The Labor Department reported on Thursday that new applications for jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 554,000 last week, from an upwardly revised figure of 575,000 the previous week.

The New York-based Conference Board reported that its index of leading economic indicators fell for the second straight month. The 2.8% decrease in the six months through November is the worst drop since the 1991 recession.

In stocks, even companies that are doing well are preparing for the storm ahead. Memphis-based FedEx (FDX) reported a higher profit for its fiscal second quarter. Despite this, the company is taking measures to cut costs by $800 million for the fiscal year ending in 2010.

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 recently.

These stocks could be in the news for a number of reasons. Some require immediate attention; 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 tech stocks:

"This endless increase in tech, taking a tad of a breather today in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) but no letup in the Nasdaq, has me searching for a strategy that can profit from the increase.

"I would love to pose this one to you. I would emphasize that you have to get long this PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) for a Christmas rally -- the move up is too unbearable to ignore. The entire mindset of this market is that the worst is over for tech and that we are in 2003, when Microsoft (MSFT), Intel (INTC), Oracle (ORCL) and Cisco (CSCO) just took off, taking a ton of players with them, like Citrix (CTXS) or Corning (GLW) or Symantec (SYMC) and Adobe (ADBE).

"I didn't see that one coming in 2003, although I got caught up buying EMC (EMC) and Corning, which worked and worked big. I also bought Conexant (CNXT) and Lucent, which worked for a time and then failed miserably.

"So, you buy the index.

"Then you try to find the ones that are up too much vs. the index, and you short them.

"Can you short Apple (AAPL) here? I think that on any ramp you can, as I am now as concerned as others about the Steve Jobs health issue, and as much as I think that the rest of the team there is valuable, you pay a premium for innovation, and I believe that the innovation is from Steve Jobs. I also am concerned that the slowdown in the Mac is real and that Apple and Dell (DELL) are losing share to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ).

"I don't believe in any of the semi equipment stocks, with the exception of Teradyne (TER), because that's too cheap. I am happy to buy puts on an Applied Materials (AMAT), a KLA-Tencor (KLAC), a Novellus (NVLS) and the like. This group is endlessly hyped by Wall Street, and I am not buying it at all.

"Then there are the cell-phone plays. I like Qualcomm (QCOM) here, so I can't tell you to short it. I also think that Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) is too cheap. But I believe Texas Instruments (TXN) and National Semiconductor (NSM) are vulnerable, as they were the two that started this whole run on bad news that I believe will run out of gas.

"These are some typical ways to play it, and I like the strategy as the best way to play the next leg of this rally without feeling completely non-rigorous and lacking in any concern for the fundamentals."

For more of what Cramer's had to say about Thursday's top-searched stocks, including JPMorgan (JPM) and Tyson Foods (TSN), check out the Cramer's Take portfolio at Stockpickr.com.

(Editor's note: At the time of publication and/or original publication of his posts and shows, Cramer owned Hewlett-Packard and JPMorgan for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)

Posted on Dec. 19, 2008