Opportunity in Chaos

At moments like this, you have to figure out what will be affected and what won't be, and you need to recognize that the interrelation of all stocks to these events is a false one.

There is no doubt that anything mortgage is troubled. So even though I like Wells Fargo (WFC - commentary - Cramer's Take) a great deal, it is unlikely that WFC can stay anywhere near up here now that Lehman (LEH - commentary - Cramer's Take) collapsed. I don't want to hazard a guess, because it would be a guess, about where that stock can trade. Obviously it is a buy at some price, but that's a difficult issue.

Stocks like Schwab (SCHW - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Capital One (COF - commentary - Cramer's Take) are difficult to figure out, too. Schwab has nothing to do with this mess, but maybe trading will slow. People might look at the numbers Capital One put out about defaults, and while they seem pretty darned good, does anyone care? That stock had been on a rampage; probably stops today.

But how about the stocks on the Nasdaq? The Nazz futures are indicating down huge. Does that make sense? Just because it is happening, does that make sense? Symantec (SYMC - commentary - Cramer's Take), positive article this weekend -- a buy? If the futures take it down, yes. Amgen (AMGN - commentary - Cramer's Take) with new data coming up? Yes. Celgene (CELG - commentary - Cramer's Take), which wouldn't come down last week? Yes.

For the same reason we have to worry about Lehman ripples, we have to worry about lots of stocks of companies caught up in the wake of derivatives. The derivatives are more powerful than the stocks they encompass -- Nasdaq or S&P futures -- but they are not more powerful than the companies themselves. Genzyme (GENZ - commentary - Cramer's Take), Gilead (GILD - commentary - Cramer's Take), Hologic (HOLX - commentary - Cramer's Take), Starbucks (SBUX - commentary - Cramer's Take), they will all get killed. Is that right? I don't think so.

Meanwhile, oil is still not stopping despite the weakness in the dollar (always an overrated correlative to oil) and China cutting rates. Here's a market that is so sick that you have to go back to the consumers of oil again today to find ways to make money. Look for the S&P 500 futures to take down Procter (PG - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Colgate (CL - commentary - Cramer's Take) and General Mills (GIS - commentary - Cramer's Take), and don't think, "Oh my, are they expensive." Think, "Hmmm, that could be opportunity." Or how about the retailers that will benefit from the big storm damage, Wal-Mart (WMT - commentary - Cramer's Take) or Lowe's (LOW - commentary - Cramer's Take)? I know I'm working on that now for Action Alerts PLUS. Opportunity in chaos.

You have to think like this. Otherwise you have to say, "OK, it's all over and I am done." Because moments like this are where fortunes are made and lost and if there is one to be made, you want it.

Random musings: Amazing call by Doug to buy Merrill (MER - commentary - Cramer's Take) on Friday. ... AIG (AIG - commentary - Cramer's Take) is following Lehman on the hubris train, as there was plenty there but they were frozen.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Wal-Mart, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Gilead and Celgene.

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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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