Jim Cramer's Mad Money Review

"GE(GE) is the story, suddenly," said Jim Cramer on Thursday's "Stop Trading!" segment on CNBC. "Before, the story had been Exxon(XOM) and the breakdown of oil. Now we've got two stories that are negative for the averages."

Today, S&P changed its outlook on GE to negative. S&P credit analyst Scott Sprinzen joined Cramer and host Erin Burnett on the show. Cramer's main question for Sprinzen was: "Why now?"

Cramer said that things are improving for retail stocks. "If you're a retailer like Macy's(M), you obviously feel better today," he said. "Abercrombie(ANF) has put in a bottom. We're seeing some retail action that's not so negative."

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Labels: Abercrombie, ANF, CNBC's Stop Trading, Exxon Mobil Corp., GE, General Electric Co., Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's Stop Trading, M, Macy's, Stop Trading, XOM

He said he'd even wait to buy Macy's(M). "I feel good about Macy's, but not until November," he said. As for Target(TGT) and Kohl's(K), Cramer said he'd be a seller of both.

Cramer would be buying dividend-paying stocks that are hedge-fund-free. "After this hedge-funds-gone-wild period, we have to identify companies that fund do not want to trade that also have good dividends," he said, such as AT&T(T) and Verizon(VZ). "Both of these companies have no hedge funds in them, and that might be the most important determinate."

Cramer apologized for a recent call he made on Schlumberger(SLB). "I had though that Schlumberger down $8 the other day had the feel of a bottom. That was just a bad call by me, and I want to own the fact that it was bad because this quarter is just going to be weak," he said. "I really don't think that offshore drilling is going to be a place to be in the next 18 months."

Labels: ATT. T, CNBC's Stop Trading, Jim Cramer, K, Kohls, M, Macy's, Schlumberger, SLB, Stop Trading, Target, TGT, Verizon, VZ

Bullish calls:
Wachovia (WB): 'I think WB is one of the most conservatively-managed of the big money center banks right now. The yield is safe.' Research in Motion (RIMM): 'I like RIMM much better [than Palm].' Altria (MO): 'It's going to be two different companies. One is going to be high-growth... The other is going to be domestic. It's going to have a big yield …they are going to announce one of the biggest buybacks in history.' Bidu (BIDU): 'I said that BIDU - you should take out all the money you put in and play with the house's money... I am not willing to have you swap out of Google, to go into BIDU, though... Just too risky.'
Neutral calls:
RBC Bearings (ROLL): 'This is a very plain vanilla company... I'm going to give you one thumb up, just because United … maybe even a don't buy, don't buy. Investools (SWIM): 'They've had hundreds of thousands of people go through their classes. I just wish they had more profits. They've got huge revenues. It doesn't seem to be flowing to the bottom line. I'm not pulling the trigger on that one either.'
Bearish calls:
Palm (PALM): 'I think PALM is really scary, and I don't trust it... And why don't I trust it? It's poorly managed, poorly run.' Macy's (M): 'I did like Terry Lundgren [CEO}... But the guy is beginning to get me nervous and worried … Retail is bad.' IBM (IBM): 'A lot of people felt that the service revenue was okay, but the hardware was bad ...I think you mark time at $115, until the next quarter when they can clear that up...' InvesTools (SWIM)
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Labels: BIDU, Hot Stocks, IBM, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, M, MO, PALM, RIMM, ROLL, SWIM, WB

Costco (COST), Wal-Mart (WMT), Kroger (KR), Safeway (SWY), Home Depot (HD), Sears (SHLD), Lowe's (LOW), Kohl's (KSS), J.C. Penney (JCP), Macy's (M)
When retail swoons, bears are quick to blame the sluggish consumer, but Cramer believes a more nuanced view is in order. Even though consumers don't want to shop at Wal-Mart, Safeway or Kroger because of boredom, or at Home Depot, Lowe's and Sears because of housing problems doesn't mean they don't want to shop. Today's consumer wants to be entertained, pampered and is looking for a bargain, said Cramer. Target and Wal-Mart no longer provide this experience, but Costco is fitting the bill because "it is a better place to shop." The consumer is not interested in Kohl's, J.C. Penney or Macy's, particularly the latter, since the stores have gone downhill because of the consolidation, said Cramer. While Kohl's is okay, its merchandise did not fit the weather. However, Costco is "a more exciting, treasure-hunt place to shop," Cramer said. "I think you're seeing a tiering here and the tiering has to do with execution, performance and fun to shop, not the consumer."
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Labels: COST, HD, JCP, Jim Cramer, KR, KSS, LOW, M, SHLD, SWY, Wall Street Confidential, WMT

Woodward Governor (NasdaqGS: WGOV - News): 'That's in the bull market of aerospace. It's in the bull market of infrastructure.'Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News)Sears Holdings (NasdaqGS: SHLD - News): 'Everybody's decided ... it's too hard ... am not giving up on Eddie Lampert. Let everyone else give up. I am not. I'm with him.'Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM - News): 'Long term, Toyota's the winner. ... In 2010, this company's going to own the world. Now, if you can't take the pain between now and 2010, by all means, go buy a mutual fund.'Macy's (NYSE: M - News): 'They've all given up on Macy's. ... Me? I don't know. Terry Lundgren's pretty good. .... I'd rather pull the trigger. I'd rather run toward what looks like a house of pleasure.'
Bearish calls:
Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW - News): 'This stock has just been hammered unfairly. ... We've got to wait till it settles, and it's not going to settle, because it's still in freefall.'Alcoa (NYSE: AA - News): 'It did not get the bid in the end ... it's trading only on fundamentals. On fundamentals, it's worth $35. ... I got too greedy on Alcoa.'
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Labels: AA, CAT, Jim Cramer, Lightning Round, M, MTW, SHLD, TM, WGOV