DOW
loading...
NASDAQ
loading...
S&P
loading...




Action Alerts PLUS
RealMoney Silver
Market Movers
Stocks Under $10
Options Alerts
Breakout Stocks
View All


Now, enjoy the good life every day!

RSSRSS FEEDS
PODPODCASTS


RealMoney.com: Jim Cramer Blog
Print This Story

SEC Played a Big Role in Creating This Chaos
Page 3

 
I don't know a soul in the business, save short-sellers, who have participated in these raids who doesn't agree with this dynamic. Yet Cox has steadfastly refused to go back and reinstitute the rules and bring the playing field back to where it was before I retired in 2000 -- to a time when I remember how difficult it would be to create these forest fires given the breaks.

The speed is and was too great to put out the fires, so Lehman went and then AIG looks like it is going. One look at the puts -- which can only be bought in the sizes they are being bought with naked short-selling among the brokers who sell them -- tells you the short-sellers' next moves. That is why I flagged Citigroup (C) to you last week. It was so obvious they were about to maul it.

When we look back at the destruction of the financials, we should remember the instrumental role the SEC played in creating the chaos in doing nothing to stop it, and, like every other government official in this drama, received no criticism or no skepticism.

I just wish for once that the government would have real people be called in -- real people like me -- to explain to them how it works and how easy it was to take down Lehman or AIG through the stock market. It was child's play, and the SEC didn't even know that.

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






 RELATED STORIES

Jim Cramer Blog
The Fed Knew Nothing, but Let's Not Let AIG Die
9/15/2008 6:31 PM EDT
I had always hoped that somehow people in government would get wise to my black-hole theory.

Jim Cramer Blog
We're Deep in the Hole and Need Some Help
9/15/2008 4:57 PM EDT
We need a rescue plan for AIG, more mergers, more liquidity and better CEOs.

Jim Cramer Blog
Lehman and AIG Are Two Different Animals
9/15/2008 3:53 PM EDT
AIG poses systemic risk.



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.

TheStreet.com has a revenue-sharing relationship with Amazon.com under which it receives a portion of the revenue from Amazon.com purchases by customers directed there from TheStreet.com.



Brokerage Partners



Write us!
Order reprints of TSC articles.

TheStreet Premium Services
Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS
Now any level of investor can trade right alongside a Wall Street pro — and enjoy 24/7 access to his portfolio! Learn More
Doug Kass
RealMoney Silver
The genius of Doug Kass + 5 Premium Services = an unrivaled group of expert fundamental analysts, technical analysts, and Wall Street observers. Learn More
Don Dion
NEW! Don Dion's ETF Action
A concise two-step strategy for learning and trading in this increasingly lucrative area of investing. For all levels of investors! Learn More
David Peltier
Stocks Under $10
David Peltier is ready to help you find affordable stocks under $10. Because they're so inexpensive, the payout could be enormous! Learn More
Bryan Ashenberg
Breakout Stocks
Bryan Ashenberg combines sophisticated screening software with eagle-eye analysis to find small and mid-caps ready to break out! Learn More

Investor Relations | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Conflicts Policy | Corrections | Internet Index | Advertise | FAQ
Site Map | Who's Who | Reader Feedback | Employment | Contact Us
RSSSubscribe to our RSS Feed
© 1996- TheStreet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
TheStreet.com's enterprise databases running Oracle are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.