By Stockpickr Staff
Posted on June 17, 2009

Wednesday marks the first day that banks are allowed to start paying back TARP funds, and U.S. Bancorp (USB) returned $6.6 billion. Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) will likely follow suit today, with JPMorgan (JPM) and American Express (AXP) expected to begin their repayment later in the week.

In other financial news, 22 U.S. banks received downgrades from Standards & Poor's, including Wells Fargo (WFC) and Capital One (COF).

And E*Trade (ETFC) said on Wednesday that it will use a stock offering as well as debt exchange to raise $1.2 billion.

FedEx (FDX) reported earnings of 64 cents a share for its fourth quarter, excluding one-time items, compared with analyst estimates for 51 cents. Revenue fell 20% from the year-ago quarter to $7.9 billion, compared with analyst estimates for $8.3 billion.

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

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 professional investors) 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 wrote:

"Wild day -- as in wildly disappointing. An amazing amount of selling came in at the last minute and totally crushed a methodical rally and really left us in no-man's land.

"So many stocks today looked like what Procter & Gamble (PG) did on Monday morning -- hanging a point or two above a strike but really vulnerable.

"We are no longer overbought technically at least, but one of my favorite indicators for` so many years has simply failed us and points to nothingness. I look at this market and think only two things: We are back in a world where hedge funds and ETFs totally dominate and individual stocks mean nothing; and the stocks are easier to knock down than any time since the climactic battle won by the shorts in the fall of 2008.

"There are so many stocks that are so far from their strikes but are vulnerable -- I mean if JPMorgan Chase (JPM) doesn't rally from here it could go to $30 and, holy cow, that would be bad.

"So the options test, which happens at 2:30 p.m. EDT tomorrow and the big floor traders get their look at how things stack up, will be more important than any expiration in ages.

"Let's wait until the last hour and a half before we make another move. Not that it will be any easier then, but at least we will have a peek at what's cooking!"

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 JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)

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