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