Fast Money Recap

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'Fast Money' Recap: Up on the Farm

Mike Taylor

On CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, the traders discussed a brief rollover in crude oil. Tim Seymour said Congress is acting to reduce the buying power of oil speculators. He said this news is limited in its impact. He said options expired, and many traders may be closing their positions in oil. He said the more important factor in the oil story is demand. He said that Congress' action today is part of the farm bill, which will have a much larger impact on food prices.

Pete Najarian pointed out that crude finished the day flat. He also pointed out bullish action in the oil services sector. He reminded viewers that oil is not just a commodity but is also a currency.

Jeff Macke said that from a technical standpoint, oil traded very well today. He said it had every reason to sell off but held its ground.

Guy Adami said that Wall Street observers would do well to quit talking about Congress' action to close speculative loopholes in oil. He said that the market had set up two great trades in Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote - Cramer on HPQ - Stock Picks) and Deere (DE Quote - Cramer on DE - Stock Picks), both of which rose today.

Still Time for Planting

Najarian said that people think the agriculture trade is over, but action in Potash (POT Quote - Cramer on POT - Stock Picks), Mosaic (MOS Quote - Cramer on MOS - Stock Picks), Monsanto (MON Quote - Cramer on MON - Stock Picks) and Agrium (AGU Quote - Cramer on AGU - Stock Picks) indicates otherwise. He said that these companies have pricing power.

He said a trade in dry bulk shipping may also work, but DryShips (DRYS Quote - Cramer on DRYS - Stock Picks) may be a little ahead of itself.

Tim Seymour said that Bunge (BG Quote - Cramer on BG - Stock Picks) will benefit if Congress extends the farm bill. He agreed with Najarian that the ag sector continues to rally.

The Oracle Speaks

Warren Buffett announced today that he was increasing his stake in Kraft (KFT Quote - Cramer on KFT - Stock Picks) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI Quote - Cramer on BNI - Stock Picks). Shares of both companies rallied on the news.

Adami pointed out that Burlington Northern was at a 52-week high before the Buffett news, and he says it's still a buy on a valuation basis.

Macke said that it seems like every super-inverstor owns Kraft. He said there will be plenty of time to follow the whales, but viewers shouldn't chase the stock higher.

Icahn in Action

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn announced he was buying shares of Amylin (AMLN Quote - Cramer on AMLN - Stock Picks). Shares of this company also rose. Najarian said the pharma company is one of his favorite names. He said the company is very well run. He also recommended Isis (ISIS Quote - Cramer on ISIS - Stock Picks).

Research In Motion (RIMM Quote - Cramer on RIMM - Stock Picks) is coming out with a touch-screen BlackBerry. Najarian said he loves the RIM story and believes that smartphone competitor Apple (AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) can coexist with RIM. He said that Apple's Macintosh computers provide the real story for the company.

He also said Cisco (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks), Juniper (JNPR Quote - Cramer on JNPR - Stock Picks) and AT&T (T Quote - Cramer on T - Stock Picks) are ways to play the news.

Macke said that RIM and Apple stocks were working because the companies are executing well. He told viewers not to buy stocks on product hype but rather because they are performing.

Carl Icahn sent a letter to Yahoo!'s (YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks) board saying it acted irrationally when faced with a takeout offer from Microsoft (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks).

Macke said that Icahn is representing a strong hand with this letter, but Microsoft's best move at this point is to step back from the deal, because it is the only bidder. It's probably a little late to get long Yahoo!, but the company probably won't be independent at the end of this year, he said.

Tiffany Lights Up

J.C. Penney (JCP Quote - Cramer on JCP - Stock Picks) and Tiffany (TIF Quote - Cramer on TIF - Stock Picks) reported good earnings, and shares of both companies went up today.

Macke said that there was a lot of bad news already in Tiffany stock, and he called today's climb a rally from a previous beatdown. He said that with the earnings catalyst gone, it's time to sell out of positions in these names. He also warned viewers against being long Kohl's (KSS Quote - Cramer on KSS - Stock Picks) here, but he said he's still long Wal-Mart (WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks) because it's a different kind of story.

Najarian said he observed unusual call activity in CVS Caremark (CVS Quote - Cramer on CVS - Stock Picks) and Temple-Inland (TIN Quote - Cramer on TIN - Stock Picks).

UBS rated six offshore drillers with buy ratings today and raised its long-term forecast for the price of crude well into the $100s. The traders spoke with UBS analyst Dave Anderson about the decision. Anderson said the fundamentals of the story indicate that oil has a long way to run. He said UBS doesn't see the supply situation improving.

Little Big Brands

The traders then turned to Big Idea host Donny Deutsch about a trend of big businesses buying small brands. Deutsch said that companies like Coke (KO Quote - Cramer on KO - Stock Picks) and Pepsi (PEP Quote - Cramer on PEP - Stock Picks) don't have the wherewithal to create new brands the way small companies do. He said the key to making these acquisitions are working is to keep the essence of the brand.

Deutsch said that as soon as a brand starts to feel like that of the acquiring company, the charm has worn off. He said he likes Coke's acquisition of Vitamin Water and Clorox's (CLX Quote - Cramer on CLX - Stock Picks) Burt's Bees purchase.

Macke said he likes Molson Coors (TAP Quote - Cramer on TAP - Stock Picks) because it's beating Anheuser-Busch (BUD Quote - Cramer on BUD - Stock Picks).

Adami said Hansen Natural (HANS Quote - Cramer on HANS - Stock Picks) could be a takeover target.

With a major oncology conference coming up, Najarian said Celgene (CELG Quote - Cramer on CELG - Stock Picks) is a name to keep an eye on. He also told investors to take a look at Medarex (MDRX Quote - Cramer on MDRX - Stock Picks) and Genentech (DNA Quote - Cramer on DNA - Stock Picks).

The Recession View

To talk about the overall economy, Zach Karabell, president of River Twice Research, joined the show. He said the recession, whether it's here or not, is not affecting Americans' desire to buy flat-screen TVs, and this plays into Corning (GLW Quote - Cramer on GLW - Stock Picks). Adami agreed that Corning is a good stock to own.

Karabell also said that Americans are vacationing domestically. He said this means Disney's (DIS Quote - Cramer on DIS - Stock Picks) parks should benefit. Macke agreed, saying Disney is "crushing." Karabell was more skeptical of a Las Vegas casino trade in this environment.

Trader Radar

The traders tried to pick some trades for the future of the Internet. Macke said that innovative companies will often disappear quickly, and he's more interested in Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks), which he said is a survivor. Adami agreed.

Seymour recommended playing the China Internet buildout. He named companies such as Baidu.com (BIDU Quote - Cramer on BIDU - Stock Picks) and Sohu (SOHU Quote - Cramer on SOHU - Stock Picks).

Najarian recommended Cisco as an infrastructure buildout play. For a more speculative venture, he suggested Imax (IMAX Quote - Cramer on IMAX - Stock Picks).

Fast Messages

One viewer asked if Freeport-McMoRan (FCX Quote - Cramer on FCX - Stock Picks) is a way to play steel. Adami said its molybdenum business makes it a way to play the sector.

Another viewer asked about casino stocks. Macke said to avoid them.

Final Trade