Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Obama's Chilling Impact on the Markets
Scott Rutt
01/07/09 - 08:16 PM EST
Click here for an archive of Jim Cramer's Mad Money recaps.
Today's market action had Jim Cramer wondering "what if?" on his "Mad
Money" TV show Wednesday.
He said that it wasn't just the bad earnings
from
Alcoa (AA Quote) and
Intel (INTC Quote) that
killed the markets, but also the comments from President-elect Barack Obama.
"What if the stimulus fails?" asked Cramer. What if slow growth
prevails for the foreseeable future? What if the markets are in for
more days like today?
Cramer said the economy and the markets don't
want to hear about jobless benefits being extended. He said they need to hear about
jobs being created and roads being built.
Cramer said in times of uncertainly, investors need to be
prepared, with stocks like his No. 3 three favorite stock in the
Dow Jones Industrial Average,
Johnson & Johnson , which he also owns for his
Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.
Johnson & Johnson is a classic defensive name, said Cramer, and has
the added benefit of being down 13 points from its high.
Cramer called Johnson & Johnson one of the smartest drug managers
around, and one that just made two great acquisitions on the cheap
with its purchase of Mentor and Omrix.
The company is now in a great position
to expand while cutting costs. He also liked the fact that celebrity
investor Warren Buffet has bought into the company at levels higher
than where it trades today.
Historically, times of weakness are great times to buy Johnson & Johnson, said
Cramer. Shares are currently down 18% from their recent highs. The
last time shares were down this much was April, 2002, when shares fell
from $65 to $40 only to rebound to $72 a share. In November 1999,
shares fell from $52 to $33 a share, only to rebound to $65. "This is
one you buy on weakness," said Cramer.
Cramer: Forecasts for GM and H-P in 2009 |
| |
Cramer said Johnson & Johnson also has many upsides, including its aggressive
cost cutting, strong drug pipeline and many great divisions with
strong sales.
A weakened dollar should also bode well for the
company's vast international sales. Johnson & Johnson, which traditionally trades at 17 times earnings, is trading at just 13 times earnings.
The company is exactly the stock to own in a recession, said Cramer, "and
what could be better than getting it cheaper than Warren Buffet?" He
said Johnson & Johnson could easily see $70 a share.
A Big Bang for the Buck
Cramer checked in with
Family Dollar (FDO Quote)
chairman and CEO Howard Levine, to find out if there's more to come
after the company reported better-than-expected earnings.
Family Dollar reported 42 cents a share in earnings compared to
the 40 cents a share Wall Street was expecting. The company also
raised 2009 guidance from between $1.58 to $1.78 a share to $1.63 to $1.81 a
share. Additionally, Family Dollar lowered its inventory levels 4.5%
while increasing gross margins by 0.8%.
Levine credited some of the company's successes to its emphasis on
food programs, including accepting food stamps at many of its stores.
He called the move, along with accepting credit cards, "the right
place to be."
Levine also reminded viewers that Family Dollar is celebrating its
50th anniversary, and noted that the company has the experience to
compete effectively in any environment, good and bad, since it's been
through many economic cycles before.
Levine also talked about the company's private label program,
which he expects to expand on in 2009, by improving merchandise and
upgrading packaging. Cramer said he thinks Family Dollar just had the
first of many great quarters to come.
Outrage of the Day
Cramer appealed to President-elect Barack Obama to assign a special prosecutor to go after organized
financial crimes. "Investors will not come back to this market until
they know the bad guys are gone," he said.
Cramer said the markets need to see a sea of indictments to
restore confidence. He recommended using the RICO Act to prosecute
all those who told investors the "fundamentals were sound," when
clearly they weren't.
Prosecuting these executives will not be hard, said Cramer, since
there are witnesses galore willing to testify against those who cost
them everything.
Am I Diversified?
Cramer spoke with callers to see if their
portfolios have what it takes. The first caller's portfolio included
Fluor (FLR Quote),
Apple (AAPL Quote),
Chevron (CVX Quote),
Corning (GLW Quote) and
Gilead (GILD Quote).
Cramer said Apple and Corning are two tech companies and he'd keep
Corning given how cheap that stock has become.
The second caller's top holdings included
Wyeth (WYE Quote),
Florida Power & Light
(FPL Quote),
Coca-Cola (KO Quote),
Disney (DIS Quote) and
Verizon (VZ Quote).
Cramer called this portfolio diversified.
The third caller had
Johnson & Johnson ,
Altria (MO Quote),
Clean Energy (CLNE Quote),
Eaton (ETN Quote) and
Eagle Materials
(EXP Quote) as their top five stocks.
For this portfolio, Cramer said it's a
total house of pleasure.
Lightning Round
Cramer was bullish on
Netflix (NFLX Quote),
Novo Nordisk A/S
(NVO Quote),
Panera Bread
(PNRA Quote)
and
Anadarko Petroleum
(APC Quote).
Cramer was bearish on
Diebold
(DBD Quote),
Intuitive Surgical
(ISRG Quote)
and
Chesapeake Energy
(CHK Quote).
Check out the latest edition of
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Top-Searched Stocks" on Stockpickr.
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