Mad Money Recap

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Cramer's 'Mad Money Recap': Skip the Fed Watch

TheStreet.com Staff

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

"Ladies and gentlemen, the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting is irrelevant," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Monday.

"Interest rates are low enough that they just don't matter to stock prices anymore," he said.

According to Cramer, investors should ignore the deluge of press coverage regarding the Fed's meeting on Wednesday and focus on what is really driving the equities markets: earnings, valuation and the momentum of the worldwide economy. "Rate cut or no rate cut, I'm bullish," he said.

He said U.S. companies stand to do well because of the weak dollar and cheap labor. He cautioned the only areas to avoid are the financials, the retailers and domestic restaurants.

Cramer said investors need to set aside their worries about the Fed and focus their attention on the equity markets. He said most of the stocks on the Dow are insulated from the recession while others are doing nicely, thanks to growing overseas sales.

He also said most stocks are in parts of the market like oil, gas, agriculture and infrastructure are not controlled by the dollar. "Our market is driven by trade and budget deficits and the price of oil," he said.

Finally, Cramer said he's bullish on stocks because of the "fantastic" earnings he's seen during this quarter. And he reminded his viewers that earnings control stock prices, not the Fed's interest-rate moves.

America's New Industrial Standard

Cramer recommend Eaton (ETN Quote - Cramer on ETN - Stock Picks) as the first in a series of great American manufacturers poised to take advantage of the weak U.S. dollar.

He welcomed Sandy Cutler, chairman, president and CEO of Eaton to the show to discuss his company's eight-year transformation into an international powerhouse.

Cramer noted that Eaton now gets 55% of its revenue internationally, up from 48% last year. The company is seeing 25% growth in Latin America and has diverse businesses from autos to aerospace to hybrid technologies.

Cramer also noted that despite Eaton's $1.5 billion equity offering last week, the stock is displaying incredible resilience that makes him feel the shares are headed back to their 52-week high of $91 and beyond. Eaton currently trades at just 9.6 times its earnings despite its 13% long-term growth rate.

Cutler said many investors still aren't aware of his company's transformation into an international conglomerate. He noted two of the company's recent acquisitions in Germany and Taiwan will allow Eaton to expand its electrical businesses even further around the globe.

Cutler also noted Eaton's burgeoning hybrid-engine business. He described his company as a power management business that is trying to improve the performance of hybrid engines to increase efficiency and lower emissions.

"If you're waiting for technology to make a comeback, take a look at Eaton," Cramer said.

A Great UnKnown Stock

Investors looking for a great unknown, unsponsored stock on Wall Street should check Apogee (APOG Quote - Cramer on APOG - Stock Picks), Cramer said.

Apogee, he said, is a member of the hot green building movement, but has no major analyst coverage and flies under the radar of Wall Street.

Cramer said Wall Street mistakenly think of the company as levered to residential construction when, in fact, it makes energy efficient glass products that are mainly used in commercial applications.

As energy costs continue to rise, he maintains, Apogee's products will only continue to be increasingly in demand. Cramer said the company's business is on fire and noted that Apogee currently has a $510 million backlog, the largest in its history.

Apogee recently reported earnings of 49 cents a share, compared to forecasts for just 45 cents. Revenue was up 18% for the quarter and the company raised its full-year guidance. Cramer called this a "monster" quarter for Apogee, but added that no one cared because no one follows the stock.

Cramer called the company ridiculously cheap with a P/E ratio of just 11 despite the company's 20% growth rate. He recommended investors not pay up for the stock, but begin buying over the next few days.

Mad Mail

In this segment, a viewer asked about Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE Quote - Cramer on CLNE - Stock Picks). Cramer called the company an aggressive growth stock that's difficult to value. He recommended it only as a speculative play.

A second viewer asked about Costco (COST Quote - Cramer on COST - Stock Picks). Cramer called Costco one of only four retailers that he's recommending. The other three are TJ Maxx (TJX Quote - Cramer on TJX - Stock Picks), Walmart (WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks) and Urban Outfitters (URBN Quote - Cramer on URBN - Stock Picks).

A third viewer asked if Petrobras (PBR Quote - Cramer on PBR - Stock Picks) could be considered a long-term investment. Cramer said he considers Brazil is stable enough to be a long-term investment.

Sudden Death

In Sudden Death, Cramer was bullish on Precision Castparts (PCP Quote - Cramer on PCP - Stock Picks).

Cramer was bearish on International Speedway (ISCA Quote - Cramer on ISCA - Stock Picks) and Hexcel (HXL Quote - Cramer on HXL - Stock Picks).

Lightning Round

In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Fluor (FLR Quote - Cramer on FLR - Stock Picks), Quidel (QDEL Quote - Cramer on QDEL - Stock Picks), CVS Caremark (CVS Quote - Cramer on CVS - Stock Picks), EMC (EMC Quote - Cramer on EMC - Stock Picks), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote - Cramer on HPQ - Stock Picks), Gilead Sciences (GILD Quote - Cramer on GILD - Stock Picks) and Marathon Oil (MRO Quote - Cramer on MRO - Stock Picks).

Cramer was bearish on Perficient (PRFT Quote - Cramer on PRFT - Stock Picks), Rite Aid (RAD Quote - Cramer on RAD - Stock Picks) and Whole Foods (WFMI Quote - Cramer on WFMI - 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.