Those were the dayz. 8-)
Greg
Dave Long wrote:
>
> > margins are granted only to the worthy (solvent) and even then at
> > a conservative rate. Higher risks are not margined at all by some brokerages
> > or at a higher rate (90%) by others.
>
> The definition of solvent must admit of a pretty low activity; my own accounts
> attest to needing nowhere near Reg D qualifications to open a margin account.
>
> Having failed to find anything coherent at the Federal Reserve Board site, I
> consulted my (perhaps dated) account handbooks. In order to get to the 90%
> range, it looked like one had to be playing with options. Generally,
> requirements for equities were only 50% initially, which could decline to 30%
> before a maintenance call. Bonds could be had at 75% (4:1 leverage) and
> maintained for as little as 10% of principal. Various other instruments were
> available at 10:1 leverage, and for those with the desire to wring some action
> out of those boring T-bills, $10K sufficed to establish a million dollar
> position.
>
> -Dave
>
> Is one who believes that markets may be in Brownian motion an ecclesiastic?