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NEW YORK (
TheStreet) -- With the markets up one day and down the next, investors need to stick with themes that will work for the long term, Jim Cramer told
"Mad Money" viewers Wednesday as he highlighted perhaps the one industry that has no natural enemies -- aerospace.
Unlike many companies that have a hard time predicting what their next quarter will look like, Cramer said that companies like
Boeing (
BA) have not only multi-year forecasts, but multi-decade forecasts. He said the aerospace group is in a long-term secular growth mode thanks to a number of forces pulling in their favor.
First is progress, said Cramer. While innovation may be dead in the personal computer space, in aerospace new materials, new technologies and manufacturing are driving new designs for just about every part in modern airliners. Second, the price of jet fuel has risen to a point where airlines can't afford not to upgrade to the latest, most fuel efficient planes.
Then there are competitive pressures, said Cramer. With so many new creature comforts like better seats, wider aisles, better lighting and more entertainment options, airlines once again just can't compete without ordering newer planes. Finally, Cramer noted that nothing lasts forever, which is why older planes must be replaced eventually.
For all these reasons, the new aerospace cycle is on fire, said Cramer, and companies like
United Technologies (
UTX),
Honeywell (
HON),
Precision Castparts (
PCP) and
BEA Aerospace (
BEAV) are all great investments on any weakness.
Invest in America: Boeing
For his "Invest in America" series, Cramer continued with his focus on aerospace and sat down with Jim McNerney, chairman, president and CEO of Boeing, a company that plans on continuing its legacy of being the world's aerospace leader.
McNerney start off by saying Boeing has a great impact on the American economy as it creates tens of thousands of jobs and is a huge exporter around the globe. He said while the company's defense business does have restrictions, there are only a few countries around the globe where you can't buy a Boeing plane.
When asked about the company's 20-year plans, McNerney said in his industry you need to look that far into the future, especially given that Boeing's current backlog for its 787 Dreamliner now extends well into 2019. He said that the technology cycles that Boeing operates with demand having bold looks into the future.
Turning to the 787's recent batteries issues and grounding, McNerney said he was never worried that the problems wouldn't be fixed, and immediately went to work deflecting media attention and supporting his people so they could get to work and get the job done. He said the full promise of the 787 was not affected by the battery problems and, in fact, Boeing's 777 program had more issues than the 787 has had so far.
Finally, when asked about Boeing's tough stance towards its suppliers, McNerney made it clear that Boeing is and will continue to be the world's leader in aerospace, and its suppliers are wise not to bet against the company.
More on Boeing
Continuing Cramer's interview with Jim McNerney, the CEO of Boeing turned to politics, saying the U.S. simply doesn't produce enough engineers and immigration reform is "critically important" for our nation's well-being. He said our country needs to get going on making serious changes. Boeing currently sponsors over 1,000 interns a year and spends upwards of $100 million annually on science and engineering education programs.
Is America's economy on the mend? McNerney said he does think it's stronger, but it's also still dependent on Europe and China, which is why he expects only moderate growth over the next year. When asked to give President Obama advice on what our country needs, McNerney said America needs less regulation, but needs to do more to fix its tax policy and get its fiscal house in order.
McNerney went on to discuss Boeing's competitive environment, saying that competition is tough and Boeing fights for every customer. He also said the government's sequestration will not have a huge 40% impact on military spending, but could impact in the 10% range.
Finally, when asked whether Boeing would ever consider re-engaging in supersonic flights to Europe an Asia, McNerney noted that eventually this area will get looked at again, but the Concorde proved that consumers just weren't willing to pay more for faster flights. As technology improves however, faster flights like the Concorde may become the new normal.
Lightning Round
In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on
JPMorgan Chase (
JPM),
HollyFrontier (
HFC) and
Occidental Petroleum (
OXY).
Cramer was bearish on
Clearwire (
CLWR).
Am I Diversified?
In the "Am I Diversified?" segment, Cramer spoke with callers and responded to tweets sent via Twitter to
@JimCramer to see if investors' portfolios have what it takes for today's markets.
The first portfolio included:
Laredo Petroleum (
LPI),
Ford Motor (
F),
BlackBerry (
BBRY),
Groupon (
GRPN) and
CVS Caremark (
CVS).
Cramer said this portfolio was properly diversified.
The second portfolio's top holdings included:
General Electric (
GE),
Duke Energy (
DUK),
Trinity Industries (
TRN),
DTE Energy (
DTE) and
Microsoft (
MSFT).
Cramer said the Duke and DTE were the same and he advised selling DTE and adding a drug stock such as
Bristol-Myers Squibb (
BMY).
The third portfolio had:
Walt Disney (
DIS),
Coca-Cola (
KO),
Enterprise Product Partners (
EPD),
American Express (
AXP) and
Wells Fargo (
WFC) as its top five stocks.
Cramer identified two of a kind with American Express and Wells Fargo and advised selling Amex and once again adding a drug stock like Bristol-Myers.
No Huddle Offense
In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer questioned why our government officials feel the only way they can influence the markets is to regulate and legislate. There's a lot to be said for just standing up to a microphone and talking directly to investors, he said, something that Washington seems to have forgotten how to do.
Cramer said
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke could have simply reminded investors that risky investments reaching for yield would be hurt as interest rates rise. That simple statement that would've put pressure on money managers to reign in their risky behavior, he said, and thereby save investors billions.
Likewise, the SEC could use its pulpit to warn against the return of collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, those toxic instruments at the heart of the financial collapse. A statement alone won't be enough to stop their return entirely, said Cramer, but it could certainly make the financial industry think twice.
You can't legislate against "morons willing to do stupid things," Cramer concluded, but our officials can certainly stand up and help guide the industry to where it needs to go.
To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC.
-- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington, D.C. To email Scott about this article, click here:
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