I’m almost starting to look like a day trader… After exiting and rebuying WSP holdings previous week (way to early it seems) I covered my Textura short today after initiating the position less than two weeks ago. The reason for covering is simple: the borrowing costs are quickly going up, and I don’t like to pay a lot of money just to be able to maintain a position. It costs almost 5% annualized to borrow shares now, and this means that the position needs to generate a negative alpha of 5% just to break even. I’m not so sure of my capabilities that I want to bet on that. I prefer jumping over lower hurdles.
Disclosure
No position in Textura anymore
5% doesn’t strike me as that much.
Your Suntech short went up to around 100%. More expensive than credit card debt………..
(If high borrow rates are the new normal, then this world is messed up.)
It’s certainly possible to pay a lot more than 5%, but I do think that’s not easy to outperform with shorting if you are paying a high borrow. It’s a pretty big headwind to overcome. Especially in a case like this were there is no real catalyst.
About the Suntech short; I doubt that a lot of people made money by shorting the common. You would have needed some good/lucky timing. I wouldn’t be in that trade if I didn’t manage to lock-in a very low effective borrow rate.