NYSE Margin Debt Downturn May Herald End of Bull

`` The astonishing surge in leverage in late 1999 peaked in March 2000, the same month that the S&P 500 hit its all-time daily high, although the highest monthly close for that year was five months later in August. A similar surge began in 2006, peaking in July 2007, three months before the market peak... The NYSE margin debt data is about a month old when it is published. The latest debt level is down 3.5% month-over-month and 4.7% off its real (inflation-adjusted) record high in April''