“How much was made of the FDIC's "problem bank" list yesterday? Frankly, a little too much -- the list could be 200 banks long and be insignificant or it could be five banks long and be of incredible importance. Is there any doubt that that the FDIC can handle 100 banks of the $1 billion to $2 billion variety? There shouldn't be. They can look the other way on most of them if they have to, or close them sequentially while asking for more capital along the way. But if BankUnited (BKUNA) with $7 billion in deposits goes under, that'd makes headlines. It would be particularly newsworthy because it is in a visible location (the Miami area) and would cause a flood of stories about older people worried about their deposits -- pensioners -- and a big round of stories about how horrible Florida real estate really is. Then you get stories about how IndyMac and BankUnited represent the "system," and when you add that to the woes of Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE) -- which are now directly making it harder to get cheap mortgage money because they are paying through the nose for their own money and buying fewer mortgages, just want we don't need -- and you get headlines galore about how bad things are. When you couple that with the inaction of Treasury on the FNM/FRE front, you are going to be in for a test of the July 15 lows. In the worst moments of the 1990 crisis, pretty much every bank was on the list, so I am not too concerned. But the market's more motivated now, the shorts are more aggressive now, and FNM and FRE are now making things worse, so a BankUnited failure -- they got the notice, and I doubt they can raise the money -- would be the exact opposite of what this market needs. Keep your eye on Florida for two hurricanes this weekend: Gustav and BKUNA. It's pretty much all that matters to the direction of the next leg of this market.”

From a recent Mad Money show: "How can this stock be as bad as it is? I think ATT is a buy here. I am not going to back away from this one 50 cents from its low."

From a recent Mad Money show: "If you buy this one, you're playing into a short squeeze. I do not recommend stocks based on shorts. If you believe in eggs, buy it, but not because of the shorts."

From a recent Mad Money show: "Ford is too dangerous to recommend. It's too speculative to touch. I like the company, but not the stock."

From a recent Mad Money show: "X is inexpensive, but no one wants these cyclical stocks anymore. This one will be stuck in the mud for a very long time. I'd buy Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which which he also owns for his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, instead."

From a recent Mad Money show: "No, no. The flooring and lumber business is not healthy. I don't want to touch this one either."

From a recent Mad Money show: "I don't understand why this one's not going higher. Business is good. The buyers will be back. Use the weakness to buy some."

From a recent Mad Money show: "I read through the conference call. They kept the inventory low and they're going to continue to expand. You can pull the trigger under $21 a share."