A Day for Guinness

The book, not the drink, as the market imbibes on the 'go frees' of the Internet world.

Author:: Jim Cramer
Publish date:: Dec 21, 1999 5:42 PM EST

General Mills

(GIS) - Get Report

has just decided to give all of its cereal away online! That could be worth 22 points.

Ford Motor

(F) - Get Report

has plans to give away cars online -- that ought to land that stock on the 52-week-high list.

And get this, just in,

Boeing

(BA) - Get Report

intends to give its planes away online, provided the buyers will give up their real names, in order to comply with

Airbus'

new rules. Boeing to the moon!

Join the discussion on

TSC

Message Boards.

Yes, the "go free" craze took over in full force today. It led to a reversal of

America Online

(AOL)

, which is paid. It led to a spectacular rally in

Be Free

(BFRE)

, which isn't free but has a great name (and a dynamite nickname for both World and

Matt

!).

It caused some stocks to rally on the expectation that they will give up earning revenue and instead earn value points, or eyeballs or

Media Metrix

gold stars or

S&H Green Stamps

, or maybe bottlecaps. That's why

Internet America

(GEEK)

ramped -- no kidding. And it left all of the fuddy-duddies in the world thinking, "We gotta retire."

Yes, in a string of absurdly fabulous days, where everything new seems to be working, and the

Bristols

(BMY) - Get Report

and the

American Homes

(AHP)

and the

Kodaks

(EK)

continue to take gas, today was still one more day that belongs in

Guinness

. This one required a total suspension of everything except a belief in one

Janus

, indivisible with

Liberate

(LBRT) - Get Report

and stock splits for

all

My best moment today came when my sister's kid, a bright-eyed 14-year-old freshman in high school, came in and said he was ready to take

Matt "Young Turk" Jacobs'

place. I told him that his 8-year-old sister was coming in tomorrow and that he was already too old and jaded to play in this league.

Random musings

3Com's

(COMS)

insistence on charging may be causing some of this after-market selloff.

Help choose more Red Hots:

With the

Nasdaq

continuing to rage, we're planning to add more stocks to our

Red Hot Index. Visit our

message boards to post your comments on the candidates -- and make your own nominations.

James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-founder of TheStreet.com. At time of publication, his fund was long AOL, 3Com, Liberate and Be Free. His fund often buys and sells securities that are the subject of his columns, both before and after the columns are published, and the positions that his fund takes may change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column at

jjcletters@thestreet.com.