Mad Money Recap

Return to Article

Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: The Big Bang

TheStreet.com Staff

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

"The bear market has ended with a bang," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Monday.

The demise of Bear Stearns (BSC Quote - Cramer on BSC - Stock Picks), he said, signaled to investors that it's finally safe to get back into stocks.

The beginning of the end occurred a few weeks ago when the situation looked pretty bleak for the markets. At that time, Cramer said, it looked as if both Freddie Mac (FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks) and Fannie Mae (FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks) were going under.

"Things seemed to only get worse with every interest rate cut the Federal Reserve made," he said. And then the failure of Bear Stearns occurred and made investors jittery about their money, Cramer noted.

"But now," said Cramer, "things look very different." For starters, he said, both Freddie and Fannie are back on their feet with the backing of the U.S. Treasury. The bulk of the bad home loans, Cramer predicts, will reset at lower interest rates within the next six months and cause home prices to stabilize.

Cramer also sees banks finally starting to lend money again, as interest rates are low enough for them to make money.

Cramer advised investors to start buying back into stocks slowly. He continued to recommend buying growth stocks with good dividends, but he also recommended retail stocks, technology stocks and even some strong financials.

He likes EMC (EMC Quote - Cramer on EMC - Stock Picks), a stock which he owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, and IBM (IBM Quote - Cramer on IBM - Stock Picks) in the technology space.

He also recommended Apple (AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) and Research In Motion (RIMM Quote - Cramer on RIMM - Stock Picks) on any weakness.

And he favored Goldman Sachs (GS Quote - Cramer on GS - Stock Picks), another Action Alerts Plus stock, as well as JP Morgan (JPM Quote - Cramer on JPM - Stock Picks) in the financial sector.

Just One Hurdle to Go

"Justice has been served," said Cramer, referring to the Justice Department's decision to approve the merger between Sirius Satellite (SIRI Quote - Cramer on SIRI - Stock Picks) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR Quote - Cramer on XMSR - Stock Picks).

The merger still requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an agency which Cramer lambasted as the "Federal Cartel Creators".

According to Cramer, the FCC's one-year, 35-day approval process is a travesty of justice and only denies consumers more choice and lower prices. He once again urged viewers to visit the FCC's Website at www.fcc.gov to voice their support for the merger.

Cramer puts a $5 price target on Sirius if the merger gets approved.

Big Growth Plans

Now that the market's bottomed, Cramer recommended Costco Wholesale (COST Quote - Cramer on COST - Stock Picks) as his favorite retail stock. "The analysts on Wall Street," he said, "are just too negative on Costco."

"This company is best of breed," said Cramer, who welcomed Jim Sinegal, President and CEO, of Costco to the show for an update on the company's outlook.

Sinegal responded to criticisms that the company's labor costs are too high by saying his company pays its employees a fair wage to produce good results.

He also sees a lot of room for growth at Costco, both domestically and abroad. He said Costco could double its footprint over the next 10 years.

Cramer called Costco the "best retailer with the best merchandise," saying the stock "is going higher."

Mad Mail

In this segment, Cramer told a viewer that while he likes Focus Media (FMCN Quote - Cramer on FMCN - Stock Picks), the company only reported an in-line quarter. That said, he still thinks Focus Media is a buy.

He told a second viewer that he's not inclined to recommend Sigma Designs (SIGM Quote - Cramer on SIGM - Stock Picks) after its disappointing quarter.

Cramer told a third viewer that he feels MDU Resources (MDU Quote - Cramer on MDU - Stock Picks) a lot to offer and recommended sticking with the stock.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Verizon (VZ Quote - Cramer on VZ - Stock Picks), AT&T (T Quote - Cramer on T - Stock Picks), Eastman Kodak (EK Quote - Cramer on EK - Stock Picks), Korea Electric Power (KEP Quote - Cramer on KEP - Stock Picks), General Mills (GIS Quote - Cramer on GIS - Stock Picks), Kellogg (K Quote - Cramer on K - Stock Picks), Darling International (DAR Quote - Cramer on DAR - Stock Picks), Lindsay Corporation (LNN Quote - Cramer on LNN - Stock Picks), Mastercard (MA Quote - Cramer on MA - Stock Picks), NuStar Energy (NS Quote - Cramer on NS - Stock Picks) and Mosaic (MOS Quote - Cramer on MOS - Stock Picks).

Cramer was bearish on Sprint Nextel (S Quote - Cramer on S - Stock Picks), Systemax (SYX Quote - Cramer on SYX - Stock Picks), Campbell Soup (CPB Quote - Cramer on CPB - Stock Picks), Raser Technologies (RZ Quote - Cramer on RZ - Stock Picks), Visa (V Quote - Cramer on V - Stock Picks) and Borders Group (BGP Quote - Cramer on BGP - Stock Picks).

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.