Finally, we have agreement! Senate leaders announced late Wednesday that a compromise had been reached on a $789 billion economic stimulus plan. Stocks finished up as eager investors made bets that the plan could help lead an economic recovery.
In related news, Caterpillar (CAT) made headlines when its chief executive said that if the stimulus package were signed into law, it would allow the company to rehire some of its 20,000 laid-off workers.
Financials rebounded off of Tuesday's lows as bank executives spent the day being scolded by lawmakers in Washington. Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) led the rally.
Meanwhile, oil dropped after the International Energy Agency reported a decrease in demand. Oversupply concerns sent energy stocks down, with Exxon Mobil (XOM) losing more than 2%.
With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at some of the stocks people have been searching for on TheStreet.com and see what Jim Cramer's had to say about them lately.
These stocks could be in the news for a number of reasons. Some require immediate attention while others may not. Regardless, it never hurts to hear what Cramer (or any of the other professional investors on the site) has to say about them. The key is to gather as much information as you can in order to make the most informed investment decisions you can.
In a recent post to his RealMoney blog, Cramer had this to say about Heinz (HNZ) and other consumer staple stocks:
"We looked so great Friday. We looked so terrible yesterday. Why is that?
"The shorts covered Friday ahead of the bank plan. They knew there was nothing that Tim Geithner could say, not after the buildup, that would keep them from rampaging after, but they had to have the ammo, and they didn't want to have to scramble and double-short.
"In other words, they took profits on Friday, and then they came in flying yesterday. They came in with everything, every double-short instrument and every put that could be purchased on the usual suspects, plus they pushed down the S&P and they went after the staples with a vengeance.
"To me, the banks were goners no matter what unless Geithner had said, 'We love Wells Fargo and think it is a $25 stock so we are tendering for it there.'
"The staples are a tougher call, although they're understandable. We don't have any earnings momentum and we have multiple compression galore, so if Procter & Gamble (PG) has a 13 multiple and a declining earnings profile, why should I keep buying companies that aren't as good, like Heinz (HNZ) and Kellogg (K), especially when Citi says the biggest food price war in history is coming, led by Wal-Mart (WMT), which, by the way, is laying off people!
"It didn't help, of course, that we are in a moment where oil has to hold $40 or the ultra bear oil sellers come in with guns blazing taking the group back to the lows.
"Not even Intel's (INTC) reckless spending announcement could help!
"I think it was overdone. I don't like this market when it is high and overbought, and I do like it when it is low and oversold.
"Unfortunately it is neither low enough or oversold enough to make it enticing enough to do anything but pick, but not sell. We've come down enough to eliminate that option. "
For more of what Cramer's had to say about Wednesday's top-searched stocks, including Microsoft (MSFT), First Niagara (FNFG) and BHP (BHP), check out the Cramer's Take portfolio on Stockpickr.
(Editor's note: At the time of publication and/or original publication of his posts and shows, Cramer owned Wells Fargo, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)
Posted on Feb. 11, 2009
