Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Moody's Right for Bonds

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

---

"What do you do when Congress raises our debt ceiling to $9 trillion?" Cramer asked on his "Mad Money" TV show Tuesday. "One of the best ways to play this profligate Congress and president is to buy Moody's(MCO Quote) because they're in the bond rating business."

We're nuts about borrowing in the U.S., Cramer said, and Moody's is making a fortune off of it by rating the quality of the debt sold on the market.

It's not just the government that's issuing bonds in order to get cash, he said, citing bond issuance by companies including AT&T(T Quote) and Verizon(VZ Quote) in the same boat. "They take a ton of debt down to make deals," he said. "And all the private equity and leveraged buyouts ... that adds tons of debt.

"Our economy is just a big circle of people lending money to each other."

And in order for this system to function, organizations like Moody's exist to determine the quality of all that debt, which directly affects the sale of the debt.

Moreover, Warren Buffett must like the company because his Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.A Quote) owns a major stake in the company.

The bond-rating business is a racket, Cramer said, noting that only five companies are considered nationally recognized ratings organizations and they have 99% of the ratings business. "So this is an oligopoly."

This business is so good that the Senate is holding hearing to debate passing legislation to reign it in because companies like Moody's are making so much money, he added, saying that the fact that Moody's has little competition means money for shareholders.

It's a noncompetitive business because the government won't recognize other credit-ratings companies, he reminded viewers. And one senator even called the ratings industry "self-regulated." That means unregulated, said Cramer, noting that Moody's makes its money when companies pay Moody's to rate them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been working for a decade to change the business, but nothing has happened, and Cramer doesn't believe that there will be any big changes in the industry.