Catching up on Cramer -- and Citicorp

Without cable, I missed "Stop Trading" and "Mad Money" all week. So I'm starting to catch up.

Jim: This market is all about confidence... who do investors have confidence in and who they are worried about. The market has spoken. It has put Goldman Sachs (GS*) in the Sell Block... You look at what happened to Goldman's stock today... at one point, it was down like $85... that's through book value... That's a vote of no confidence if there ever was one... It's not a vote that I necessarily agree with... In fact, since I own it for my charitable trust, and have since I started the Trust, I obviously don't believe in the market's judgment but, not only that, I have faith in the management of the firm... something the market says is dreadfully wrong... even GS* has no home equity loans, or car loans, or second... whatever... any of the nonsense that a Wachovia Corp. (WB) or a Wells Fargo (WFC) - that are so loved now -or a Washington Mutual (WM), which is... you know, puh-lease... But I'll accept Mr. Market's judgment... Remember, I am on the hunt for bull markets wherever I can find them... and, right now, the bull says don't go with the investment banks, go with the food banks... and that's what the market has confidence in... That's right... the food bank...General Mills Inc. (GIS*)... isn't that the perfect example?... It reported a great quarter yesterday. The stock's flirting with a 52-week high... Or how about the Heinz (HNZ)?... Right, let's do the "catch up" trade... That stock, at one point today... was yielding a little more than 3%... better than Treasuries...The market has declared that GS* is in the Sell Block, and that makes GIS* a buy... and that's why I'm calling companies like General Mills the "new banks"... The market's decided we don't need investment banks anymore... that it's an unprofitable business... it doesn't matter anymore what I think... We need food banks... like GIS*. That's where people are putting their money.Now, obviously, you can't run the economy without investment banks, but this market's verdict for now - if not Cramer's - is that you've got to sell them... Now, the market has faith in the "really old banks" so to speak... commercial banks... the ones that rely on deposits... not money in hedge funds... the ones that I've been recommending like US Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC)... either hitting a 52-week high or coming close... It has confidence in deposit banks... just not investment banks... Now, I've been a huge supporter of the commercial banks, like the Fortress Four... the US Bancorp (USB), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan (JPM*)... and I added BB & T Corp. (BBT) recently, and I added Wachovia Corp. (WB)... If I were one of these companies, you know what I'd actually do right now?... Ready... I would consider buying Goldman Sachs... It's book value is for real, and we're always going to need investment banks... and the deal could be pretty lucrative with a strong deposit base to fund the takeover... and they're allowed to now, after a change in the rules that they snuck in...It's kind of funny that, last week, all the talk was about how Goldman might buy Wachovia. Now it could be the other way around!...It's so nuts up here that, get this one... Citigroup (C) should use its strength to go raise equity... C'mon guys... I'm back on if you do it, right... never put you on the Wall of Shame if you raise a little money... and Citi should go buy Goldman... I said it.But this market likes the "new banks" just as much, if not more, and that's why you can see the market likes companies like HNZ and GIS* and Coke (KO)... which are all benefitting from the big decline in commodities. These are companies that can borrow money recklessly, endlessly... whatever they want... because they have strong, solid consistent earnings streams... and they make a profit, pay it back, and have a good dividend.Hey, that sounds like kind of what a bank's supposed to do, right?... Right now, the "new banks" are beating the old ones... even the deposit banks that the people have more faith in, because the market has confidence in them... confidence.If we get a recession... I don't think we will... If we get a severe one, I think we could have a big slowdown... these are the stocks that will thrive... total "fallout shelter" names...When I think of GIS*... hey, I think of Hamburger Helper, a real "trade-down" brand if there ever was one... I lived on this when I lived in my car... People don't want to go to the Cheesecake Factory... they want to have in-home Cheesecake Factory!... They want Gold Medal flour... They don't want Denny's grand slam... they want "the breakfast of champions" (Wheaties)... The market is speaking, and we hear, even though we don't necessarily agree... In Wheaties, not leverage, we trust...
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The Bottom Line!: The market says Goldman Sachs (GS*) belongs in the Sell Block, so buy the "new banks"... General Mills Inc. (GIS*), Heinz (HNZ), Coke (KO) and Tootsie Roll (TR)! I rest my case.
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