiar with each other, they were one level away from being friends.
Mirko changed the topic, "Fayern, I heard that your boss has opened two new factories. There is a huge labor shortage. What are you going to do? Are you interested in organizing a team to recruit in the inland areas? "
In this year's recruitment activities had limited funds. In order to save costs, it was most common for several companies to work together and share the costs.
Fayern shook his head without even thinking, "Mirko, you're too optimistic. The current situation is that the whole country is short of labor. Even the whole of Europe is short of people.
You rarely come to Newfoundland Street and don't know that the number of workers entering Milan from Regions of Italy has decreased by nearly 70% in the last two months.
I have asked them. It is said that there are a lot of new factories opened in Regions of Italy recently. Many people can find jobs in their hometown and don't come over.
If the Regions of Italy were like this, then what about the country? The labor shortage that was published in the newspaper is not a joke. I have already proposed to the boss that the new factory plan will be delayed.
Due to the great immigration strategy a few years ago, a lot of surplus labor in the country went to Africa. If we want to solve the labor shortage, we have to encourage the farmers to go to the cities. "
Mirko was speechless. Encouraging the farmers to go to the cities was not as simple as it sounded. The farmers were doing well now. It was not easy to get them to give up their land and go to the cities to work.
It was best for the government to promote and formulate more favorable policies to speed up the urbanization process.
Unfortunately, the Government of Vienna believed that the country had excess production capacity. It was too late for the government to curb the rapid growth of production capacity. How could they come up with policies to let the crisis spread?
Urbanization was risky. It was not better as soon as possible. If the crisis broke out and the companies could not withstand the bankruptcy, the pressure would be all on the government's shoulders.
Franz would rather the urbanization be slower when the conditions were not ripe. Compared to the workers, the farmers were easier to rule.
As long as there was land and the food produced could fill their stomachs, no one would rebel. The government could also win the hearts of the people by reducing some taxes.
It was different for the workers. Once the unemployment wave came, the crisis would come. If they did not find a way to fill their stomachs, the revolution would break out at any time.
With the current productivity, it could not support a high degree of urbanization. The era of urbanization would take at least another 50 years.
Even the United Kingdom, which had the highest urbanization rate, still had one-third of the agricultural population, not to mention Austria, which was a large agricultural country.
After pausing for a moment, Mirko slowly said, "Speak, Fayern. I know you have a plan. As long as it is feasible, you will be rewarded. "
Mirko knew that Fayern was a person who would not release the eagle until he saw the rabbit. If there were not enough benefits, he would definitely not tell him the plan.
Looking at Mirko, Fayern shook his head, "It's not about the reward. The key is that our two families can't do business yet.
If we want to recruit people in the countryside, we will have to deal with the nobles. You should know that with the recent changes in the country, with their interference, it will be difficult for us to get cheap labor. "
Mirko nodded. This was also one of the characteristics of Austria. The nobles gave up serfdom and part of the fiefdom, but they still had great influence in the local area.
It would be fine if it was a small fight, but if they were looking for people on a large scale, they would have to deal with the local tyrants.
Even now, there were still many traditional nobles who disliked the capitalists.
These people, whether it was to vent their anger or to improve their reputation in the local area, had a reason to get involved.
For example, they could act as workers' representatives to discuss wages and sign labor contracts.
They had many ways to fool the ordinary workers, but it was not easy to fool the nobles.
If something were to happen, they would be at a disadvantage if things got out of hand.
If everything went according to the normal procedures, the labor cost would increase by at least 15%. One or two people were insignificant, but once the number increased, the cost would not be small.
The increased cost was only one of the problems. If the new employees were treated better than the old employees, it would inevitably cause a storm.
After thinking about it, Mirko shook his head, "This matter is a game with the nobles. The implications are too big, and I can't make the decision. I need to report to the company headquarters for a decision. I'm not sure if it will be approved."
Mirko knew himself. This matter was not something he could participate in. Even if many people joined forces, they might not be able to achieve the goal.
Although Austria was a capitalist country, the power of capital in politics was still very limited. The risk of competing with the nobles for the right to speak was too great.
Sensing Mirko's strangeness, Fayern hurriedly said, "No, Mirko. You're thinking too much. I haven't lived enough, and I'm not ready to court death. What I mean is that everyone will contribute money and think of a way from abroad. "
As he spoke, Fayern broke out in a cold sweat. He just wanted to show off, but he actually thought of provoking a conflict between capital and the nobles.
Whoever touched this thing would die. Not to mention a small person like Fayern, even their boss would be finished if he got involved.
It was too difficult.
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