Halt This Unfair Trading in Fannie and Freddie

I love how easily I am misunderstood by people who have about one-tenth the history I have in the markets. I love it, because their dogmatic criticism of me is so unfounded and anti-historical, not to mention totally un-rigorous, that I get a kick out of reading it.

I am talking, of course, about the outrageous trading in Fannie (FNM - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Freddie (FRE - commentary - Cramer's Take) over the last few days.

My beef: For most of the last 80 years, when there was "unusual activity" in a stock, as you would certainly have to say there has been here, the New York Stock Exchange or the company or even the SEC would call a halt in trading, the reason being that it is clear there is news that is not being properly disseminated. Halting trading is something that is done to level the playing field, to be sure that some don't know something that others don't.

Here the disinformation has been so ludicrous, the lack of disclosure so ridiculous, the misdirection so nonstop that it is simply inconceivable that everyone has the same information available to trade on. That's the darned law, for heaven's sake. It isn't something I made up. We aren't supposed to have situations where some know information and others don't. Given the nature of the talks involving so many parties and the leaks that are happening left and right, does this feel like a place where the average investor is getting a fair shake? I don't think so. How anyone could even disagree with that notion is the height of naiveté.

Others are criticizing my criticism of Jonathan Laing at Barron's for breaking the story over the weekend about the destruction of Fannie and Freddie common stock.

That's wrong.

That's totally wrong.

Laing and Barron's did great. They did better than great. That was an amazing piece. The reason is that they got some knucklehead in Treasury to do exactly the opposite of what the head man, the boss, was saying. Laing confirmed something that nobody else had, that Treasury is about ready to dismantle FNM and FRE. That's called a scoop.

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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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