July Results

Talk about end of month volatility! Would have thought there would some positive end of month window dressing… I corrected the June performance data as my brokerage firm did correct the option pricing that skewed the results. There weren’t many positions that contributed positively to the July performance. Idenix Pharmaceuticals (Ticker: IDIX) did help a bit as it received regulatory approval and Apple (Ticker: AAPL) held up well. Closed out some out of the money short Put positions from option expiration on Hilshire Brands (Ticker: HSH) and BE Aerospace (Ticker: BEAV), which helped the portfolio just a bit. The other positions were pretty much a draggg...

Now on to some other trades… I’ve cashed out of my common position in Idenix Pharmaceuticals at prices ranging from $24.42 to $24.44. I still have my out of the money short Put position, which I will likely let expire.

I picked up some Bally Technologies (Ticker: BYI) today at ~ $77.79. Looks like an interesting arb play as Scientific Games (Ticker: SGMS) is buying the company for $83.30 in cash. Unusually wide spread with a closing anticipated in early next year so I must be missing something here!

Performance Year to Date = +10.06% with the running monthly returns as follows:

January -0.67%

February +6.50%

March -2.69%

April -1.51%

May +7.30%

June +2.59%

July -1.46%