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RealMoney.com: James J. Cramer
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Justice Gavel Needs to Fall on Insurers

By Jim Cramer
RealMoney.com Columnist

10/15/2004 2:14 PM EDT
 
 Insurance Brokers
  • Justice is a competitive market; Spitzer's got no corner on it.
  • If you can handle some negative headlines, then you might want to get back in.
  • But if you can't, it's not too late to sell them again; they've just had a nice move up!



When will the insurers bottom? When can we be sure that we can buy them for more than a trade and a flip?

Easy answer, after you read the following story: "The Justice Department is investigating the insurance cartel and most will likely indict the key officers of the corporations involved."

The story will continue: "We want to thank Eliot Spitzer, the New York state attorney general, for bringing these crimes to light and we will bring the full gamut of criminal antitrust laws to work to be sure that justice is served. We will put the perpetrators in jail and the consumers who were ripped off will be able to sue for treble damages."

Only after you see those stories, will the coast be clear.

You have to understand the way the Justice Department works. It is not going to sit there and let Spitzer take all the thunder on this one. It's got a great set of laws to use and it would certainly not be the first time that the Justice Department put people away for violating antitrust laws. (In the interest of full disclosure, Spitzer was an investor at Cramer Berkowitz, the hedge fund I founded.)

If you own the stocks now, you must be ready to read those headlines as soon as next week. Justice is a competitive market; Spitzer's got no corner on it.

If you can handle those headlines, by all means go in there and scoop up some Marsh & McLennan (MMC - commentary - Cramer's Take) and some American International Group (AIG - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Hartford Financial (HIG - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Ace Limited (ACE - commentary - Cramer's Take) while you are at it.

But if you can't handle those headlines, the time's not too late to sell them again. They've just had a nice move up!

RealMoney Barometer Poll

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James J. Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS by clicking here. While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to send comments on his column to jjcletters@thestreet.com. Listen to Cramer's RealMoney Radio show on your computer; just click here. Click here to buy Cramer's latest book, "You Got Screwed!" Click here to order Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict."
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