How the Mighty Have Fallen

More than 100 companies in the S&P 500 now trade in single digits. The stocks that do trade there take your breath away. Obviously GE (GE - commentary - Cramer's Take) is stunning. The bonds are for sale everywhere. Everywhere. Don't know more than what the papers say: European exposure, mostly Eastern Europe and U.K. residential housing.

Obviously Bank of America (BAC - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take). Hideous.

Obviously GM (GM - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Ford (F - commentary - Cramer's Take).

AIG (AIG - commentary - Cramer's Take). Still in the S&P. Always painful, Ben Bernanke agrees.

These still take my breath away. They do so every day.

But then there are companies that I remember being in the $20s and $30s, companies like Gannett (GCI - commentary - Cramer's Take), New York Times (NYT - commentary - Cramer's Take), Hartford (HIG - commentary - Cramer's Take), Lincoln (LNC - commentary - Cramer's Take). I just can't believe where they are.

Manitowoc (MTW - commentary - Cramer's Take), Textron (TXT - commentary - Cramer's Take). These are $30 and $40 stocks.

CBS (CBS - commentary - Cramer's Take) ... what the heck? Three dollars? Wasn't that in the $20s? Alcoa (AA - commentary - Cramer's Take) was in the $30s and $40s forever. Now it is at $6.

International Paper (IP - commentary - Cramer's Take): That's a $40 stock.

News Corp (NWS.A - commentary - Cramer's Take): Teens? Try $6. A dollar below Time Warner (TWX - commentary - Cramer's Take), a perennial teenager until now.

I remember when AK Steel (AKS - commentary - Cramer's Take) was going to be acquired in the $60s. Now it is at $6.

Limited (LTD - commentary - Cramer's Take) was always in the $20s, no? $6 again.

International Game Technologies (IGT - commentary - Cramer's Take), that always seemed to be in the $30s or $40s. (Forget MGM Grand (MGM - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS - commentary - Cramer's Take) -- they are looking like history.)

Harman (HAR - commentary - Cramer's Take)? Private equity wanted that stock in the $50s. They can have all that they want at $9.

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