Wow. That was some volatility. On the heels of the Lehman bankruptcy, we now have American International Group (AIG) on the menu. Its shares tumbled again after the insurer's credit ratings were cut. Late on Monday, Standard & Poor's cut AIG's long-term credit rating, as did Moody's Investors Service.

Investors are consumed with concerns that AIG might file for bankruptcy and further upset the already-suffering global financial system. The shares recovered much of their early losses after CNBC on Tuesday reported that government money might be used in a bailout of AIG. But the shares later fell back after the network said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson opposed using government money and that a private-sector solution wasn't likely. So who knows?

One thing is for sure: AIG will continue to dictate market movements.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS), the world's largest investment bank, on Tuesday reported its worst slump in profits since going public in 1999. Third-quarter profit plunged 71% from the year-ago period. Goldman's results reflect continuing damage from the ongoing credit crisis that has already crushed three of its rivals.

It's hard to say where we go or how to play it, but there are definitely some compelling value plays out there.

With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at Tuesday's top-searched stocks from 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.

Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), General Electric (GE) and Research In Motion (RIMM) all rallied on heavy volume, but today we'll break down Goldman Sachs.

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

"Earnings power. That's what you should be thinking about with Goldman Sachs. Earnings power.

This company should have lost a lot of money this quarter. Boatloads. It is entirely and utterly unbelievable that in this, the worst environment since the Great Depression, Goldman Sachs did not lose billions. Billions, you read that right.

I thought it would lose at least a dollar a share. I was taken aback by the performance and by the candid analysis of what was said about the future.

Now, here's what I think the future really holds: Morgan Stanley (MS), JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman will be vying for worldwide institutional brokerage, M&A and bond issuance. Goldman and Morgan will have close to a hammerlock on lending to customers and prime brokerage.

The idea that the world will never come back to transactions is ludicrous. The idea that Goldman's book value of $100 is overstated is nonsense. The idea that Goldman is short of capital and needs to buy, say Wachovia (WB), was not demonstrated here at all.

The issue that Goldman's management isn't the best in the industry is ridiculous. If Goldman can make $10 next year I would buy it right here and that should be low.

I say, again, if AIG is going to survive, then you want to buy Goldman here. If it doesn't, you can buy it back at $100,

Either way, this company next year at this time will be worth a lot more than it is. It might be the only investment bank anyone trusts to deal with.

How is that not a buy? How can that not expand margins? How did that get to be a bad stock?

Beats me."

For the rest of Cramer's thoughts on Tuesday's most-searched stocks, including Visa (V), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), and Google (GOOG), check out the Cramer's Take on Top 10 Most-Searched Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr.com.

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

Posted on Sept. 17, 2008