Disappointing economic news released on Thursday created a dismal atmosphere, with the Dow Jones plunging more than 300 points.

Many of the nation's retailers said shoppers cut back on spending last month due to higher gas and food prices. Retailers such as J.C. Penney (JCP) and Gap (GPS) reported significant losses, despite its being back-to-school retail season.

The gloomy news continued with the Labor Department reporting higher-than-expected numbers for jobless claims. It was reported that new applications for unemployment insurance rose by 15,000 from the previous week.

If consumers didn't buy their back-to-school items at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) or Wet Seal (WTSLA) (both of which posted losses), where were they spending their hard-earned cash?

Wal-Mart (WMT), of course. Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, beat Wall Street projections. It reported a solid 3% gain in same-store sales, helped by sales of groceries and back-to-school products.

So with blood in the street, where do we go from here?

With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at Thursday's most-searched stocks on TheStreet.com and find out 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.

EMC (EMC), Cisco (CSCO) and Corning (GLW) got crushed on heavy volume, but we'll kick it off today with AIG (AIG) and Citigroup (C).

In a recent post to his RealMoney blog, Cramer wrote:

"Memo to American International Group and Citigroup: You are getting your chance again. You are getting your chance to do big equity offerings because Merrill Lynch's (MER) secondary at $22 now looks like the best trade of the year.

I believe that if AIG and Citigroup could at all quantify their losses, or even take charges and then issue equity against them (even in the hole), you would see major buying in the banks -- and those deals would work, too.

I continue to believe that the banks bottomed along with the dollar and the end of the commodities on July 15, but we need Lehman Brothers (LEH), AIG and Citigroup cleared up so that there is room for Fannie Mae (FNM)/Freddie Mac (FRE)/Washington Mutual (WM) to be fixed or nationalized, and we need a resolution for Wachovia Bank (WB).

The strength in these stocks is so loud and so evident that I can't believe nobody sees them, but we only need Vikram Pandit and Robert Willumstad to notice.

Come on guys! Join Dick Fuld. Get energized! (CNBC is saying that HSBC (HBC) might be interested in Lehman. What I said today in my video stands: The company has options. That's what matters.)

Get the equity deals done, the charges taken.

Give us a Merrill Lynch!"

For more of what Cramer thinks about Thursday's most-searched stocks, check out the Cramer's Take on Top 10 Most-Searched Stocks portfolio.

Posted on Sept. 4, 2008