Jim Cramer Blog

Consolidation in key industries may help investors in this oversold market, Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment Thursday.
Cramer commented on the overall economic condition, prodded by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech today: "We are at the precipice. ... We need shotgun marriages."
Bank of America (BAC) helped the odds of one such marriage today by announcing a deal with beleaguered mortgage lender Countrywide (CFC).
"This is what happens at the bottom," Cramer said. "I just don't know why the Fed would say you got to pay a premium for Countrywide." He added that "They don't want Countrywide to go out of business, because the servicing thing would play havoc." Cramer believes that Wachovia (WB) and Wells Fargo (WFC) will respond well to a rate cut: "These stocks go down every day."
Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA) overtures to bond insurers Ambac (ABK) and MBIA (MBI) yesterday also indicated there may be hope in the troubled financial markets, Cramer said.
Airline stocks were treated to a similar rebound today, Cramer noted. Calling American Airlines operator AMR (AMR) "worth a lot," Cramer said that in a month, he will be recommending the group.
Cramer continues to recommend the agricultural sector. "I love the ag guys because ag is so good," he said. "That Mosaic (MOS) was down yesterday was just the shorts pressing their bets again."
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: ABK, AMR, BAC, BRKA, CFC, Jim Cramer, MBI, MOS, Stop Trading, WB, WFC

Coca Cola (KO) is a good pick for 2008's volatile trading environment, Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment Wednesday.
"Coca Cola said on my show not that long ago [that] raw costs [and] commodity costs actually peaked. ... People are paying much more for those earnings because they're so consistent. ... Coke is going to continue to go higher," Cramer said.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) insurance executive Ajit Jain is spurring a short squeeze on Ambac (ABK) and MBIA (MBI), Cramer said.
Cramer's skeptical about Jain's assertion today on CNBC that Berkshire Hathaway may buy one of the beleaguered bond insurers. "Why open a business and therefore crush your competitors when you want to buy?" He says it doesn't make sense to go shooting against them and also buy them.
Cramer is leery of Ambac and MBIA's viability. "Buffett has historically not wanted to buy black boxes," Cramer continued. "Eric Dinallo, [New York's] superintendent of insurance, is saying 'I don't trust these companies.'"
"The shorts cover then put out," Cramer concluded, because of continued turmoil in the housing and financial markets.
Cramer also commented on Google's (GOOG) recent bounce. "I still think Google is the tell for this market. ... It is not the fundamentals driving Google or Apple (AAPL). If that were the case, Apple would be at $200 and Google would be at $700."
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: AAPL, ABK, BRKA, GOOG, Jim Cramer, KO, MBI, Stop Trading