How A Chinese Farmer Lost More Than Everything Trading Stocks

How A Chinese Farmer Lost More Than Everything Trading Stocks (ZeroHedge, July 28, 2015):

Last night, just six weeks after one Chinese farmer Liu Jianguo invested his life savings in the Chinese market, proclaiming “it’s a lot easier making money from stocks than farm work,” we wondered if it was time for a sequel:

A few hours later we find out that it was because as CNBC reported in its sequel, another farmer has lost it all… and more. As CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reports, just a few weeks after his glorious gamble in China’s manipulated market, the farmer “trader “now owes – thanks to wonders of margin calls and leverage – as much as he originally invested.

From the hope-filled exuberance of early June to Yang Cheng’s utter hopelessness, “I have lost everything,” after he followed the government’s ‘grand plan’ to open the economy and encourage stock market speculation.

Having piled his life savings (plus his relatives’ money) into the market, thanks to encouragement from his broker he borrowed $1 million in margin and bet it all on one stock – a local mining company.

Now, after being forced to liquidate by the same risk-encouraging brokerage, he has suffered catastrophic losses… and he is not alone…

“I don’t know what to do… I trusted the government too much...” he exclaims, adding “I won’t touch stocks again, I have ruined everyone in my family.”

We can only hope Yang Cheng’s breakdown at the end will serve as a lesson to those betting on “The Fed has your back,” or whatever meme the moment requires.

 

2 thoughts on “How A Chinese Farmer Lost More Than Everything Trading Stocks”

  1. He trusted the government too much? No kidding.

    Chinese markets allowed residents to put up their houses towards buying stock………Even in the Great Depression, the US was not that fool hardy…..
    Now, the margin calls are coming fast and furious, and it is too late for those who got bitten by the bug of greed………………….

    I have no sympathy for them, greed was their motivator. The Chinese government took any and all takers, anything to keep their economy seemingly immune to the fallout in western economies. It was only one of their fraudulent games…….Now, they are outlawing trade, anything to stop the implacable truth, China has been in trouble for some time. This site covered much of their problems, CNBC and Bloomberg didn’t.

    Their ghost cities, their world’s biggest building complete with artificial seashore over 100 miles from water……………all of them empty because their people could not afford them. Instead of retrenching and regrouping, they just kept building………………..What a bunch of bastards.

    Even worse will be the effect on all their people and on the entire western economy fool enough to believe them. Those of us who saw the real picture were not allowed any voice……..very similar to the Coup of 2000……..Nobody said a word, just kept the lies going. Pity more didn’t read this web site……..

    I thought it would be Greece that would generate the final losses……….instead, it is China. That fits, China is one of the causes of our endless recession the TV calls the Great Recovery…….It was only a couple of weeks ago the creatures on Bloomberg asserted this recovery lasted longer than any in history. Recovery? Sure, just not in the real economy…..the 93.6 million long term unemployed can elucidate better than I.

    My disgust and revulsion continues when I try to view US news. Their lies are endless.

    Thanks for all you do on this site, and your good hard work at putting out the truth.

    Reply

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