How will an increase in financial leverage affect a companys cost of equity capital, if at all?

Question:

How will an increase in financial leverage affect a company’s cost of equity capital, if at all? How will it affect a company’s equity beta?

Cost Of Equity
The cost of equity is the return a company requires to decide if an investment meets capital return requirements. Firms often use it as a capital budgeting threshold for the required rate of return. A firm's cost of equity represents the...