Mad Money Recap
Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: August 1
Scott Rutt
08/01/08 - 07:49 PM EDT
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"The time to worry about the economy was a year ago," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Friday. On the one-year anniversary of his now infamous "they know nothing" rant about the Federal Reserve and its chairman Ben Bernanke, Cramer reflected on his much publicized plea for help. Cramer said his "rant heard around the world" was meant to avoid exactly what's happened over the past 12 months. He said the staggering losses in the financial sector could have all been avoided had the Fed only listened and cut rates aggressively. The stock of the now defunct Bear Stearns fell 91.5% from a high of $118 a share before being salvaged by JP Morgan Chase (JPM Quote), said Cramer. Other financial stocks have faired only slightly better over the past year, he noted, including Freddie Mac (FRE Quote) down 86%, Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) down 63%, Washington Mutual (WM Quote) down 85%, Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote)down 69%, and Citigroup (C Quote) and Wachovia (WB Quote) both down 59%. "I saw it coming a year ago when I begged the Fed to listen," he said. Cramer said the Fed was simply offering too little too late, adding short-term interest rates needed to be cut aggressively and quickly to allow homeowners to refinance their bad loans. He said those fears were all realized, with a tide of home foreclosures, job losses mounting for the last seven months in a row and unimaginable losses in the financial sector. He asked why Congress isn't investigating the poor actions of the Fed.
Cramer: Mass-with-Class Retailers |
A Game Changer
Cramer once again welcomed Chesapeake Energy (CHK Quote) co-founder, chairman and CEO Aubrey McClendon to the show to discuss his recent trip to Washington, DC and the future of the oil and energy industries.
Making It Happen
For "Speculation Friday" Cramer recommended Fuel Systems (FSYS Quote) as another way to play what he's deemed "the year of natural gas." The company makes fuel systems technology that allows forklifts and other industrial and commercial vehicles to run on natural gas. "The company may be speculative, but it's not a pipe dream," he said. The company supplies vehicles to some of the largest industrial and manufacturing companies in the world, he noted. With natural gas vehicles 40% to 60% cheaper to operate than their oil-based counterparts, companies will be clamoring to make the switch, he said. Cramer also mentioned the European Union's goal of having 20% of the vehicles in Europe running on natural gas by 2020 as added incentive for the company. In addition, there is an initiative in California that would create a $2.9 billion fund for the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles. In addition to Fuel Systems, Cramer mentioned Canadian-based Westport Innovations, which is set to launch an IPO on the Nasdaq in the coming months, as well as Clean Energy (CLNE Quote), as two more natural gas stocks to consider.