Another day, another 3% lost in the markets. For the sixth straight session, major indices slid as investors were faced with more bad news.

The Commerce department reported that retail sales were down 2.7% for December, more than twice the expected 1.2% forecasted by analysts. Job losses and credit limitations were blamed for the reduction in consumer spending.

Financial stocks were the biggest losers of the day, particularly banks. Duetsche Bank (DB) dropped by more than 9% after announcing it would post a fourth-quarter loss, while HSBC (HBC) and Bank of America (BAC) took hits after analysts expressed concerns. But Citigroup (C) was hit the hardest, tumbling 23% and dropping below $5 a share as more investors lost confidence in the company.

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 Norfolk Southern (NSC) and other railroad stocks:

"Itching to buy the rails here, as they are all on the ropes. They have come down gigantically and are perceived as companies that are just getting crushed by the weakening economy.

"It's a continual crushing for Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific (UNP), Burlington Northern (BNI) and CSX (CSX), all excellent, well-run companies. All have big declines in traffic and all have had hot-money share bases, particularly UNP and CSX. The latter, in particular, has hedge fund money up the wazoo, and it was interesting to see how a hedge fund that is on the board got in trouble with the short-swing profit rules that don't allow insiders to sell stock at a profit within six months.

"To me, the group represents the epitome, though, of why it is so hard to buy. Whenever I buy an economically sensitive stock -- and are these ever economically sensitive -- I want protection from the vicissitudes of this vicious market. That means dividends, and without accidentally high yields that represent a nice tradeoff vs. Treasuries, I think you are at the mercy of hedge fund sellers and mutual fund sellers. That means you have to wait, maybe even appreciably, despite the flirtations with the 52-week lows before you can pull the trigger on these.

"Obviously, it is so rough out there that if you buy say, CSX, with a 2.9% yield, you could be taking your life into your hands every time the estimates -- which are most likely too high -- get cut. In fact, I wouldn't be able to touch it until it gets to $22 using my discipline, which most likely means I am going to miss the darned thing.

"That's the price, however, of the discipline of buying even the finest companies, like the rails, which are true moneymakers.

"This is a market where you need more than just a 'good company,' particularly because the estimates that you might be betting on to "create" a price-to-earnings multiple could prove to be dead wrong.

"These companies are linked to car, timber, coal, chemical, steel and fertilizer freight. Every one of those commodities is on a remarkable downswing. That, to me, means, don't touch 'em until you have that support.

"You sure don't have it now. I say, no thanks."

For more of what Cramer's had to say about Wednesday's top-searched stocks, including Kroger (KR), Ashland (ASH) and Britol-Myers (BMY), 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 Bristol-Myers for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)

Posted on Jan. 15, 2009