The government to the rescue!

Wall Street continued to rally hard off the Thursday lows. The real key, it seemed, was a temporary ban on short-selling certain financial stocks.

Stocks were up across the board, and Treasuries fell on the news.

Of course, investors are already asking if this is really good news. The rally provided some calm, but is it simply calm before another storm?

Banking stocks led the rally, with Wachovia (WB), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) up huge.

With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at some of the TheStreet.com and see what stocks Jim Cramer's been talking about 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 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.

Cisco (CSCO), Oracle (ORCL) and Level 3 (LVLT) all made big moves on heavy volume, but we'll stick to the financials and start with Cramer's take on Citigroup (C).

"You want to know what is the most bullish thing that is happening today, bullish in a way that I have not heard talked about and deserves mention? Citigroup.

This one is the definitive too-big-to-fail stock. It is incredibly important to the U.S. and the world's economy. It is a gigantic employer and it matters tremendously that it survive and thrive.

I know this was the next target of those who wanted stocks down. I know it because I watch put-buying like a hawk, and this one was being just blown away by the sellers.

Now, the usual caveats: Citigroup has been poorly run, it has lots of bad loans, it has lots of positions that I am sure they don't even understand. It has been slow to recover from the devastating Chuck Prince years, and it is not making any noises about changes other than selling the German division and issuing a lot of stock.

Now is the time for Citigroup to do something, either raise a ton more capital or merge with another institution and get stronger and bigger. I think that this is a unique time, because in a more normal moment, Citigroup wouldn't be allowed to merge or acquire. This is not a normal time.

I know that I have been a big critic of Citigroup, but the truth is that it has not disturbed its deposit base and it has a genuine chance of raising as much capital as it needs now that there are no homicidal shorts coupled with rumors and then the concomitant agency downgrade.

Now, Vikram Pandit has to become more proactive than he has been. He can't wait and do nothing and hope things get better. He needs to have a plan in place if the government is going to do the Resolution Mortgage Trust, and he needs to figure out how get these really bizarre instruments nobody gets, like these SIVs, off his balance sheet and on to someone else's.

Merrill Lynch (MER) took advantage of the window and raised money at $22. I am convinced, absolutely convinced, that Merrill bought itself a few weeks, as it would have certainly been a victim of raids and then credit downgrades.

Citigroup should make its move next week.

Let's see if they are ready!"

For more stocks Cramer's been talking about lately, including Walgreen (WAG), Apple (AAPL) and Sears (SHLD), check out the Cramer's Take portfolio.

Posted on Sept. 21, 2008