Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Markets Get Unexpected Break (Final)
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NEW YORK (
) -- Jim Cramer told the viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show Wednesday that there were any number of reasons for why the markets were able to recover from a 92-point deficit this morning.
But regardless of which one was right, today's rally was a welcome break for investors, he said.
Cramer said there were a few factors pulling in the market's direction today, including positive comments from Australian metals giant
BHP Billiton
(BHP) - Get Report
, which gave reassurance that despite a slowdown in China, Chinese demand will still keep growing at a healthy rate. Cramer said these comments mirrored that of steelmaker
Arcelor Mittal
(MT) - Get Report
, which also confirmed that demand from China is still healthy.
Cramer said another reason the markets may have headed higher was that President Obama continued his hiatus from attacking Wall Street. No news from the White House is always good news for stocks, he said.
Then there was
Federal Reserve
chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before Congress today, where he reaffirmed that the Fed won't tighten interest rates until the economy begins to recover. Cramer said Bernanke continues to do the right thing when it comes to what Wall Street needs to recover.
Cramer also noted that it appears Congress may be getting on board for a second stimulus package, one that actually creates jobs by repairing actual infrastructure.
All of these positives may be the beginning of something big, said Cramer, but even if they're not, they're still welcome news for investors. "Either way," he said, "we'll take it."
Natural Gas Crusade
In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with John Pinkerton, chairman and CEO of
Range Resources
(RRC) - Get Report
, another in a long line of natural gas producers hoping to change America's energy independent future.
Pinkerton said his industry needs to do a better job of telling its story and educating both Congress and the American people. He said the oil shale fields around the country are a huge paradigm shift for the industry, which is now able to bring reliable and consistent energy to the nation and the world.
Pinkerton even noted that if the country does not embrace natural gas soon, America will begin to export its clean burning natural gas, while still running 96% of its transportation infrastructure on crude oil which it imports from hostile nations.
When asked about efforts to construct a new natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48 states, Pinkerton said that project was conceived before the oil shale discoveries and is no longer needed with so much gas available around the country. Pinkerton even said the pipeline could be used in reverse, for exporting excess natural gas to countries like Japan.
When asked about Range Resources in particular, Pinkerton noted that the company will keep a strong balance sheet and that shareholders will be the big beneficiaries of increased production.
Cramer vowed to continue his crusade to help make natural gas the bridge fuel for the future. He continued his recommendation of Range Resources.
Dividend Boost
When it comes to dividends, the bigger the boost, the better the company, Cramer told viewers. He highlighted
Ross Stores
(ROST) - Get Report
as the next in his series of dividend-boosting companies that are screaming to the markets "business is great!"
Cramer said Ross, a off-price retailer with 1,000 locations in 27 states, boosted its dividend last week from 11 cents to 16 cents, an increase of 45%. The company also lifted guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Cramer said Ross is a great regional to national story, as the company has plenty of room to grow. Management has already noted that it sees potentially 2,000 locations for Ross, and that's not counting new concept stores the company is developing.
Ross is also excelling in its operations, where it's been boosting traffic to its stores while lowering inventory for nine straight quarters. The company is also reducing employee turnover and controlling inventory and theft of its merchandise.
At just three points off its 52-week high, Cramer said Ross is still cheap, trading at just 11 times its 2011 earnings despite a 14% long-term growth rate. Cramer said he's under played just how great a story Ross Stores has become, and he'd be a buyer.
Am I Diversified?
Cramer spoke with callers to see if their portfolios have what it takes. The first caller's portfolio included
Home Depot
(HD) - Get Report
,
Harley Davidson
(HOG) - Get Report
,
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
,
Chesapeake Energy
(CHK) - Get Report
and
Carnival
(CCL) - Get Report
.
Cramer said Harley and Carnival are both discretionary stocks, but he felt this portfolio was perfectly diversified.
The second caller's top holdings included
Chevron
(CVX) - Get Report
,
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ) - Get Report
,
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
,
Excelon
(EXC) - Get Report
and
Coca-Cola
(KO) - Get Report
.
Cramer said this portfolio was also well-played.
The third caller had
Conoco-Phillips
(COP) - Get Report
,
Berkshire Hathaway
(BRKB)
,
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
,
United Parcel Service
(UPS) - Get Report
and
Wal-Mart
(WMT) - Get Report
as their top five stocks.
Cramer also blessed this portfolio as diversified.
Lightning Round
Cramer was bullish on
Chevron
(CVX) - Get Report
and
RF Micro Devices
(RFMD)
.
He was bearish on
Petroleo Brasileiro
(PBR) - Get Report
,
(GOOG) - Get Report
and
Bucyrus International
(BUCY)
.
-- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington D.C.
To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Moneypage on CNBC
.
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clicking here.
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.
At the time of publication, Cramer was long Chevron, Home Depot, Apple, United Parcel Service.
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