Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Europe Aside, U.S. Economy Improving

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The U.S. economy is improving, and markets would be even higher if Europe didn't matter, Jim Cramer's told his "Mad Money" audience Tuesday.

Perhaps the biggest driver for U.S. growth is, of all things, housing. Cramer said recent home sales data showed strength in the four hardest-hit areas of the country: Miami and Naples in Florida, Phoenix in Arizona and Orange County in California. A number of things have happened to create this improvement: The glut of foreclosures has dwindled, new-home inventory is down, homes are affordable, consumer confidence has blossomed and banks are providing the credit needed for purchasing.

In addition, Cramer said raw-material costs are falling for builders while gasoline and heating oil costs are falling for consumers, helping to add to the robust growth we're seeing. As job growth continues and the housing market builds steam, Cramer said it's no wonder stocks such as Wal-Mart (WMT) are hitting 52-week highs despite recent bribery allegations in Mexico. At the same time, car sales continue to strengthen.

Other market positives include the upcoming U.S. presidential election since, according to Cramer, the markets win no matter who gets elected; and a slew of recent acquisitions and initial public offerings.

Despite its many problems, Cramer noted the Facebook (FB) IPO did bring excitement and new money into the markets. The recent acquisitions by Eaton (ETN) and SAP (SAP) are also adding fuel to investors' market appetite.

However, for the time being all eyes must remain on Europe, Cramer said, because for all the many positive things happening in the U.S., they won't matter if the European economy continued to implode.

ExactTarget IPO Overshadowed by Facebook

In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Scott Dorsey, CEO of ExactTarget (ET), a recent IPO that got lost in the Facebook fever. Shares of ExactTarget popped 32% on their first day of trading only to pull back. The stock currently trades at four times forward sales, as the company has yet to turn a profit.

Dorsey said ExactTarget could turn a profit today if it wanted to but the company chose to continue investing in the business. He said ExactTarget's platform allows customers to communicate with customers via email, mobile and social channels, all from a single interface.

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