Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Politics and Business Don't Mix

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The business of stocks is not politics, Jim Cramer announced to his "Mad Money" TV show viewers Thursday.

He said rather than asking whether you're better off now than you were four years ago, asked whether the companies in your portfolio are.

Cramer reminded investors they're not investing in politics, they're investing in the present and future fortunes of the individual companies. So while the unemployment rate may have risen from 5% to 8%, which is bad for you personally, for many companies things are a lot brighter now than they were four years ago.

What's good for companies is actually bad for politicians, Cramer explained. Companies want to create more and better products for less money. That means hiring fewer workers and using more technology to keep margins high. But that's exactly the opposite of what the politicians are hoping. They want more hiring.

So while the U.S. economy continues to improve and the prospects for a resolution in Europe get ever closer, it's no wonder the markets were able to rally, said Cramer.

Need proof? Just look at Stanley Black & Decker (SWK), up 8% Thursday, or Williams Sonoma (WSM) hitting new highs. These stocks are rallying because the future is looking up for U.S. housing.

Even laggards like FedEx (FDX), Cummins (CMI) and Caterpillar (CAT) have been on the move, all proving that things are beginning to look up.

So forget about politics, Cramer concluded, and think about how the individual companies in your portfolio are doing.

Executive Decision

In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer went on location with Manny Chirico, chairman and CEO of PVH Corp (PVH), a stock that hit a new 52-week high Thursday and is up 140% since Cramer first got behind the company in Jan 2008.

Chirico was very upbeat on his company's outlook, noting that both the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands remain strong in Europe, which allowed them to deliver 10% revenue growth and 15% same-store sales growth in the region. He said his company is clearly taking market share in what has been a tough region for their competitors.

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