Yesterday, 4/13/09, I BTC 12 GM Apr09 3 Covered Calls and sold the underlying stock in two IRA accounts.  Selling the Covered Calls resulted in a net $1.98 loss on them.  Selling the underlying shares was a little more costly at a loss of 17,274.

What finally made me give up was what appears to be a greater than ever chance that GM will file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which would completely wipe out the common stockholders.  The 1.70 I got per share is better than the zero I would have gotten. 

Of course, as I write this, GM is up .13.  Who knows what is really going to happen.  Maybe the bankruptcy will not happen.  If not, then I may get back in at a lower price, because if the bankruptcy does not happen then GM will probably begin to slowly recover.  It will then be a new investment decision with a new, lower basis.  In the meantime, I can get the money working a little harder than it was with GM.

Last Friday, 4/3/09, I sold 12 GM Apr09 3 Covered Calls for a net deposit of $59.00 in two IRA accounts.  That is 6 contracts for each account.  My basis for these GM shares is now 19.31 and 12.88 for the two sets, excluding dividends received.

Yes, I still own GM shares.  No, they are not currently paying dividends.

I have been sitting on these GM shares since Jan09 when my last Covered Calls on them expired.  I was waiting for some indication of where the price might go after they provided their recovery plans to the Feds.  As it turned out, I need not have worried that the price would move up too quickly.  At this point, I am basically taking a gamble that GM will survive the process with the Feds and that my shares will not get wiped out by a bankruptcy proceeding.  If I win and am patient GM could be a long term winner.  The alternative is obvious. 

Today I sold 12 GM Feb08 5 Covered Calls for a net deposit of $190.00 in two IRA accounts, six in each.  My basis for these GM shares is now 19.36 and 12.93 for the two lots.

GM seems to be trading in a range between just over 2.50 and just over 5.  I suspect that it will continue to behave about the same until late February when the automakers will probably begin to reveal their plans for the future as required by the bridge loans.  The plans are not required until sometime in March but I suspect leaks will occur earlier.

I may be naive but I think that GM will survive however the road to its former glory appears to be somewhat rocky.