Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Aug. 18

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

---

"What we have today is just some serious profit taking," Jim Cramer told viewers on a special, midday edition of his "Mad Money" TV show Monday.

He described today's market action as simply giving up some gains, nothing major.

Cramer explained that while the market mulls over the repercussions of a government takeover of Freddie Mac (FRE Quote) and Fannie Mae (FNM Quote), he cares more about the true underpinnings of the market, mainly the price of oil and natural gas.

Cramer discussed that topic with Jim Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum (APC Quote) to find out just how big an impact the declining cost of natural gas is having on his company.

Hackett said there will be continued strong demand for natural gas until a viable alternative fuel comes into fruition. He described the decline in his company's stock as normal market volatility and felt it was nothing to be concerned about longer term.

Cramer: Buy the Right Infrastructure Stocks

Asked about rising raw costs, Hackett confirmed that costs are indeed up 50% since the beginning of the year, but said that his company has minimized those effects by hedging and what he called "smart drilling."

In fact, he noted, the effect to Anadarko's bottom line has been on the order of just 5% to 7%.