Tuesday, May 05, 2015

Leverage works...

...on both sides of the ledger.

Another one for the "what could possibly go wrong" file.  U.S. margin debt at galactic levels as well.

SHANGHAI, May 5 (Reuters) - China stocks slumped early on Tuesday, as media reports of tougher margin requirements by some brokerages added to concerns about market liquidity ahead of a new batch of share listings.
Several Chinese brokerages, including CITIC Securities Co Ltd, Haitong Securities Co Ltd and Huatai Securities Co Ltd have tightened requirements for margin financing this month in a bid to control risks, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.
The move could curb money inflows in a highly-leveraged stock market rally. The outstanding value of margin financing - the amount of money investors have borrowed to buy stocks - has exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan ($290 billion) and repeatedly smashed records in recent sessions.