Not Buying Excuses From Coach, Comcast

Do people really stop spending on cable when they feel less rich? Even as oil prices -- at the pump -- are much lower than they had been? Even if they are not trying to sell their home?

Do people stop spending on expensive handbags? Is that what they do when they can't sell their home?

I have been pondering over and over the Comcast (CMCSK - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Coach (COH - commentary - Cramer's Take) stories because those are the ones that broke out of the din of upside last week when they said things had broken down and they blamed the economy.

I thought that because in some ways Comcast and Coach have begun to have some competition that may better explain the weakness than the economy does. Comcast is up against a bunch of competing plans that I think require spending to stop or blunt, especially the Dish, which I love, and the Fios entry, which my sister loves.

I know, anecdotal, but whoever says ' I love Comcast?" Comcast is a monopolist that has lost its monopoly and that means it isn't going to put on the same numbers even with a strong economy. I think the market agrees with me.

Coach rankles me, too. I am trying to figure out how its model has changed to perhaps making it less of an upscale choice than it has been. The company's product seems to be everywhere these days and it seems "footballed," a retail term for being discounted all over the place without any discipline.

These two companies' views resonated and disturbed the market last week, even as we heard about people paying record amounts for expensive cell phones and for high-end computer equipment.

I understand when a Whirlpool says things aren't selling well. I understand when a Home Depot says it. But I am having a hard time buying it when Comcast and Coach claim it.

I believe they are making excuses, and I believe it is business as usual for much of the consumer even as that seems preposterous given all that is going on in housing and in oil.

The consumer has rarely let us down as a "concept" for stocks in 25 years time.

Somehow, despite all the handwringing, I believe that this time will be no different.

Random musings: Just an observation, but WHO LIKED STAN O'NEAL? I have never met a guy who had fewer friends on the Street. Chuck Prince is a more beloved figure, and that's saying something.

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

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