Mad Money Recap

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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: The Bull Is Back

TheStreet.com Staff

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

"The markets were looking for a big rate cut from the Federal Reserve, and that's just what they got," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday.

Cramer said there's no reason now not to be bullish and those who sold off were wrong.

He said he's so confident in the market that he would even consider buying a house. A turnaround in real estate is inevitable, he emphasized.

"This cut has given investors an opportunity to make money," Cramer said.

In this market environment, he likes such high-paying dividend stocks as Altria (MO Quote), which just raised its dividend again on Wednesday. Altria is a stock which he owns for his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.

He's also a fan of AT&T (T Quote) and Verizon (VZ Quote) for their dividends.

Cramer also sees a bull market in retail stocks and finds Costco (COST Quote) and Urban Outfitters (URBN Quote) attractive. He says just about any retailer should benefit from the rate cuts.

Banks and brokers should also go higher in this environment, Cramer said. He said Wachovia (WB Quote) is probably the strongest player and noted Washington Mutual (WM Quote) is worth hanging onto until they get a bid.

He also sees some value in Bank of America (BAC Quote) and even in Citigroup (C Quote). The latter is a stock which he owns for his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.

Cramer also had a few new recommendations, including automakers General Motors (GM Quote) and Ford (F Quote), both of which Cramer feels will slowly start creeping higher.

Cramer recommended buying any of these names on weakness. "Be glad the market came down," he noted. This is not the time to run away from stocks, but rather the time to run toward them, he asserted.

A Stock That Delivers in Tough Times

Cramer said Tupperware(TUP Quote) has been a slow but steady winner since he first recommended it on Oct. 4, 2006. Since then, Tupperware shares have risen 75%.

The company just reported a blowout quarter, beating estimates by 13 cents a share, and was up 18% on a down day in the markets. On top of that, it sports an attractive 2.5% dividend yield.

Cramer said the company can deliver these earnings because 85% of its business is overseas and because it relies on individual sales representatives rather than costly retail outlets.

Rick Goings, chairman and CEO of Tupperware(TUP Quote) appeared on the show to elaborate on his company's operations.

Goings said Tupperware is indeed a counter-cyclical business that does well when times are tough.

He noted that 40% of Tupperware's business is now beauty products. When Cramer asked Goings about the threat of rising raw costs, the CEO replied that with 70% gross margins, raw costs are not a problem.

Cramer closed by saying he stands behind Goings and would be a buyer of Tupperware.

Don't Be Fooled By One Report

Cramer warned investors not to "get taken when losers report bad numbers." Instead, he says, "stick with the winners."

On Monday's show, he outlined how bad news from cellular equipment maker Motorola (MOT Quote) brought down the shares of its competitor, Nokia (NOK Quote), right before Nokia reported stellar earnings and shot up 5 points.

The same thing is happening, he says, with the wireless companies. Of the big three wireless providers, AT&T (T Quote), Verizon (VZ Quote) and Sprint (S Quote), Cramer would only keep AT&T and Verizon. Sprint, he says, "is just a disaster."

On Jan. 18, Sprint pre-announced sizeable downward pressure on subscriber growth, a move which brought down shares of AT&T and Verizon as well. But if you believed the Sprint news, you would've lost out, Cramer warned.

Just one week later, AT&T announced a net gain of 2.7 million new subscribers, compared to a loss of 100,000 subscribers for Sprint. Shortly thereafter, Verizon announced a net increase of 1.9 million subscribers.

"You just can't get enough AT&T or Verizon," Cramer said. Both companies offer safe dividends and are clearly taking share from Sprint.

He says AT&T, at below $35 a share, would be the better value, but warns investors to be careful when Sprint gets ready to announce again. More bad news, he says, could drop all three stocks again.

Mad Mail

In this segment, Cramer told a viewer that although bank stocks will see continued weakness, he would buy JP Morgan (JPM Quote) or Wachovia (WB Quote) if they fall more than a few points.

A second viewer asked about Walgreen's (WAG Quote). Cramer said he thinks the business is no good and Walgreen's is going down.

Sudden Death

Cramer was bullish on Precision Castparts (PCP Quote) and Level 3 Communications (LVLT Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Pfizer Inc (PFE Quote), Cal Dive (DVR Quote), Sara Lee (SLE Quote) and Pacific Ethanol (PEIX Quote).

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Foster Wheeler (FWLT Quote), Emerson Electric (EMR Quote), Flextronics (FLEX Quote), Waste Management (WMI Quote), Republic Services (RSG Quote), PetroChina (PTR Quote) and Focus Media (FMCN Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Under Armour (UA Quote) and E*TRADE Financial (ETFC Quote).

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

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