Hope Is in the Air

Can the rally last? I know my friend Doug Kass thinks it is getting long in the tooth. I know after listening to President-Elect Obama we are short on specifics and -- in a surprise given what was floated -- we will get tax increases.

Also, without spelling out infrastructure programs, the rally in infra will be hard-pressed to last, as the hedge funds are still in them. Should Jacobs (JEC - commentary - Cramer's Take) keep rallying? How about Aecom (ACM - commentary - Cramer's Take)? Tough to make a judgment. I like Caterpillar (CAT - commentary - Cramer's Take) anyway because of its accidentally high yield.

But there is some hope in the air, and while hope should never be a part of a trading equation or an investment strategy, let's give some of the changes their due. The Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take) bailout did not lead to capital depreciation for the common, and Goldman Sachs (GS - commentary - Cramer's Take) is going to be issuing debt backed by full faith and credit/FDIC this week, which will make funding problems go away (or at least loosen them). Morgan Stanley (MS - commentary - Cramer's Take) will follow. The piece of paper Goldman is issuing, out three years, seems like a steal.

Is the rally perfect? No. Again, I am not "bullish" -- I am simply more constructive and optimistic.

If you weren't, you are running the risk of being a permabear, something that has never been my style even though I have been opportunistically negative for long periods of time, for those who go way back with RealMoney.

Random musings: Nice crash debate in Columnist Conversation. I think a retest of Dow Jones Industrials lows can happen, but the bid in the financials and a belief that we may have seen the lows for energy make me more constructive...

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

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