I brought my overall cash position to 40% from 45%, bringing CCJ back up to 15% of assets.

Uranium prices are still rebounding and Japan restarts are rumored to begin shortly. I am not missing out on this trade after owning it for so long.

40% is conservative enough.

In the spirit of tax loss selling and raising yet more cash for what I anticipate will be a nasty climate, I sold my entire position in NRP for $15.18. The cost basis of much of this position (before some profitable swing trading and distributions) was about $20, making the realized loss on the trade (24%).

That is alleviated partially by distributions (about 8% on the position collected over the year I owned NRP) and some profitable trading – the real net loss still stands a little north of 15%. As a percent of my book (from initial investment) the loss was roughly 1-2% of assets. This does not change my recent performance; year to date gains remain north of 15%, thanks to a very lucky batch of sell orders I made last week.

This was my worst performing investment and I’m happy to have scrubbed it off the books.

I do like NRP and the steps they’ve taken to diversify their operations. I think it pays off for them. But there are better places for my money right now…like my pocket.

I completely sold out of Prospect Capital Corporation in a rather gay four day about-face. This four days resulted in a 7% loss on the position which, thankfully, only resulted in a .35% loss to my book.

PSEC is a remarkably cheap, very interesting possible play that I would like to remain only a possible play.

In the future, I may – and in fact most likely will – revisit this position. But the more and more I think about it, the more I do not want a leveraged financial play that has recently expanded leverage by about 40% and openly admits to yield hunting… anywhere near my book right now.

Fall is coming, you fools. And the dreaded seven year mark is upon us.

Beware the number 7.

Update: I also trimmed 15% off of my HCLP position, which is up 188% over the past year. Just a little F-U money in case a buying opportunity should present itself.

I followed that with “hedge trimming” sales of everything else.

Cash stands at 35%

I took a half sized position in Prospect Capital Corporation today for $10.97.

I am going to tell you this once and only once (actually, at least ten more times from now).

This is black magic calculus. If you are honed in the dark arts and know how to keep from losing your vitals, you may do what you like. However, if you do not immediately know what this company is doing (and I use this very sparingly, as in reality they are so deep in financial muck no one truly understands what they are doing, likely not even them…) then you would have to be some kind of jackass to just mindlessly follow this trade.

I like the company for their extreme growth and absurd cheapness, but the market does not trust them with a multiple for a reason – this company is everything people learned to hate in 2009. Also, the immediate issue of interest rates rising (near term catalyst) will create headwinds for them. There were also recent bouts with the SEC and a boat load of lawsuits from shareholder groups.

I am simply assuming that the companies employees are living beings that will adapt to these problems. And that they can continue growing at the rate they have been for a little while longer, while managing to pay me more than 12% annually.

This may not work out, but I’m up enough this year to gamble a little more.

Don’t be stupid.

On August 1, anticipating a looming bounce off of oversold levels, I bought some extra shares of CCJ for $19.30. I sold those for a small loss today for $19.10.

Just adding back cash – the market feels terrible and the extra cream to my position was supposed to be all about easy money.

I took a quick +4% profit from last Friday’s purchase of HCLP.

Retaining the core position.