Jim Cramer Blog

Erin Burnett started the show discussing the Fed's new U.S economy survey with Diana Olick and Steve Liesman, both of CNBC. Diana says that the standards are tighter on consumer loans as well as residential. Stave adds that barriers have been created by the tighter credit and lending institutions. Mortgage delinquencies have drastically increased in the past quarter. The pace of homebuilding is low and is not expected to pick back up until, at best, well in to 2008. The DOW, Nasdaq and S&P have all shown improvements today. Bonds and Oil are down, stocks are at a high for the day; says Bob Pisani. Freddie Mac (FRE) and CITI Group are today's leaders in the financial sector. Exxon Mobil, Sunoco and Valero Energy are among the top five stocks in the energy sector. Next, Steve Burton of ING Global Real Estate Fund says we like companies with a conservative business model. Also mall stocks in Europe, Asia and the U.S. are considered good investments. Simon Property (SPG) is his top pick of the day. The next topic was Saudi Arabian oil reserves. Countless terror attack attempts have been foiled; by over 200 arrests being made on terror plot suspects. The attempt to infiltrate the infrastructure of Saudi reserves could be quite an issue, being that Saudi Arabia operates over one quarter of the reserves in the world. Next topic was the Chinese economy. Zachary Karabell of Fred Alger Management says there is no greater sign of investor panic in China, adding that their economy is an engine for growth. Shanghai Composite is seeing increases in the triple digits today. Very strong earnings growth is expected for any Chinese investments. Erin than talked about how private equity markets such as the Middle East are looking east for investments. They said they are trying to align themselves with interest allocaters to make some of these investments work. Colony Capital is currently one of the largest private equity investors. They currently have $26B in assets. They own office, hospitality, gaming, residential, and retail properties globally. Colony closed its largest acquisition this month by taking over Station Casinos for $8.8 B. Stop Trading with Jim Cramer was next. He says that he will be buying rather than selling within the financial sector.

Labels: Citigroup Inc., CNBC, Erin Burnett, EXXON MOBIL, FRE, ING, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, SPG, Street Signs, street signs recap

Trish Regan started the show by stating that financials are up today, leading stocks to trade higher. The DOW is down about 5.3% for November. Nasdaq down 7.4% for November. Stocks are on pace for first 2 day winning streak this month. Next, the economy was discussed with Steve Liesman. He says the FED needs to take into account the market, despite dips in the credit institutions; flexible policymaking is required when dealing with volatility within the financial sector. AIG, American Express and IBM are the leaders in the financial sector today. Crude Oil reaches a two week low with a drop of almost 3%; at under $92/barrel. Freddie Mac and CITI Group are among the leaders for finances. The U.S currency index is up almost a point. Next, shareholders vs. the sec; Dan Pedrotty says that the sec is not following through to protect investors. Among these proxy proposals is the stipulation that shareholders, owning 5% or more of the company, can elect new company directors. The objective is to provide opportunities for involvement among the shareholders. Merrill Lynch is expected to have a good day. Next was the real estate market. Steve Liesman of CNBC says mortgage and interest rates are very tight. The mortgage lenders are demanding high equity loans, and those consumers who are aggressive can find the money they need, in the upcoming months. Next, David Fondrie of Heartland Investors says that Cimarex Energy (XEC) and Conocophillips (COP) would be good choices for buying today. Allan Hubbard resigns from his position as economic advisor to the Bush Administration. Keith Hennessey will be replacing him. Hubbard says he is leaving so he can spend more time with his children.

Labels: AIG, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's The Call, COP, FED, IBM, MER, The Call, trish regan, XEC

Erin Burnett started the show today asking if CITI Group's decision to sell almost 5% of their company to the Arabs was such a good one. Also that crude oil is down about 3%. Steve Leisman says that focus is being taken off the weak dollar and on to the weak economy. Future plans are in effect for the improvement of consumers concern with the state of the economy and risk of recession. Abu Dhabi has paid over $7 B (The biggest purchase of an American Company buy a foreign) to make part of CITI. Arabs are looking for financials, homebuilders and hotels. Anything from actual buildings to stock equity sharing on the financial sector side are up for grabs. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York shows concern for a continuing opportunity for American investments. As a democrat, free trade is not a top priority for him, and he wants to avoid building walls in between Americans and business buy giving power to foreign investors. The Arabs say they have no interest in board or managerial roles, only to play as a passivist support group who believes in the potential of American companies. David Weber says MasterCard (MA) and Research in Motion (RIMM) are his picks for the day. Next, there was the real estate market. David Blitzer of Standard and Poor's says that prices are driving foreclosures, resulting in a 524,000 fewer jobs and $6.6 billion lost in taxes. Also that a mass amount of foreclosures are driving the prices of surrounding homes down. The worst hit is New York at a loss of over $10 B. You can keep updated by visiting; realtycheck.cnbc.com. Next, Russia will be electing a parliament on Sunday, Dec 2nd. Julian Mayo of U.S Global Investors Eastern Europe Fund says that increased certainty is acknowledged for the outcome, being in supporters of Vladmir Putin's favor. The Russian market is leading the world. Utilities and Telecomm are the top performers in Russia. An update for CITI Group says that the company has not closed off opportunities for foreign purchase and investment. Rick Santelli of CNBC says that apparently CITI is looking for more than $7.5 B. and a loss of ownership by more than 5%. David Faber of CNBC says that raising capital will be the main concern for financial institutions as a result of CITI's decisions. More write-downs to come for consumers, and more capital to be raised will likely come from Arab investors and foreign petroleum dollars. Jim Cramer with Stop Trading was next. American International Group (AIG), and JP Morgan (JPM) are among his choices for likely candidates for middle eastern investors. He says that more capital for the corporations should be a positive thing for consumers. Jim Goldman of CNBC says that Verizon (VZ) announced that they will promote unrestricted access. This makes Verizon a much stronger competitor in the future. With 64M wireless customers in the U.S, Verizon will cause even more problems for companies such as Sprint and Nextel.

Labels: Abu Dhabi, AIG, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's Stop Trading, Erin Burnett, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, JPM, MA, RIMM, Sprint Nextel, Street Signs, street signs recap, VZ

Melissa Francis hosted. First topic was Citi Group selling nearly 5% of itself to Abu Dhabi for $7.5 B. The search for a new CEO has proceeded, and sights some impressive candidates to manage a decision for the new leader of the company. Dylan Ratigan of CNBC says that the $7.5 B that has come into the banking system will typically manifest itself and produce positive results for the company, as well as the financial sector markets. Next, the real estate market was discussed. Home prices fall almost 5% in the 3Qm, says David Blitzer of Standard and Poors. He adds that if you are looking to invest in an expensive family home, a smart decision would be to wait until next quarter or even longer, to give the market time to adjust. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform says that talks of tax cuts have hit the presidential trail to stimulate the economy. Robert Mcintyre of Citizens for Tax Justice says that the U.S should not cut taxes because the country is broke. The Bush tax cuts are expected to expire at the end of 2010. Dawn Bennet of Bennet Group says that tax cuts are a great way to produce liquidity. $745 B is the increase over the past 4 years in tax receipts thanks to the Bush's tax cuts. Next Oil prices have fallen sharply. Down almost 3% since yesterday, it is sighted that there has been a major increase in sweet crude oil production. Next was the food fight. Michael Jacobson of NYC Board of Health says that calorie count at all restaurants is the aim for New York. To protect the health of consumers or at least have the information present for them to see is the step that they are trying to take to affect the obesity problem in our country. Matt Patsky of Winslow Management says that United Natural (UNFI) is his pick of the day. Organic and natural foods will grow faster than other food products. Sunpower (SPWR) a solar power provider is also a pick. Next, Facebook is opening doors for small businesses. Used as a marketing tool, Facebook has added one page devoted to small business as a result.

Labels: Abu Dhabi, bennet group, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's The Call, facebook, melissa francis, SPWR, UNFI

On Tuesday's show, Cramer began by saying today is a perfect example of why you need to stay in the investing game. He said that Citigroup (C) went from a stock you must stay away from to a stock you must own after Abu Dhabi bought a large stake. It was also announced that they might buy into two more Dow stocks, so Cramer is looking for a way to profit from this trend. Cramer said focus on Halliburton (HAL) because it is trading at a large discount to other oil service stocks. He thinks that it could be worth $53 per share, and that these Arab states will invest in what they know, oil. One issue with the stock is that the company is hated by politicians in the U.S., but Cramer doesn't seem to think that Dubai or Abi Dhabi cares.
Then Cramer went to the phonelines. The first caller asked about opportunities in shale oil stocks, and Cramer recommended that people buy Suncor (SU) immediately. The next caller asked about the proposed takeover of BHP Billiton (BHP). Cramer is bullish on the stock and doesn't think it will be an issue.
Lighting Sector: One stock that Cramer likes is Acuity (AYI). It would be a good buyout target for Philips (PHG), and the stock didn't move up much on the news that Philips plans to buy several lighting companies to go with its buyout of Genlyte (GLYT). Also, this company will grow quickly with retro-fitting of old buildings that need to update their lighting. Another plus for AYI is it's a commerical building play, which is still going strong despite the problems in the residential housing market. Given the same valuation as Genlyte, it would be worth $57 per share.
Cramer came back fromt he lightning round and talked about a battle between two analysts over Starbucks (SBUX). FBR raised the stock to a buy, while CBIC lowered it to a sell on the same day. Cramer wanted to take a closer look at the stock, and after doing his homework, Cramer agreed with CBIC and is bearish on SBUX. He doesn't like the stock because the company has a lot of low priced quality competition, the stock has a contracting multiple, and growth is slowing. He thinks it would have to go well below 16 to be a buy.
The CEO of Aecom (ACM) was on the show, and announced quarterly earnings and guidance for 2008, and the stock dropped over 10% today. He said that the decreasing backlog is due to normal seasonal patterns in orders, and that they expect to continue their growth. He is bullish about the company and the stock. Cramer was disappointed and said that the company will have to show him that it is still on track next quarter before he will buy it again.

Labels: ACM, AYI, BHP, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, GLYT, HAL, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, Lightning Round, Mad Money, Mad Money Lightning Round, Mad MOney Recap, SBUX, SU

Erin Burnett started the show today showing crude oil up about $0.40. Financial earnings are predicted to be down for the next few days. Fannie May seems to be taking a dip downward. HSBC Holdings (HBC) is noted as being one of the financials with weak stock. Electronic sales have actually shown an increase despite the weak retail market. Homebuilders lead decline. Steve Liesman gives the econ recon, saying investors are scrambling to buy junk bond yields which have shown a rapid incline in valuable stock. The stock in credit companies are reported as being much weaker than the drop that was seen back in August. Lewis Alexander a Citi Chief Economists says that the drop we see in short term stocks will be short lived and a dependence on the FED to contain the financial stress, will affect our resilience to a recession. Brian Shactman of CNBC says that Cyber Monday did not act as the number online sales day of the year. 72% of online retailers give Cyber Monday "deals," compared to 43% last year. Such as free shipping costs and percentage slashing. Sales are expected to break $700 M for this year's Cyber Monday. Wal-Mart, Target and JC Penny are among the top contenders for promotional sales. E-Bay and Amazon.com are doing very well along with direct company sales websites. Next, China was discussed with John Maziotti, mayor of Palm Bay, FL. He is part of the proposed ban on goods from China. Proposed ban does not include emergency products. Palm Bay are looking for funds to be raised for a "made in America" Christmas tree lighting. He says the loss of jobs and the unhealthy variables included in imported products from China are the main issues backing the proposed ban. Robert Shuller of Macro-Markets says that to fix the housing market in the long term is going to take the creation of a consumer-oriented focus. To offer mortgages with outs in the initial contract will be one of the first issues on the reform list. Stop Trading with Jim Cramer was next. He supports the proposed ban on importing Chinese manufactured goods. Garmin (GRMN) is recommended to buy and sell 18 months from now. Richard Peterson from Thomson Financial says that this will be a record high for global IPO's. Russia leads with $8 B, New York in 4th place with $4.3B, but leads the market in American currency exchanges. Jim Goldman of CNBC reports that Yahoo (YHOO) small business servers are down. Hosting 3 million sites this will be causing some problems says Jim Goldman. Oil is responsible for 33% of Yemen GDP.

Labels: Amazon.com, CHINA, CNBC, Ebay, Erin Burnett, JCP, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, Street Signs, street signs recap, TGT, Wal-Mart

On Friday, they played a rerun show from May where Cramer told people how he thinks they can get the most out of the show, and how they should use the advice he gives. Instead of just going out and buying and selling based on his recommendations, you should take the time to use the show as a starting point, understand why he is picking a stock, and what factors will move the stock in the future. Cramer said that he thinks he is a great teacher, but that one thing he is not is a dictator. He also said that just because he says he likes a stock, does not mean that his viewers should go out and purchase every single stock he recommends. He says that you must have a diversified portfolio. An investor must do the research and understand the rationale behind a stock before purchasing it. You want to focus on what Cramer thinks about a certain sector over a particular stock itself. Cramer said that during his lightning round, he basically is giving thumbs up or down on certain stocks, and not putting sound advice towards them. He said that during these lightning round sessions, he is giving advice on the sectors more or less.
Also, Cramer said viewers should expect that he will change his mind often. He said, "If you're going to get the most out of Mad Money, you have to understand that the market is dynamic, things are constantly changing and my opinions will change, too." After a certain point, you are on your own. That is wy he recommends homework so much.

Labels: CNBC, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, Mad Money Lightning Round, Mad MOney Recap

Thursday's show was a recap of Cramer's show on Christmas of last year. He told viewers that faith did not cut it when being an investor, but that you have to be skeptical. Always consider the source making an announcement about a stock. He explained how and why he was qualified to be on a show giving his opinion. He said it is not just because he successfully ran a hedge fund for 14 years, because that is much different than investing on your own time. He said that it is not only because of his experience and because he works like a "dog" on the show, but because he played for the bad guys.
He said hedge funds are very predatory, especially with people like him. Hedge funds do nothing for society but help the rich get richer, said Cramer. He said if anything it takes away from the individual investor. He said now he works for the good guys and gives them the tips that hedge funds use to be successful.
Cramer said that when he graduated from college he wanted to be a journalist, not a money manager. He said his first investment was a huge failure, but he did not quit and kept getting better. He got his break when The New Republic's editor-in-chief Marty Peretz, after hearing numerous stock tips over Cramer's answering machine, gave him a check for half a million bucks and told him to invest it. Cramer said. This luck led to his hedge fund in 1987. He said he was working 18-24 hours a day and his blood pressure was very high. His family intervened in 2000 and he decided to leave the hedge fund, but kept writing for The Street, which he co-founded.
This led to Cramer starting Mad Money. He said it is not a scam. He said he is not even allowed to profit from his recommendations, only the viewers can. The show is not a get rich quick scheme, and it applies to a very diverse audience. He also said people should not expect to become market experts by watching the show, but that they have to put their homework and time in. You must be willing to commit an hour of research a week for each stock you own. He said that individual investors should own no more than 5 to 10 stocks. He said it is ok to put money in a mutual fund if you do not have enough time, but do your homework on the mutual fund and only be in one at most. If you have the time, forget about mutual funds, because they make their money of the fees they charge you. If you have the time, invest yourself.

Labels: CNBC, hedge funds, Investors, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, Mad Money Lightning Round, Mad MOney Recap, mutual funds, thanksgiving

The Dow closed down 211 points and the Nasdaq finishing down 34. The S&P 500 has now given up all of its gains on the year. Najarian continues to like the four horseman names like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Research In Motion (RIMM) which showed strength on Wednesday. Adami recommended getting long General Motors (GM) right here with a specific stop price in mind. Finerman found it strange that Fannie Mae (FNM) went up Wednesday. Crude oil came close to $100 on Wednesday, but fell just short and finished the day at $97.19. Gartman feels the stock market is behaving horribly and he is short names like Harley-Davidson (HOG), Tiffany (TIF) and Coach (COH) and long Microsoft (MSFT)and Apple (AAPL). Gartman's favorite position right now is short Cummins (CMI).
CNBC Pharmaceuticals Reporter Mike Huckman joined the show to discuss his take on big pharma stocks. Huckman explained that Pfizer (PFE) is having issues with safety concerns on a stop smoking drug, falling Lipitor sales and generic competition. Huckman also mentioned that Merck (MRK), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Bristol Myers (BMY) were all down on Wednesday. Finerman likes Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
Investors tend to sell their biggest losers towards the end of the year to reduce the tax hit they take from their winners. Some of the names at 52-week lows are Citigroup (C), Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), J.C. Penny (JCP), Capital One Financial (COF), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and AIG (AIG).
Word on the Street
Macke recommended buying The Gap (GPS) on dips. Finerman likes Limited (LTD) on valuation. Adami suggested buying Citi Trends (CTRN) ahead of earnings for Monday. Najarian likes Target (TGT) for its valuation in retail.
Deere & Company (DE) traded up 5% after profits rose 52%.
Najarian suggests looking at Agco (AG)
Najarian noted strong call options trading activity on Tibco Software (TIBX).
Pops & Drops
Pops - Google (GOOG) traded up 2%
U.S. Steel (X) traded up 5% also bucking the down trend in the market.
Drops - Tesoro (TSO) fell 3%
American International Group (AIG) fell 6%.
Circuit City (CC) fell 6% after a JPMorgan analyst downgraded the stock.
Jamba Juice (JMBA) plunged 30%
Final Trade
Macke says don't buy stocks if you don't have to and Adami and Finerman just gave thanks in the holiday spirit.
Najarian likes Apple (AAPL) and he thinks the stock will explode into January.

Labels: AAPL, BMY, CMI, CNBC, CNBC's Fast Money, COF, COH, Fast Money Recap, FNM, GM, GOOG, HOG, LLY, LTD, MRK, MSFT, pfe, RIMM, TGT, TIF

Stocks extended losses as after unexpected oil inventory drawdowns. Stocks lowered 8 times in the last 11 sessions. S&P down .1% for 2007, Dow up 3.1%, Nasdaq up 5.7%. Most of the airlines were down for the week. Latin America was also hit very hard today. Higher oil prices are approaching historic lows hitting $99.29 today. Oil inventories down 1.1 million barrels. Refinery utilization is at 87%. Crude imports dropped 700,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories up 200,000 barrels. Heating oil is up right now, which is really key. Heating oil could go up 20%. What will this mean for consumers? How to play defense against this? JJ Burns says structured investments give you a barrier protection on the upside and downside to this market. Dow leaders today are coca-cola, 3M, Boeing, Proctor & Gamble. Financials were way down today. Citigroup, FreddieMac, and JPMorgan were at 52 week lows. Crude oil came in at just $97 this afternoon, showing that some are taking profits off the table expecting oil to hit that $100 mark. Nariam Behravesh was on the show to discuss oil and the implications. He says if it comes down in the next few weeks or month, we should be ok. But if it keeps going up we could be in trouble. They also said that consumers might not feel the pressure until oil gets up around $140-150 a barrel. Consumers with larger vehicles are most affected when they have to spend $100 to fill up their tank every time. Dennis Kneale said that high oil prices have no affect on fueling inflation. Retail names have also suffered tremendously in the past month or so. Morgan Stanley Retail index has fell 10% this month to a 2-year low. In November we should expect pent-up demand, unseasonally seasonal, 06 was weak, and what's not to hate. Retail saving may not be good, but stocks could be fine. Pick your retailers carefully. Exxon Mobil is a name benefiting with oil going up. Google is also performing well right now. Some speculate that the weak dollar is responsible for some of these drops. TJ Marta thinks the dollar weakness is a historic multi-generational crisis and reflects the fact the foreign investors have lost confidence in the US market. They think our market is liquid and transparent, but it becoming less of each. Steve Liesman says the balance in the trade deficit needs to readjust. The US dollar is down 16% this year against basket of major currencies. It hit a record low against the Euro on Tuesday. FED thinks US growth will slow in 2008 between 1.8% and 2.5%. California has been hurt greatly with the number of homes sold. Jane Wells said Countrywide Finl. Is down 10%, but is projected to be profitable this quarter. They have joined other lenders to cut a deal with people who are about to see their subprime mortgage rates plummet. There are also many lawsuits brought against them for outrageous fees. Continental Air started to move up toward the end of the show. Jeff Krumpelman recommends buying Intel (INTC). They are hiking the dividend which comforts investors. 80% of their revenues come from outside the US. They have a competitive edge over AMD. He also says buy Microchip (MCHP). Final Thoughts: Be skeptical but have hope. The bad affects have not happened yet relating to the weak dollar. It is the fear that is making us worry. It has contributed to the higher price of oil

Labels: 3M Co., Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's The Call, Crude Oil, DOW, GOOG, JP Morgan Chase and Co., Nasdaq, The Call

The Dow closed up 51 points and the S&P 500 finished up 6 points. Crude oil is closing in on $100 as we near Thanksgiving. John Kilduff, an analyst at MF Global, joined the show to discuss his take on oil. He predicts the top on crude could be in area of $108 to $110. Adami favors Chevron (CVX), which he feels is cheaper then ExxonMobil (XOM). He advises looking at refiners like Tesoro (TSO) here. Finerman owns Tesoro and she is also looking at buying ConocoPhillips (COP).
Regional airlines are benefiting from the delays and congestion at larger airports. Airlines like Midwest (MEH) and Allegiant (ALGT) are benefiting from this trend. Adami says the way to play this trend is to buy the private jet makers like Textron (TXT), General Dynamics (GD), Embrear (ERJ) and Honeywell (HON).
For Defensive stocks Najarian likes Merck (MRK), Genentech (DNA) and Biogen (BIIB). However, Finerman would get defensive with names like Altria (MO) and Kraft (KFT). Adami also recommends Altria, Unilever (UL) and Procter & Gamble (PG).
Word on the Street
Target (TGT) reported a 4.4% fall in profits.
Whole Foods Market (WFMI) reported a decline in fourth-quarter profits, but sales top Wall Street estimates.
Google (GOOG) trades up 4% after Credit Suisse raised their price target to $900. Najarian believes names like Research In Motion (RIMM), Google and Apple (AAPL) are starting to show strength again. He would look to get back into these stocks around these levels. Adami prefers Microsoft (MSFT).
Najarian would keep an eye on ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) and Sangamo Biosciences (SGMO).
Pops & Drops
Pops - Barnes & Noble (BKS) traded up 13% after reporting higher internet sales.
Exxon (XOM) traded up 4% after UBS upgraded the stock.
Kraft (KFT) traded up 2%.
Utilities EFT (XLU) traded up 1%.
Drops - Office Depot (ODP) fell 7% after reporting a 9% decline in profits.
Echostar (DISH) fell 7%
Ericsson (ERIC) fell 12%
Hovnanian (HOV) fell 9%.
GameStop (GME) fell 4% after the video game maker missed analyst estimates.
Saks (SKS) fell 2% after missing estimates.
Final Trade
Macke likes the price action in Microsoft (MSFT).
Adami recommends Freeport McMorRan (FCX).
Finerman says to short the iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate ETF (IYR).
Najarian would purchase Pulte Homes (PHM) for a short term buy.

Labels: ALGT, BIIB, CNBC, CNBC's Fast Money, COP, CVX, erj, Fast Money, GD, GOOG, HON, MEH, MRK, PG, TGT, TSO, TXT, UL, WFMI, XOM

Melissa Lee hosted today for Erin and started off Tuesday's show with an exclusive news break talking about stocks being down for the seventh time in nine sessions. Crude oil reached $98 for the first time, reaching a new high. They talked about Google and increasing their price target to $900 per share. Terry is looking for Google to mover in to powerful display advertising to gain market share, as advertising goes digital.
Samantha Davies came back talking about the bad weather approaching this week for the holiday season. Wednesday it will be very cold and rainy from the coast to the Great Lakes. On Thanksgiving it will be even colder in the Midwest and should expect many delays at several airports. Tim Zagat was on the show discussing the descent in airlines. He discussed specifically the increase in delays and cancellations. International airlines have fared much better than US domestic carriers. Midwest airlines and JetBlue airways have been the most successful economy carriers, because they are mostly business class airlines.
They came back discussing the drastic increases in oil and how the dollar weakness helps push crude oil to record closes.
The Bond Report: Santelli showed how 2-year note rates are still decreasing. He also said that the dollar index is decreasing very rapidly.
The Faber Report: Freddie Mac (FRE) has taken a large hit on their portfolio, especially today. Fannie Mae (FNM) has also taken a hit. Countrywide stock is below $10 a share and says that bankruptcy rumors are "absolutely false." 40% of their assets are in option arms. Fred Cannon has a $66 price target on FRE and $62 on FNM. He said that Fannie Mae gave us more of an insight to upcoming quarters. The government will eventually turn to GSE's.
Melissa came back with Paul Goodwin discussing the growing bear market in China. Many of the stocks are currently overvalued as well as very risk adverse. Aluminum China and E House China Holdings were two stocks that Goodwin said are taking your money and falling into downward trends. Predicts a rough three months for these stocks.
Lee came back discussing the value of the Canadian dollar and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays make about $740,000 for every .01 cent increase in the loon compared to the US dollar.
Bertha Coombs discussed Oprah's favorite things this year. She gave away a $3800 LG HDTV Refrigerator on her show among many other lavish gifts.

Labels: CHINA, CNBC, Crude Oil, Erin Burnett, FNM, FRE, GOOG, JetBlue Airways Corp., Melissa Lee, Midwest Air, oprah, Santelli, Street Signs, street signs recap, the bond report, the faber report

Erin talked about the bullish Dubai and how they bought 20% of the Nasdaq and is building up its infrastructure. US bankers are betting big on the success of Dubai. Krawcheck, the CEO of Smith Barney says that economic growth in the Middle East is tremendous. 30% of CITI's global wealth management is outside the U.S. Growth is much faster in the Middle East than in the United States. She says the revenue from oil is being used wisely to build up infrastructure and to diversify their economies. A lot of US investors are closed off to the Middle East because they associate opportunities too much with Iraq and Iran. She believes a recession is very likely in the US.
Then she talked to Sameer Ansari, Dubai International CEO. He said they are looking to take stake in more large public companies, but would not say with whom. He said they would be billion dollar stocks, within companies that exchange within Dow Jones. The Marriott CEO said they are also building up in Dubai and the Middle East and it is working out well for them.
Erin came back saying that UAE citizens use more of the world's national resources per capita than anyone else, including US citizens. She talked with Gerald Lawless, a chairman at Jumeirah Group. They discussed their new hotel they are building in Dubai and how it is a very spectacular sight and only consists of sweets. It has a boat, canal, and 44 restaurants. Jumeirah will generate about 35% of its income from Asia by 2011. They have 11 hotels in Dubai. He says they are on the way to being up with the best hotels in the world. He expects tourism to reach $15M each year through 2010. They will eventually look to the Caribbean and South America.
Business at the port of Dubai is up 17% in just a year and has become the 8th busiest port in the world. Erin talked with CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Bob Johnson, who spent $30B on aircraft from last week. They are currently building a world-class aerospace hub in Dubai. They will add more than 100 aircraft each from Airbus and Boeing. They have a university that will train pilots, an engineering program, and a science program among other things. Their airport is expected to be operational by 2008. Infrastructure costs around $33B.
She then talked with Muhamed Alabbar about the biggest building in the world, which is currently around 156 stories, but is adding a floor every 1.5 days. He says they have about 30% to go. It will be about 40% taller than anything ever built, over 200 stories. He says they provide their own capital, and that oil has nothing to do with their size. They do not underestimate the US economy, but doubts how strong and leveraged it is. They are looking to buy a stake in a US homebuilder within the next 12 months.
Erin talked with Arora, the Google president of Mid East, Europe and Africa. They want to make products accessible to 300 million Arabic speakers. They have had a huge surge in the last 12-18 months.
80% of the people that live in the UAE are not actual residents. Many have gone on strike from poor wages and living conditions. Alabbar said that it's a young country with some issues. He thinks the government is taking the issues seriously. Nevertheless, businesses and leaders are very excited about the economy.

Labels: Citigroup Inc., CNBC, Dubai, Erin Burnett, Marriott, Street Signs, UAE

The Dow closed down 218 points and the Nasdaq fell 43 points on Monday. Finerman sees storm clouds are everywhere and the Goldman downgrade of Citigroup (C) really hurt the markets. Najarian had a fun day trading. He also thinks the financial sector is in big trouble and he is extremely worried about General Motors (GM) which fell below $27.
Louise Yamada, a highly ranked technician on Wall Street, joined the show to discuss her analysis on the technicals of the market. She is currently worried that the S&P 500 could break 1406, which would signal to her an end of the longer-term uptrend. Yamada is still bullish on Cisco Systems (CSCO) and she would look to buy pullbacks on the name. She looked at the chart on Broadcom (BRCM) calling it a sell because it hasn't followed through after a false break-out. The chart on Coca-Cola (KO) is initiating an uptrend according to Yamada, so she would be a buyer of KO. Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) should be sold.
Retail
Nordstrom (JWN) reported a 22% rise in third-quarter profits helped by an extra week of sales.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) disclosed it has taken a 13.7% stake in Restoration Hardware (RSTO) and the possibility of proposing an acquisition.
Target (TGT) is set to report earnings Tuesday before the opening bell.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) clocked a 28% jump in profits off of strong notebook sales.
Medtronic (MDT) reported a 2% decline in profits, but the stock trades 3% higher after hours.
Lowe's (LOW) dropped 7% after reporting a 10% decline in profits due to the weak housing market.
Celgene (CELG) bought Pharmion (PHRM) for $2.9 billion. Adami thinks that Phizer must make a similar acquisition.
EchoStar (DISH) shares exploded higher Monday after Citigroup said there was a 65% chance that AT&T (T) will buy DISH.
Ultimate Fighting is now the fasting growing spectator sport in the United States. Macke says look for growth in cable companies and satellite companies like Viacom (VIA) and EchoStar. He also thinks makers of energy drinks like Coca-Cola will benefit. He said avoid the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) because the UFC is taking share. Lastly, Macke speculated that Anheuser-Busch (BUD) could be near a beverage deal with the UFC.
Pops & Drops
Pops - Xerox (XRX) traded up 2%.
Intercontinental Exchange traded up 3%
VeriSign (VRSN) traded up 2%.
Drops - E*TRADE (ETFC) fell 13% even with speculation of a takeover by Ameritrade (AMTD)
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) fell 7%
Genesco (GCO) plunged 24%.
Disney (DIS) fell 4%
General Motors (GM) fell 8% after the automaker announced plans for year-end discounts to clear out inventory.
Dillard's (DDS) fell 5%.
Tween Brands (TWB) fell 13%
Final Trade
Macke would purchase Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS) and Target on any selloff Tuesday
Najarian advises buying EchoStar (DISH) on a pullback under $44.
Finerman is long Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and short Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH).
Adami recommends Vodafone Group (VOD) for a play on China.

Labels: BBBY, BRCM, CELG, Citigroup Inc., CNBC, CNBC's Fast Money, CSCO, DISH, Dow Jones, Fast Money Recap, GM, HPQ, JWN, KO, LOW, MDT, Nasdaq, PHRM, SHLD, TGT

Cramer spent Monday's show reviewing the common mistakes that he and other investors make. His first mistake is buy and hold investing. It is based on the premise that your stock will go up if you just wait long enough, which makes people not do their homework. Cramer wants you to buy a stock and do your homework. Then Cramer went to the phonelines. The first caller asked whether people who only have a small amount of money should invest short term or longer term, and Cramer said that you should have a plan for a stock before you buy it. The next caller asked why Cramer likes to listen to conference calls, and he said that he can hear whether the company is feeling confident about their earnings, and what the big investors are looking for. Another caller asked what homework investors should be doing, and Cramer said that you should watch the stock for a while, find a reason to do some research, and then go out and read the earnings reports and financial statements.
The second mistake people make is regretting their past moves. Cramer says you only have so much time to spend researching stocks, so you can't waste time looking back at past decisions that you got wrong. Just review why you made a mistake so you don't repeat it and then move on, don't dwell on it. He then took some more calls. The first caller asked if there are any sectors that are safer than others, and Cramer said that food and beverage stocks are stable because they are non-cyclical and aren't normally affected by interest rates and financial conditions. Another caller asked for signs that a stock has reached its peak, and Cramer said that if a stock has dropped 5% - 8%, he will take a look at it and see if there is some problem, and then make a decision. A third caller asked for some mistakes that more experienced investors make, and Cramer said that the biggest mistake people make is buying a position all at once.
Cramer said that following stock tips was a third mistake. He said the only type of tip he recommends is to tip your waiter. You might think a tip is true when it is not and if it is you could be investigated for insider trading. Tips either come from criminals or people with an agenda.
4th mistake people make is not being diversified enough. Cramer wants you to invest in 5 different sectors at all times so you don't get hit too hard by a downturn in a single sector. His first caller asked if dollar cost averaging into an index works, and Cramer said he will do it if the index goes down 7 - 10%, he will put some extra money into the investment. The next caller asked if 5 stocks were enough to hold in your portfolio, and Cramer said yes. The next caller asked about investments other than stocks.
The last mistake Cramer wants you to avoid is buying your entire position at one time, since you are declaring that the stock will not drop lower than your purchase price. You will miss out when stocks go on sale, and you won't have perfect timing. His first caller asked how to tell how much a stock will drop after a bad earnings report, and Cramer said that smaller companies have less leeway than larger companies. Last caller asked how Cramer decides to sell a stock, and he said he will cut his losses and try to sell while the stock is still on the rise.

Labels: CNBC, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, Mad MOney Recap, stock tips

Erin Burnett began Friday's show talking with Paul Hickey about market correction. He said it is beginning to show signs of improvement. Earnings season is winding down, and the performance is usually around 3%. Market returns usually about 5x greater than in the off season. He talked about Cisco being an international company and they are doing pretty well.
Be Like Buffet: Erin then talked with Gerald Martin about Warren Buffet and his trading techniques. They did a study with Berkshire, which ended up beating the S&P averages. Buffet's Berkshire outperformed the market 28 of the last 31 years. Over 75% of Buffet's portfolio earnings are within 5 stocks. Erin recommended buffetwatch.cnbc.com as a reference point.
Erin came back discussing China's booming market, especially in the chemical sector. Frank Mitsch said that he does not believe China will be self-sufficient in chemicals any time soon. He believes less than 5% of demand in China is a result of the Olympics. Arch Chemicals will show large growth.
William Chiles: Bristow Group CEO was on the show. Bristow operates more than 500 helicopters that transport crews to oil rigs to 22 countries all over the world. He recently ordered 7 new Sikorsky helicopters for $100M. Their fastest growing areas are Southeast Asia and West Africa. Looking at the arctic, east Africa, and South America. Crude oil was at $94.85.
The Bond Report: Santelli discussed credit markets and their current rates. They have had the lowest yield closes in 32 months. Demand for treasuries is distorting the drop in rates.
Abu Dhabi announced an 8% stake in AMD, worth more than half a billion dollars. Should the US be worried? Alan Tonelson thinks it's a problem, because we don't have a good fix about international politics of Persian golf countries. Risk of AMD chips ending up in hands of rogue scientists. Todd Malan disagrees and thinks it's the same as buying stock in the open market. Some of these chips are involved in weapon design so burden of proof becomes an issue. US is exporting healthcare to Abu Dhabi. Dr. Cosgrove talked about Cleveland Clinic being involved in the first US hospital to go up in Abu Dhabi. It is a 15 year project attempting to keep people in UAE for healthcare. The doctors are only on one-year contracts with no tenure. It is a contract which does not put CC at risk. He said that healthcare is one of our top exports.
Stop Trading with Jim Cramer: Cramer discussed his retail trades. He said distinguish between companies with inventory and discounted inventory. JCPennys configured wrong. Cramer said Kohl's is a premium retailer that has done well. He said it will go to $60. Avon is at a 52-week high. Cramer said it is going up $3. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is a strong, very cheap stock. He said its upgrade is right on. His middle-east plays were Halliburton (HAL), which is one of his stocks of the year.
The Real "Friday Night Lights." Talked about high school football in Texas and the NBC TV drama. They discussed the huge demand for the season tickets and the price people are willing to pay for them. The "Dragons" have lost only 2 games in 6 years and draw in crowds of more than 11,000. Their playoff game will be played at the Dallas Cowboys stadium.
Erin finished the show talking about the booming middle-eastern market. She said 80% of the fortune 500 companies have involvement in Dubai.

Labels: AMD, Bristow Group, CNBC, CNBC's Stop Trading, Erin Burnett, HPQ, Jim Cramer, Santelli, Street Signs, street signs recap, Warren Buffet

The Dow finished 66 points into positive territory and the Nasdaq closed up 18 points. The technology sector and retail industry is getting a lot of attention as the holiday season is fast approaching. Technology stocks rebounded Friday after the worst week for the Nasdaq since April 2002. Najarian said this week was not that bad for technology. He highlighted Apple (AAPL), which started the week at $165 and finished the week at $165. Cisco Systems and Oracle (ORCL) both enjoyed a great week as well. Najarian suggested that as soon as Research in Motion (RIMM) hits China the stock will make a huge move.
Jim Goldman joined the show crew to discuss his take on Google entering the wireless space. Goldman says Google (GOOG) is going to make a play for the 700mhz spectrum being auctioned off by the FCC in January. Goldman speculates that this network could be worth $4.5 billion.
Henry Blodget caused speculation on Friday after posting on his blog that Microsoft (MSFT) should buy Yahoo! (YHOO) to gain market share in internet search. Finerman doesn't think the idea is outrageous. Macke also feels that Microsoft has plenty of cash to make the deal.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and GameStop (GME) will report earnings next week. Adami loves Hewlett-Packard, but he is worried that expectations might be too high. The rest of the crew more or less agreed.
Najarian says look at the strong stock performance in companies that sell merchandise at Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) like Under Armour (UA), Crocs (CROX), Nike (NKE) and Calloway (ELY). Macke agrees and said he would buy Dick's right now.
Wal-Mart (WMT) shines among a weak retail sector after posting a solid quarterly report.
FedEx's (FDX) lowered full-year outlook may be predicting an economic slowdown. Macke says FedEx is a legitimate economic indicator especially for the health of the consumer.
Consumer staples like Coca-Cola (KO), Altria (MO), Colgate (CL) and Procter & Gamble (PG) continue to show strength in a weak market. Adami favors Unilever (UL) at its 52-week high and is cheaper then Procter on valuation. Najarian likes Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) which Warren Buffett owns and Merck (MRK).
Crude oil closed at $95 as traders make another attempt at $100. Adami thinks crude is toppy, but Tesoro (TSO) is worth looking at in the mid-$50's. Najarian would prefer a solar stock play.
Pops & Drops
Pops - Cisco (CSCO) traded up 5% this week after announcing a $10 billion stock buyback.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) traded up 2% after the Abu Dhabi government took an 8.1% stake worth $622 million.
Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH) traded up 7%.
Delta Airlines (DAL) traded up 21% after speculation that a merger with United Airlines (UAUA) could occur.
Corning (GLW) traded up 10% after raising their profit forecast for the fourth-quarter.
Garmin (GRMN) traded up 14%
Sotheby's (BID) traded up 16% after selling $316 million in contemporary art on Wednesday.
Crocs (CROX) traded up 10%
Final Trade
Macke feels pos