A Variant View

Ladies and gentlemen, we are witnessing one of the greatest sector rotations of all time, a historic match between early-cycle stocks and the consumer-products companies -- only one can be champion.

(There. All of the above said with the intonations of Dick Stockton in an NFL "frozen tundra" voice.)

This one is remarkable with the best of the drug and biotech stocks, the likes of Abbott (ABT - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Celgene (CELG - commentary - Cramer's Take) -- the best of the best (which is why I own them for Action Alerts PLUS) -- getting their butts kicked, and the likes of Freeport (FCX - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - commentary - Cramer's Take) just flying!

I always like to take the other side of these extremes and pick at the names on the Morgan Stanley Consumer Index (CMR) -- that's the best index to monitor this historic contest -- especially ahead of an employment number that is rumored to be stronger than expected and a so-called "last bad set" of housing and auto numbers. I don't mind the housing call, as I still believe we are six months away from a bottom, But I think the rally has a far more predictable base in the great Asian locomotive that is China.

Don't get me wrong. I like early-cycle names, too. But some stocks, like Celgene and Amgen (AMGN - commentary - Cramer's Take), rarely stay out of style for long in a recession, especially one that is not yet about to end.

Just a contrarian view on sector rotations in general, which tend these days to be no more than three-day affairs ... less time than it takes to get to the historic matchup in the Meadowlands this weekend!

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Abbott Labs, Celgene, Freeport-McMoRan and Hewlett-Packard.

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Jim Cramer is co-founder and chairman 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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