By Stockpickr Staff
Posted at 12:53 p.m. EDT on May 13, 2009

Stocks were falling on Wednesday, with the three major indices in the red at midday, dragged down by bank and retail stocks.

According to the Commerce Department, April retail sales were down 0.4%, missing expectations.

In retail earnings news, on Wednesday Macy's (M) reported that it lost $88 million, or 21 cents per share, for the quarter, and that sales fell 9.5% to $5.2 billion. The stock was down 3.4% to $11.93 recently.

Liz Claiborne (LIZ) also recorded a loss in its first quarter, of $91.4 million, or 97 cents a share, and a 29% drop in sales. Liz Claiborne was plummeting 18.4% to $4.71.

As for banks, they were taking a hit on reports that Obama seeks to increased the regulation of executive compensation at financial companies. Bank of America (BAC) was losing 6.1% recently to $11.52, Citigroup (C) was giving up 3.6% to $3.53, and Wells Fargo (WFC) was down 4.4% to $24.56.

With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at some of the stocks in the news lately and see what Jim Cramer's had to say about them.

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 May 12 blog post, Cramer wrote:

"What really did happen Friday? I keep thinking about this because, surely, if you saw how well the Wells Fargo deals behaved, didn't you, as a bank player, have to presume that there would be and will be more offerings?

"If Wells Fargo went up 6, isn't it reasonable to presume that Bank of New York Mellon (BK), KeyCorp (KEY), Capital One (COF), BB&T (BBT) and no doubt all of the others, would do the same? Who wouldn't take advantage of this? Fifth Third (FITB)? Suntrust (STI)?

"Why did they rally so much?

"I heard over and over again that it was the large mutual funds that were getting long, but for the most part the large mutual funds 1) know ahead of us all pending offers and 2) like momentum, and nothing kills momentum like supply.

"After runs like we have had, runs based on shorts who pressed their bets because the credit markets were closed to many companies so we had to presume they would go bankrupt -- the zero-option short! -- you can expect this kind of a vicious rally. But you should also expect the companies to want to raise capital in equity so that they can stay out of the woods.

"That means virtually any of the large-cap banks or retailers or auto-related entities or insurance companies or natural gas companies that are too levered are candidates for a spot equity offering. Think about it: offerings like Simon Property's (SPG) have been going on for weeks in the real estate investment trusts and the utilities. Dow Chemical (DOW) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) showed you a similar pattern.

"Now we have to expect the deluge to continue in all of the financials.

"Here's the big issue for me. The first round of bank and insurance offerings worked for a few days then led to disastrous routs because there was so much supply that the stocks were easily crushed. Same with the insurers.

"I am struggling with why it would be different this go-round. But all of the Dow/LVS/SPG deals worked well. You are still up big on Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs (GS).

"Let's see what happens. But if you wanted to monitor the situation I would watch Goldman and Wells Fargo for clues. If they take out the deal prices, then I'll have to rethink my bullish tilt.

"If they don't, then I think we are home free to go higher after the digestion period."

For more of what Cramer's had to say about stocks in the news, check out the Cramer's Take portfolio.

(Editor's note: At the time of publication and/or original publication of his posts and shows, Cramer owned Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)