Richard is a student at CityU and is now taking the Security Analysis and Portfolio Management course. He has a brokerage account and wants to apply what he learns in class to the real world. After much analysis, he decides to sell short 100 shares of VTX at the current market price of $80 per share. The brokers initial margin requirement is 60%. Please help solve the following questions for Richard.

a) How much in cash or securities must Richard put into his brokerage account?

b) One month later, the price has risen from $80 to $90 per share. Would Richard receive a margin call if the brokers maintenance margin requirement is 40%? Please explain.

c) During the month, the stock has paid a dividend of $0.5 per share. If Richard now buys 100 shares at $90 to cover his short position, and pays 50 cents per share in commissions for each transaction, what would be his rate of return during the whole investment period?