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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Eight years ago today, Jim Cramer took to the airwaves of CNBC with a mission, to give regular investors unbiased investing advice. Friday, eight years later, Cramer wasted no time on his "Mad Money" TV show to give those same investors his take on next week's trading. Cramer said that next week will be controlled by the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. If the bears are to be believed, he said, the Fed will stop its bond buying and begin selling, signaling the end of economic prosperity as we know it. But, as Cramer continues to preach, if the Fed says things are getting better then, well, investors should take that as things are getting better. Beyond the Fed, Cramer said he'll be watching Dell ( DELL) on Monday. He told viewers that Dell must be sold on Monday because the company's cash flow is slowing dramatically -- if not for a potential deal to take the company private, Dell would be trading at $8 a share. "Dell is too dangerous," Cramer said, as is owning anything related to the PC. Tuesday brings the February housing starts, a number that should be welcome news for housewares retailers Williams Sonoma ( WSM). Also on Tuesday, uniform giant Cintas ( CTAS). Cramer said bullish news from Cintas would be bullish news for employment. Then on Wednesday, it's FedEx ( FDX) and Jabil Circuit ( JBL) reporting. Cramer said FedEx will provide a highly accurate look at the global economy, while Jabil is just plain cheap and should be bought. Turning to Thursday, it's Lululemon ( LULU), an athletic apparel retailer that Cramer said should be approached with caution, and Nike ( NKE), another athletic giant that Cramer said he'd take a pass on. Cramer was bullish on Ross Stores ( ROST), however, saying that Ross is at the right spot to be bought. Finally on Friday, Darden Restaurants ( DRI) reports along with Tiffany ( TIF). Cramer said that Darden continues to "fail upwards," but he would be a buyer of Tiffany on any weakness.
Speculation Friday
For "Speculation Friday," Cramer highlighted the dry bulk shipping sector, a group that's been in a hideous over-capacity situation for the past six years. After such a sizable decline, Cramer said day rates for ships have gotten so low that shippers are opting not to sail rather than sailing for so few profits, and that signals the bottom for the industry. In addition to day rates finally stabilizing, Cramer said the dry bulk shippers are also scrapping old ships at a faster rate than they're buying news ones, which is helping to bring down supply and raise rates for the remaining fleet. So good are the shippers, said Cramer, that he's willing to recommend Nordic American Tanker ( NAT) in the tanker group, which now yields 6.7%. But in the dry bulk group, Cramer said that Diana Shipping ( DSX) is his favorite, as the company has less leverage than its competitors and is buying up ships that once cost $155 million for just $34 million today. While many shippers are struggling with the continued low rate, Diana has stability, as it locked in 92% of its sailing days with one to two year contracts. Cramer said that shares of Diana are just off their highs, but they're still trading for a 4.5% discount to the company's net asset value.
Beating the Averages
The goal of investing isn't to just keep up with the major averages, it's to beat them handily, Cramer reminded viewers. That's why while many money managers will tell you to invest in index funds, Cramer has a different strategy -- investing in individual high-quality stocks. How did Cramer do against the averages? The S&P 500 is up 52% over the past eight years since "Mad Money" has been on the air, but Cramer highlighted eight stocks that have done a whole lot better. Of the stocks that were big enough to talk about eight years ago, Priceline.com ( PCLN), the king of online travel, tops the list with that stock up 3,133% over the past eight years. Coming in a close second was Regeneron ( REGN), which Cramer recommended at just $5 a share. That stock has soared 2,780%. Next on the list was Netflix ( NFLX), up 1,882%, and NewMarket ( NEU), up 1,587%. Cramer said he's long been a fan of Netflix, while he's been remiss in neglecting to mention NewMarket. Also making the list were two orphan drug makers, Alexion Pharmaceuticals ( ALXN) and Biomarin ( BMRN), up 1,579% and 1,197% respectively. Rounding out the top eight were Salesforce.com ( CRM) and Core Labs ( CLB), which still managed to eek out a 1,046% gain over "Mad Money's" lifetime. These are just a few examples of how a well-diversified portfolio can trounce the averages, said Cramer, but only if individuals ignore the pessimists and believe in their own abilities.