This problem illustrates the risk of short sale using the GameStop story. Before the January...

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Accounting

This problem illustrates the risk of short sale using the GameStop story. Before the January 2021 frenzy, the GameStop stock was trading under $20 on the market while the company itself was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy. Suppose you short sold 1,000 shares of GameStop at $20 believing it would be worthless soon. Your broker requires an initial margin of 55%.
Answer: (1) What does your balance sheet/T-account look like after this transaction?
(2) If the maintenance margin is 30%, at what share price will you receive a margin call?
(3) If GameStop had indeed gone broke and you covered your short position at $5 per share, what would your % return have been (ignoring transaction costs including interest expenses)?
(4) We know what really happened: on January 13,2021, GameStop was still trading at $20.42, next day, the price rose to $38.09 and continued climbing steadily in the following days. In two weeks, GameStop reached $354.83 on January 27,2021. Suppose you had covered your short position at $38 per share, what would your % loss have been (ignoring all expenses)?

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