Down 2 percent from January to February
The New York Stock Exchange just delivered the latest figure for one alternate economic indicator, margin debt at the New York Stock Exchange. This figure tracks how much money people are borrowing to buy stock — a figure that has been in rapid decline.
Currency analyst Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman tells us he has been watching for signs across the economy that investors — individual or corporate — are getting rid of debt, or deleveraging.
As you can see in the graph, margin debt plunged quickly at the start of the economic crisis. It fell 22 percent from September to October 2008. But from January to February, we saw a decline of 2 percent.
I've got a call in to Chandler for the podcast today.
When I posted the January resule, one commenter wrote that margin debt might be falling simply because fewer people are buying stocks. It would appear that margin debt has fallen faster than the market, by something north of 25 percent, but I'll put the question to Chandler today and see what he says.
Bonus: Jolly Chen sends a chart.
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