Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: May 19

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Is the press trying to keep you from making money? "It sure feels that way," Jim Cramer told the viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Tuesday.

He said every day the press adds another brick to the "wall of worry" and to the overall negative sentiment of the markets. But this sentiment is at odds with where the markets are actually headed, he said.

Today's announcement of a 12.8% decline in housing starts is good news, Cramer argued. That's because lower housing starts, he said, leads to a decrease in housing supply. And until the supply of home is finally exhausted, we will never see a housing bottom. "This is exactly what we need," said Cramer.

Likewise with the lead story in today's Wall Street Journal stating that "local banks suffer big losses." In reality, said Cramer, the number was pretty small and is totally manageable. He then recommended five banks, including FirstMerit (FMER Quote), First Niagara Financial (FNFG Quote), Glacier Bancorp (GBCI Quote), New Alliance (NAL Quote) and People's United Financial (PBCT Quote), along with BB&T (BBT Quote), all of which can benefit from today's "bad" news.

Other bad news of the day included a negative spin on the banks repaying TARP money. "Shouldn't we be thrilled we're seeing any of this money at all," he asked. How about "farms start to feel credit pinch," another headline that ran today. "This has been going on for a year now," said Cramer.

Then finally, there's the weak dollar, a favorite media target. But Cramer said the weak dollar has been great for exporters like the soft goods companies, the consumer stocks and the heavy equipment makers.