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Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Nov. 19

Scott Rutt

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

"Today's market action should be getting your attention," Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday.

He told viewers that every day the possibility of the next Great Depression is on the line and investors need to start taking notice.

Falling 427 points from Dow 8,000 is a lot more meaningful than falling 427 points from Dow 10,000, Cramer told viewers. "This market is in critical condition," he said, "and the solution is to save as many patients as you can."

Cramer said the two main "patients" in this market are the banks and the automakers, and both need help right away. He said while it's clear the doctors in this scenario, mainly the Treasury and Federal Reserve, are willing to save the banks, they are much more reluctant to save the automakers.

Cramer called this policy just wrong, stating that if the government lets the automakers fail, it will signal a death blow to the markets and the economy.

He said giving money to the "Wall Street gangsters" instead of to the millions of people who would be affected by the failure of General Motors (GM Quote) would be catastrophic.

Cramer said the only solution to this market crisis is to give as much money as possible to as many "patients" as possible, and not to withhold money from those who need it most.

No Pin Action

Looking for a tech stock that can deliver, even in hard times? Cramer said there's only one tech stock investors should trust, and it's Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote), a stock which he owns for his charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS.

On Tuesday, HP delivered better-than-expected quarterly earnings, an event that normally would trigger strength in a whole host of tech stocks, said Cramer.

Yet only HP's stock benefited from the news. As a result, Cramer said HP stands alone in the tech sector.

With companies like Cisco (CSCO Quote), Corning (GLW Quote) and Nokia (NOK Quote) all reporting disappointing numbers and offering slowing sales forecasts, Cramer said there must be a reason HP is bucking buck the trend, and he's found three of them.

First, HP has great management. The company is aggressively cutting costs and taking market share to boot. HP recently cut $200 million and 1,200 jobs from its bottom line.

Second, it is reaping the synergies from its acquisition of EDS. He said its CEO forecasted huge savings at the combined company and has delivered on those promises.

Finally, HP's competitors are falling apart at the seams. Cramer said companies like Dell (DELL Quote) continue to struggle under a poor long-term growth plan and other issues.

With the stock trading at just 8.4 times its 2009 forecasts, Cramer called HP one of the safest and most defensive names in tech today.

Outrage of the Day

Cramer again took aim with AIG (AIG Quote).

He said it's time for a big investigation to find out where the billions of dollars invested in the company actually went. Who benefited? Who are we bailing out? "It's time to show us the money," he said.

Mad Mail

In this segment, Cramer told a viewer that he's not concerned with the debt obligations at Shaw Group (SGR Quote), and still recommends the company.

Cramer told another viewer that he'd still recommend both Terra Nitrogen (TNH Quote) and ADM (ADM Quote) over fertilizer company Potash (POT Quote).

Am I Diversified?

Cramer spoke with callers to see if their portfolios have what it takes. The first caller's portfolio included Walmart (WMT Quote), General Electric (GE Quote), Waste Management , Union Pacific (UNP Quote) and Marvel Entertainment .

Cramer called this portfolio perfect diversification for this difficult market.

The second caller's top holdings included Textron (TXT Quote), Dupont (DD Quote), XTO Energy (XTO Quote), Qualcomm (QCOM Quote) and Bunge (BG Quote).

Cramer liked this portfolio, saying the caller is playing the market well.

Lightning Round

In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Silver Wheaton (SLW Quote), BP (BP Quote), Chevron (CVX Quote), Marathon Oil (MRO Quote), Kinder Morgan (KMP Quote), Energy Transfer Partners and Nucor (NUE Quote).

Cramer was bearish on Continental Resources , Valero Energy (VLO Quote), Suburban Propane Partners , Kaydon (KDN Quote), Limited Brands (LTD Quote) and AK Steel Holding .

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

Read more of Cramer's Mad Money Lightning Round insights.

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