Stock market short bets approach five-year extreme, Goldman Sachs warns hedge funds of potential short squeeze storm Odaily Planet Daily News: Since October, global hedge funds have accelerated the establishment of short positions, and bearish bets are approaching the historical peak in five years. According to data from Goldman Sachs Prime Brokerage, the ratio of short trades to long buys has reached about 5:1. Once market sentiment rebounds, highly crowded short positions may trigger a severe short squeeze. Goldman Sachs' main brokerage business accounts show that its global stock short leverage ratio has risen to the 99th percentile in the past five years. Although the overall leverage ratio has rebounded, the net leverage ratio of fundamental long short funds, which measures the extent to which long positions exceed short positions, has fallen to a nearly three-year low.