A Bright Spot

The big bad buyouts are now over. And people should recognize that something that was supposed to sink everyone, from Lehman (LEH - commentary - Cramer's Take) to Goldman (GS - commentary - Cramer's Take) to Morgan Stanley (MS - commentary - Cramer's Take), is now passed. It is easy to point the finger at all the other things that are going wrong, as is certainly the case today when the group is ONCE AGAIN under pressure, but I think that's a big mistake. I don't care for the financials, but even I have to recognize that something better is afoot. I think that way because things are sequential on Wall Street -- the companies can now focus on their mortgage portfolios and figure out how to stem their losses, now that the Clear Channel (CCU - commentary - Cramer's Take), BCE (BCE - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Penn National (PENN - commentary - Cramer's Take) deals are safe or off the table.

The gloom is palpable. Merrill's (MER - commentary - Cramer's Take) out there trying to raise capital, and it is a sad sight to see. I always understood the need to hold BlackRock (BLK - commentary - Cramer's Take), but the firm should have been divesting Bloomberg when the getting was good. That's just an awful situation. Lehman seems to fight for its life EVERY DAY, and last week's employee retention package somehow reassured people that a takeunder wasn't in the works. I continue to worry about its earnings power and what we don't know about the firm given that it canned its CFO right after endorsing her. That's the kind of red flag that if you don't see can cause tremendous disappointment later on.

You know I think Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take) is on its last legs courtesy of horrid strategies from before Pandit and the timid nature of his moves since. Wachovia's (WB - commentary - Cramer's Take) a disaster, it can't raise money or cut that dividend fast enough. What the heck are Fannie (FNM - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Freddie (FRE - commentary - Cramer's Take) waiting for? These are just so, so painful to watch.

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Jim 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. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. To order Cramer's newest book -- "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)," click here. Click here to order "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get "You Got Screwed!" and click here for Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback and invites you to send comments by clicking here.

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