A strategy of holding two offsetting positions, one of which creates an incoming cashflow that is greater than the obligations of the other.

Similar to arbitrage, positive carries generally occur in the currency market where interest paid to investors in one currency is more than they have to pay to borrow in another currency.

Another example of a positive carry would be borrowing $1000 from the bank at 5% and investing it into a bond paying 6%. Thus, the coupon on the bond would pay more than the interest owing on the loan to the bank, and you pocket the 1% difference.