Herb's Semiannual Report Card Time

Fess up time. Back when I was with the San Francisco Chronicle I would do a report card once a year. But now that I'm with TheStreet.com, living on Internet time, I do one every six months, exposing the good, the bad and the ugly (otherwise known as incompletes -- not good-looking until proved otherwise).

As is usually the case, my sources and I have had our share of bowsers -- some of which have already been pointed out. Like Cree Inc. (CREE Quote - Cramer on CREE - Stock Picks). The stock has zoomed since the company was first mentioned here last July. It's no longer an incomplete. It's an out-and-out failure for this column (though the company that was tied to Cree, C3, which has changed its name to Charles & Colvard (CTHR Quote - Cramer on CTHR - Stock Picks), has been an unmitigated disaster and a clear A for the column). Also deserving an F is one of last year's big winners: Scott Turkel, of TCM Partners, whose choices here of Centura Software (CNTR Quote - Cramer on CNTR - Stock Picks), Sybase (SYBS Quote - Cramer on SYBS - Stock Picks), Versant (VSNT Quote - Cramer on VSNT - Stock Picks), Informix (IFMX Quote - Cramer on IFMX - Stock Picks) and Geoworks (GWRX Quote - Cramer on GWRX - Stock Picks) -- all mentioned in one column during the market's most intense turmoil -- are all, for the most part, filled with fleas. But also during the market's turmoil, to be fair, he was rightly "out" of the market at just the right time -- and alerted this column's readers to the fact, which means he gets an A for the short-term macro call. Also in the failure column goes my buddy Raymond, the 70-something stock broker from San Francisco, who gets an A for his gutsy call saying Cisco (CSCO Quote - Cramer on CSCO - Stock Picks) had peaked. He shoulda stopped while he was ahead: His next picks were Goodyear (GT Quote - Cramer on GT - Stock Picks) and Unisys (UIS Quote - Cramer on UIS - Stock Picks), both losers. Moral: Don't take your investment tips from the guy at the corner tire store!

The story isn't much brighter as it pertains to some of last year's incompletes. See how far we go to be accountable?! Colgate-Palmolive (CL Quote - Cramer on CL - Stock Picks), an incomplete at year-end, has done better than this column would've had you believe. And SFX Entertainment's (SFX Quote - Cramer on SFX - Stock Picks) stock was entertaining as it rose and fell and rose and fell until SFX agreed to be bought by Clear Channel (CCU Quote - Cramer on CCU - Stock Picks). (Now the short-sellers are looking at Clear Channel.) Meanwhile, IDT's (IDTC Quote - Cramer on IDTC - Stock Picks) stock hasn't been a winner, but the company is about to come into lots of money, which for critics usually means that no matter how loopy things may be, its game is over. Then there's Diamond Technology Partners (DTPI Quote - Cramer on DTPI - Stock Picks). Don't know what the stock will do, but considering how the stock has done since it was first mentioned here, I give myself and my source, who has been so good on so many other companies, an F.

This year's incompletes? We've got plenty that still haven't panned out one way or the other, starting with Lernout & Hauspie (LHSP Quote - Cramer on LHSP - Stock Picks) and going down a list that includes Estee Lauder (EL Quote - Cramer on EL - Stock Picks), Premier Parks (PKS Quote - Cramer on PKS - Stock Picks), Salton (SFP Quote - Cramer on SFP - Stock Picks), PF Chang's (PFCB Quote - Cramer on PFCB - Stock Picks), Harley-Davidson (HDI Quote - Cramer on HDI - Stock Picks), Whole Foods (WFMI Quote - Cramer on WFMI - Stock Picks) and Cyber-Care (CYBR Quote - Cramer on CYBR - Stock Picks). Even though it already blew up, I put Cyber-Care in the incomplete category because it's extremely volatile and something tells me that saga isn't over yet. Also incomplete: Cell Pathways (CLPA Quote - Cramer on CLPA - Stock Picks), PrePaid Legal (PPD Quote - Cramer on PPD - Stock Picks), ITT Educational Services (ESI Quote - Cramer on ESI - Stock Picks), Nordstrom (JWN Quote - Cramer on JWN - Stock Picks) -- positive and negative comments -- and Edison Schools (EDSN Quote - Cramer on EDSN - Stock Picks).

Now for the good news: A-plus to Jeff Matthews for his gutsy column here in August raising questions about Amazon.com (AMZN Quote - Cramer on AMZN - Stock Picks). Also A's to Bill Fleckenstein and Tom Chanos for their calls on Dell (DELL Quote - Cramer on DELL - Stock Picks). Honors A to John Woodberry for his positive comments about BCE (BCE Quote - Cramer on BCE - Stock Picks), Satyam Infoway (SIFY Quote - Cramer on SIFY - Stock Picks), Seagate (SEG Quote - Cramer on SEG - Stock Picks), IPC Communications (IPI Quote - Cramer on IPI - Stock Picks), UnitedGlobalCom (UCOMA Quote - Cramer on UCOMA - Stock Picks) and MGM Grand (MGG Quote - Cramer on MGG - Stock Picks). And you folks don't think I ever write anything positive!

Also A's to this column's sources (you know who you are) for their questions about Ancor Communications (ANCR Quote - Cramer on ANCR - Stock Picks), Transaction Systems Architects (TSAI Quote - Cramer on TSAI - Stock Picks), THQ (THQI Quote - Cramer on THQI - Stock Picks), The Learning Company and its impact on Mattel (MAT Quote - Cramer on MAT - Stock Picks) -- actually, that was moi -- Honeywell (HON Quote - Cramer on HON - Stock Picks), Pacific Gateway (PGEX Quote - Cramer on PGEX - Stock Picks) and Medallion Financial (TAXI Quote - Cramer on TAXI - Stock Picks). Also to the head of the class for Don Luskin of the Open Fund, who now writes for TheStreet.com, for his provocative short-sale recommendation of AT&T (T Quote - Cramer on T - Stock Picks)..

What have I missed? I'm sure you'll let me know! On that note -- kaboom! Have a bang-up Fourth!