The SEC cut margin requirements on some options.

Traders who take short positions in stock options and stock-index options will not have to put up as much money to make those deals under new margin requirements adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. When a trader takes a short position, he or she sells options contracts that they don’t actually own and are required to put up a certain amount of money as collateral in case they have to deliver the underlying stock. Under the new system, margin requirements will uniformly be based on the premium, or amount charged by the options seller, and a certain percentage of the value of the underlying stock. The new margin requirements will take effect Jan. 31, 1986.