Investors have never used this much leverage: US margin debt surged +$83 billion in April, to a record $1.3 trillion. Over the last 12 months, margin debt has risen +$453 billion, or +53%. As a result, margin debt is up to a record 5.2% of US GDP. This is ~3 percentage points above both the pre-2008 Financial Crisis level and well above the 2000 Dot-Com Bubble peak. Market leverage is through the roof.(The Kobeissi Letter)