Jim Cramer Blog

"I was worried about them for months," Cramer said. He added that he's done worrying now, because the insurers' troubles are so widely known. "When everybody knows about it ... you're done."
"I would never own those stocks," Cramer stressed, calling them "the moral hazard."
In the wake of the Fed's 50-basis-point rate cut, Cramer predicted a housing shortage.
Regarding the economic stimulus package currently making its way through Congress, Cramer quipped, "Go buy a Black & Decker (BDK) power saw." He added that people should use the rebate checks offered in the package to "pay down their credit card debt."
All joking aside, Cramer said he believes people are already taking his advice. "I'm telling you what they will do" with the money, he said. "That's why Whirlpool (WHR) ramped."
Cramer said that value stocks are the good bets for this environment. "Ryland's (RYL) good."
Investors should stick with early-cycle picks and avoid recent momentum plays, Cramer concluded. "Energy does not do that well right now. ... China does not do that well. Whatever was momentum doesn't do well."
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: BDK, Jim Cramer, RYL, Stop Trading, WHR

Here are 7 options to watch for today.
Most Under-Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual calls.
Hansen Natural Dec 80 Calls (NYSE:HANS - News). HANS's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Most Under-Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most under-priced individual puts.
Google Dec 620 Puts (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News). GOOG's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual calls.
Amazon.com Nov 115 Calls (NasdaqGS:AMZN - News). AMZN's PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. This stock comes from today's list and is among the most overpriced individual puts.
CME Group Nov 570 Puts (NYSE:CME - News). CME's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW - News). DOW's PowerRating (for Traders) is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW - News). EW' PowerRating (for Traders) is 6.
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
Ryland (NYSE:RYL - News). RYL's PowerRating (for Traders) is 4.
Published By TradingMarkets.com

Labels: AMZN, CME, DOW, EW, GOOG, HANS, RYL, stock options

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Underpriced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced
None Today
Most Underpriced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Ryland Group June 55 Puts (NYSE:RYL). RYL's PowerRating is 4. CSX Corp. May 45 Puts (NYSE:CSX). CSX's PowerRating is 5. Novastar Financial June 10 Puts (NYSE:NFI). NFI's PowerRating is 3.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Dendreon May 15 Calls (NasdaqGM:DNDN). DNDN's PowerRating is 3.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
None Today
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (NYSE:SMI). SMI's PowerRating is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
None Today
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
None Today
PowerRatings are courtesy of TradingMarkets.com

Labels: CSX, DNDN, NFI, RYL, SMI, stock options

Here are 7 options to watch for today. This list comes directly from the TradingMarkets Options Indicators page. The list is created using OptionVue options analysis software.
Most Under Priced Calls: These are the most under priced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust Mar 70 Calls (NYSE:BPT - News). BPT's PowerRating is 5.
Most Under Priced Puts: These are the most under priced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Explosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are under priced, this list finds the most under priced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely under priced.
Genentech Mar 90 Puts (NYSE:DNA - News). DNA's PowerRating is 5.
Most Overpriced Calls: These are the most overpriced calls of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of calls for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual calls. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Google Feb 520 Calls (NASDAQ:GOOG - News). GOOG's PowerRating is 4.
Most Overpriced Puts: These are the most overpriced puts of all stocks in our database. While the Equities Implosion List finds groups of puts for individual equities that are overpriced, this list finds the most overpriced individual puts. Thus, the options listed here will tend to be more severely overpriced.
Baidu.com Mar 110 Calls (NASDAQ:BIDU - News). BIDU's PowerRating is 3.
Stocks with Abnormal Call Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual call option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Call Volume Alerts list suggests a possible takeover, extraordinarily good earnings report, or other news which may favorably affect the stock.
Veritas DGC (NYSE:VTS - News). VTS' PowerRating is 5.
Stocks with Abnormal Put Volume: These are stocks which showed unusual put option volume not easily explained by arbitrage operations. The appearance of a stock on the Put Volume Alerts list suggests an extraordinarily negative earnings report, or other news which may negatively affect the stock.
Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ:OTEX - News). OTEX's PowerRating is 6.
Abnormal Put/Call $ Volume: These stocks have the highest dollar put volume in relation to their call volume. These high ratios are indicative of extreme bearish sentiment in the underlying stock.
The Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL - News). RYL's PowerRating is 5.
PowerRatings are courtesy of PowerRatings.net

Labels: BIDU, BPT, DNA, GOOG, OTEX, RYL, stock options, VTS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. home builders rose on Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected report on November new single-family home sales suggested to some analysts that the housing market may have bottomed.
New home sales rose 3.4 percent from the previous month to a 1.047 million annual rate, above economists' forecasts for a 1.018 million rate, according to the Commerce Department. But sales were down 15.3 percent from a year earlier.
Shares of home builders were each up more than 1 percent in morning trading, with the overall Dow Jones Home Construction index (^DJUSHB - News) gaining 10 points, or 1.4 percent, to 729.58. This index has lost 21 percent this year, and is down about 35 percent from its high in July 2005.
"The new home sales report did beat the consensus forecast and that, I think, provides further evidence to support the view that the worst of the housing downturn may have passed," said Alex Beuzelin, senior market analyst with Ruesch International in Washington.
But talk of a bottom may be premature since the government data doesn't capture cancellation rates, said John Tomlinson, home building analyst with Majestic Research in New York. Majestic's own survey of 36 top markets has showed high rates of cancellation, he said, as buyers demand higher incentives before closing on a home.
Many home buyers are willing to walk away from their deposits to seek a better deal.
"It's a quiet week in the market," Tomlinson said. "On the surface, the data may seem somewhat positive, but you need to take a deeper dive into the metrics before concluding that we've reached a bottom and things are picking up."
Among major companies in the sector, KB Home (NYSE:KBH - News) rose 73 cents to $51.52, Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL - News) gained 57 cents to $32.26, and D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI - News) was up 25 cents to $26.36. Shares of Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN - News), Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL - News) and Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - News) were also higher, all on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Additional reporting by New York Treasuries Desk)

Labels: DHI, KBH, LEN, MTH, RYL, TOL