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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Citi's CEO Limits

TheStreet.com Staff

Click here for an archive of Cramer's "Mad Money" recaps.

Jim Cramer, in celebrating the second anniversary of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday, said that every night he gives his sweat, blood and tears to help people make money. And because he considers his work truly important, he refuses to stop working even on a day of celebration.

He kicked off the show by whipping himself for not putting Citigroup (C Quote) CEO Chuck Prince on his "Hall of Shame" list earlier.

"I tell you every day, my job is not about making friends -- and I mean it," Cramer said.

Prince needs to be added to the list, and because this show is not about making friends but making money, Cramer will replace Bank of America (BAC Quote) as his top financial pick with Citigroup, as soon as Prince retires.

Once Prince leaves, Cramer believes that Citigroup could go up 9 points. And one more reason to like the company is its "juicy" 4.5% yield, he added.

Cramer reassured his viewers that his wrath against Prince is not personal; it's because Citigroup's stock hasn't done well since the chief executive joined the company, while other financials have performed well. Meanwhile, Prince has been paying himself millions and millions of dollars, he said. Prince took home $26 million in 2006.

It's time for Prince to get out, Cramer iterated, and then we'll see upside.

Happy Anniversary!

Cramer inaugurated year three of "Mad Money" by saying that he's proud to call his show one of the most interactive shows on TV. For two years, Cramer has been taking viewers' phone calls and ideas, and he sees no signs of that stopping. Having said that, Cramer answered his first call of year three.

Cramer told his first caller that he likes NYSE Group (NYX Quote). Because the stock is down, he advised the viewer that "it's time to back up the truck" and buy some NYX, as Cramer said he's been doing himself for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS.

"I think we are going to coin money in NYX," he said.

Responding to a caller who asked about what stocks Cramer likes for this year, Cramer said that if people want value, they should look at Altria (MO Quote), which he also owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS.

Two other stocks Cramer likes and owns for his trust are Goldman Sachs (GS Quote), which reported an "unbelievably good number," and Halliburton (HAL Quote).

The next caller told Cramer that the best part of his two-year run has been the fact that Cramer is the only guy in the business who sticks his neck out, who has been able to make him money and who has kept him from losing it.

A classic example the caller gave was Sears (SHLD Quote), a stock that Cramer owns and that the caller has made some mad money with.

When the last caller asked about the best way to get a job in the industry, Cramer said to take any job he could get and then move up.

"If you think you are going to start at the top, you're not going to make it," he said.

Cramer ended his show by thanking his staff and viewers and by saying that he has tried to make people better investors over the last two years. He promises to continue doing so in year three.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Walt Disney (DIS Quote), Clearwire (CLWR Quote), Ameriprise Financial (AMP Quote), Savient Pharmaceuticals (SVNT Quote), Genzyme (GENZ Quote), Celgene (CELG Quote), Gilead Sciences (GILD Quote), Transocean (RIG Quote), Halliburton (HAL Quote), GlobalSantaFe (GSF Quote), Foster Wheeler (FWLT Quote), Walgreen (WAG Quote) and Yamana Gold (AUY Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN Quote), Washington Group (WGII Quote), Marsh & McLennan (MMC Quote) and Kinross Gold (KGC Quote).

For more of Cramer's insights during the Lightning Round, click here.

Want more Cramer? Check out Jim's rules and commandments for investing from his popular book by clicking here.