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The money investors borrow to trade in the U.S. stock market is at an all-time high

Money that investors borrow to trade in the stock market is called margin debt. This debt is now above $1.5 trillion, 50% higher than a year ago. Could this spell trouble for the U.S. economy?

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Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who's reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.

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