Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Ending 2008

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, I sold WINS at $6.15 a share, an 11% gain over a 47 day holding period (85.43% annualized), from a $5.52 a share purchase price.

I opened Arbitrage #12 with more shares of ROH, bringing my previous purchase price down from $69.64 a share on 10-16-08 to $61.76 on 12-29-08.

I also bought shares on Waters Corp. (WAT) yesterday at $35.70 (10 times expected 2009 earnings) for a long position on a Consumer Monopolistic arrangement. This means that I hope never to sell this position because of its long history of excellent economics (i. e. upward trends in earnings, share holder equity, double digit return on total capital, etc.). The expected earnings per share for 2009 are $3.70 with a widening net profit margin. All calculations do not include a minimal brokerage fee.

Gene

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Closed FDRY

Dear Diary,

After a 17 day holding period, beginning on December 1, 2008 and ending today, December 18th, I closed the FDRY Cash on Sale Arbitrage for a 9% actual gain or a 193.24% annualized gain. The average sale price was $16.65, a slight premium to the expected merger price of $16.50. The deal was to close naturally by 12-31-08. My average purchase price was $15.23 a share. All calculations are without minimal brokerage fees being included.

I then took these proceeds and brought down my average purchase price of HUN to $4.68 a share from $8.78 a share, with an average buy price of $3.46 a share.

The retail sector continues to slash prices to move Christmas sales, beating down earnings projections for one retailer after another, so I'm holding off until maybe January or February before getting too much more committed to American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), etc. There are several great retailers available under the Holy Grail criteria, with widening Net Profit Margins, but I'm finding that it is common for a widening Net Profit Margin to turn into a narrowing Net Profit Margin without much fanfare in a bear market recession. Net Quick Assets should be the focus for now, except for something giant like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), I'm thinking.

Gene

Monday, December 15, 2008

HUN Ends Effort to Be Bought

Dear Diary,

Today, Huntsman's (HUN) ended its effort to be bought out by an Apollo subsidiary for $28 a share, and the stock is now trading at about $3 a share, down from the roughly $6 a share of recent days. The Current Ratio is listed at 1.36, below my desirable numbers, but HUN is to receive a $1 Billion amount for termination costs, so I expect HUN will be ok. I plan to hang on to get my $8.78 purchase price back, and it may be that another suitor is in the wings wanting to buy. (Mr. Buffett did warn us to stay away from these 100% deals.)

I just picked up shares of ALO in Arbitrage #10 for $34.76 a share with an expected closing date of December 31, 2008. This is a projected 6% gain over a 16 day holding period, based on a stated sale price of $37 a share. This also represents a 136.88% annualized gain.

It makes one wonder, with all the banks Mr. Buffett is buying (i. e. Wells Fargo) and attempting to transform into banks (i. e. American Express, Goldman Sachs), whether he is attempting to take over the Federal Reserve Banks; thus, the entire system.

Gene

Monday, December 1, 2008

Arbitrage # 9

Dear Diary,

I just picked up shares of FDRY at $15.23 a share, providing a projected 8% gain over the remaining 30 days of 2008, as the deal is due to close in the "4th quarter." I assume this "4th quarter" is December, 2008. The closing price is stated as $16.50.

Gene