Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Deere's Global Reach

Click here for an archive of Cramer's "Mad Money" recaps.

---

Declining home prices are killing every sector in the market except for food and energy, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Thursday.

And the one stock that prospers from both sectors is John Deere (DE).

The stock is up 149% when Cramer first recommended Deere in 2005. He recently added the company to his "Fabulous Five" agriculture stocks, along with Mosaic (MOS), Monsanto (MON), Agrium (AGU) and Potash (POT).

Cramer called John Deere "the single best manufacturer in America, selling into the single best market in the world." He then welcomed Bob Lane, Deere's chairman and CEO to the show to discuss the company's growing global presence.

Lane attributed the company's growth to a secular trend in what people around the world are eating. "As people around the world make more money, they eat better," he explained, "and as people eat more meat, they need more grain."

Lane characterized global food demand as the "engine" that's driving the company's growth, adding the demand for ethanol is "turbocharging" that growth.

Cramer asked Lane if the comments of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton that call for significant changes in the North American Free Trade Agreement would harm export-oriented companies like Deere.

Lane said it would, noting his company would suffer because one out of every four combines it manufactures in the US is exported overseas. "Global trade is vital to Deere," he said.

Cramer remains behind John Deere and recommended "pulling the trigger" any time the stock falls below $100 a share.

From Russia, With Love

When it comes to telecom, Cramer says investors looking for growth should look no further than these Russia phone giants: Mobile Telesystems (MBT) and Vimpel Communications (VIP).

The Russian wireless phone industry is growing at a stellar 33% per year, but Cramer says the real story is not about subscriber growth but the growth in the revenue each subscriber generates for the carrier.

He cited three reasons why the Russian cellular carriers are on fire. First, many Russian cell phone users are starting to make the transition from pre-paid to post-paid subscription models, the latter of which is far more profitable for the carriers.

Second, there is a transition afoot from wire-line to wireless service, with increasingly more Russians dumping landlines in favor of cell phones. Third, the Commonwealth of Independent States offers tremendous growth potential for both carriers.

While Cramer praised both Russian telecom stocks, he recommends MBT over VIP. MBT, he said, has a higher marketshare, is the safer of the two stocks, and is a better value. With a 1.8% dividend yield, MBT currently trades at just 13 times its earnings with a 17% long-term growth rate.

In the US, Cramer still recommends both AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), which he also owns for his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.

But he still advises investors to steer clear of SprintNextel (S) at all costs.

A Pain for Shareholders

In the "Sell Block" segment, Cramer advised investors to stay away from Fortress Investments (FIG) and added the company's CEO, Wes Edens, to his "Wall of Shame."

"Fortress is everywhere you don't want to be," said Cramer. The company went public a year ago at $18 a share and immediately spiked to $37 a share with much fanfare.

Since then, Cramer points out, the stock has declined, down over 58% from its high and down 36% just since October. The company also just reported a horrible quarter, says Cramer.

"The real problem," Cramer said, "is that no one can figure out what Fortress does." The company has very little disclosure and Cramer predicts that Fortress' dividend could shortly be in jeopardy.