Jim Cramer's Mad Money Review

Despite the passage of federal bailout package, Jim Cramer told viewers of his "Mad Money" TV show that he did not trust this market.
He reminded investors to sell into any moments of strength and play defensively as the details of the bailout plan begin to play out.
Cramer then shifted his attention to Wachovia (WB), saying its shareholders have good reason for hope after some nifty behind-the-scene moves by CEO Bob Steel.
Cramer praised Steel for working out a deal with Wells Fargo (WFC).
He admitted he was wrong when he placed Steel on his "Wall of Shame" list of the worst CEOs on Monday. He said he did so because he was disheartened by the federal government's decision to sell Wachovia's assets to Citigroup (C) and the fact that Steel had not come forward to defend his position.
However, after today's announcement of a deal with Wells Fargo, Cramer said he had an entirely different view of Steel.
UPFilling the empty slot in the Wall of Shame, Cramer added Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.) for a comment he made Wednesday that a major insurance company was preparing for bankruptcy.
Cramer said that irresponsible comment caused the stocks of Prudential (PRU), MetLife (MET) and Hartford (HIG) to suffer double-digit percentage drops.
Cramer said Reid deserved to be on the Wall of Shame for adding fear to an already fearful market.
Cramer said he's evaluating the industrial stocks by two simple measures: their dividend yield and how much cash they have on the balance sheet. Earlier in the week, he recommended KBR (KBR), a company where two-fifths of its marketcap is cash.
Tonight he recommended two other companies that he says are approaching the "value" threshold. The first on his radar screen is steelmaker Nucor (NUE), with its 3.6% dividend yield. The company was downgraded today by an analyst at Merrill Lynch. With a share price below $30, Cramer said Nucor is solid value stock.
Cramer also recommended Freeport McMoran (FCX), a stock which he owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, as another company close to a value moniker. With a 4.4% dividend yield, Cramer said he's beginning to buy additional shares to reinforce his position for his trust.
Admittedly, Cramer said gold and steel prices continue to fall, but in the case of Freeport, the stock has fallen from a high of $127 to $44 today. With such a decline, Cramer believes the downside has to be minimal going forward.
Published By TheStreet.com

Labels: C, Citigroup Inc., FCX, Hartford, HIG, Jim Cramer, KBR, Mad Money, Mad MOney Recap, MET, MetLife, NUE, PRU, Prudential, Wachovia, WB, Wells Fargo, WFC

State of the market
What is safe?
With all the catastrophic events currently going on in our financial markets a very relevant topic to discuss is where can you put your cash so it is safe. Well, first of all, if you have more than $500,000 cash in any bank, I would be restructuring your wealth. I believe these trying times will create more and more bank failures and I believe the real wave of catastrophe is yet to come. When companies who you believe are too big to fail, become nationalized, cause for extreme concern is much warranted. I would begin to systematically sell your holdings in the stock markets. There is no way there will be any big gains in the market for the next several years. Many economists are saying that we are beginning to hit a bottom, but this is inaccurate. And all of the crap that is going on in Congress is pitiful. How can a political agenda be factored into a bailout plan when our entire credit market in the United States is about to implode. Every politician is so scared of their contributors that they can no longer think for themselves. There is no way to tell how far along into this crisis we truly are. Yes, the mortgage credit crisis has hit somewhat of a bottom, but what if as a result of all these layoffs, and bank failures that are happening in the marketplace unemployment skyrockets? People will be out of jobs. Their first priority will be necessities such as food. Do you know what will be last on the list? Credit Cards. The third wave of the credit crisis will be soon upon us.

Labels: bailout, bank failures, congressional bailout, Credit Crisis, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, WB