Short Bets Are Off Here

Beautiful rally where lots of stocks moved up solely because some things got so bad that they couldn't go down any more.

Merrill Lynch (MER - commentary - Cramer's Take) is a real business. We saw how many people wanted Stan O'Neal out today and how much they perceive the company would be worth without him or if it is sold. The franchise got too cheap, given its Blackrock/Bloomberg positions.

Countrywide (CFC - commentary - Cramer's Take)? Whoever said stocks go straight down? I wonder if Angelo Mozillo started selling again. Nothing would surprise me. That this CEO's credibility is intact after this assault is rather remarkable, but this one was overly shorted too.

All of the stuff that rallied here reminds me of the 156 to 171 rally in the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index, or HGX, before it broke down again recently. Let these stocks have their due, whether they be Merrill or Countrywide. There are just too many people betting against them. I bet that will change by Wednesday. I bet by Friday you can start putting them out again against typical Friday short-covering.

At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in stocks mentioned.

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