Jim Cramer

Cramer Blames Inflation on Ethanol: 'Drop the Mandate, Prices Plummet'

By Noel Sheppard | April 26, 2008 - 20:32 ET

In the past couple of weeks, NewsBusters has reported the media's sudden negative opinion of ethanol as a result of rising food prices and rationing of rice by certain retailors.

You can now add NBC to the list, and, in particular, the host of CNBC's "Mad Money," Jim Cramer, who on Friday's "Today" show actually blamed ethanol for the current crisis while stating emphatically, "You drop the mandate, prices plummet."

How delicious.

With this in mind, strap your seatbelt tightly across your waist, and prepare yourself for an alternate ungreen reality (video embedded upper right, use scroll bars to properly center):

Cramer: 'I’ve Had a Lot of Death Threats'

By Jeff Poor | April 3, 2008 - 16:05 ET

Coming off his April 2 interview with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) on his show "Mad Money," CNBC's Jim Cramer told "Squawk Box" his job entails some hazards.

"You know, look, obviously I've had a lot of death threats," Cramer said on CNBC's April 3 "Squawk Box." "They're actual death threats. And, you go to the state police and the state police go to the local police and the local police call the guy and that's what you have to do, or you bring suit against them. I've had to do a lot of that."

Cramer emphasized his active response to anyone who threatened his life.

"You know, the death threats are not cool," Cramer said. "You know, anybody with a death threat, I go after them with everything I have."

More Cramer Outlandishness - 'The American Public Don’t Know Jack'

By Jeff Poor | March 24, 2008 - 15:28 ET

Do you think the federal government guaranteeing $29 billion in a loans for JP Morgan Chase to take over Bear Stearns is a good idea?

It really doesn't matter what you think, according to CNBC's Jim Cramer. Cramer defended the move by the Fed from any potential public scrutiny on CNBC's March 24 "Squawk on the Street."

"The American public don't know jack," Cramer said in response to a question from CNBC correspondent Michelle Caruso Cabrera about justifying the move to the American public. "They're just glad they're just not going to lose their job. I mean, this thing was so out of control. Everybody on Wall Street thought they were going to lose their jobs 10 days ago. We're thrilled."

Cramer: 'Okay, I Was Wrong, Bear Stearns Was in Trouble'

By Jeff Poor | March 24, 2008 - 14:44 ET

CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer came under fire recently for telling viewers Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) wasn't in trouble just days before the investment bank tanked. He has finally admitted some fault.

"No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble," Cramer said on his program March 11. "If anything, they're more likely to be taken over. Don't move your money from Bear."

The following weekend, confidence in the investment bank disintegrated. On March 17 it was announced JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) would take over Bear Stearns at $2 a share after the Federal Reserve agreed to back the takeover.

Cramer appeared on CNN's March 23 "Reliable Sources" to maintain that he meant not to move your money from Bear Stearns the investment bank - not Bear Stearns' common stock - on his stock-picking show. However, Cramer told host Howard Kurtz he was wrong about the general health of Bear Stearns.

Doh! Cramer Told E-Mailer to Hold Onto Bear Stearns Stock a Week Ago

By Jeff Poor | March 17, 2008 - 13:11 ET

He'd probably like to take this comment back, but then again there are probably many things CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer has said that he'd like to take back.

In a response to an e-mail posted on his Web site on March 11, Cramer said Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC) wasn't in trouble and advised the writer to keep his money in the investment bank:

"Dear Jim: Should I be worried about Bear Stearns in terms of liquidity and get my money out of there? --Peter

Cramer says: "No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble. If anything, they're more likely to be taken over. Don't move your money from Bear."

On the day Cramer posted that on his Web site, Bear Stearns had a stock price of $62.97. As of noon March 17, the stock price had plummeted to $3.80 a share after the market opened. On March 16 it was announced that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was purchasing the beleaguered investment bank rocked hard by the mortgage fallout.

Cramer Verklempt Over Spitzer

By Mark Finkelstein | March 12, 2008 - 08:25 ET

Jim Cramer is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve. But the host of CNBC's "Mad Money" normally lets his emotions show over matters financial. In August, for example, he went ballistic at Ben Bernanke, pleading with the Fed chairman to lower interest rates in the face of widespread home foreclosures.

This morning, however, Cramer got verklempt not over the discount rate but at the falling fortunes of his friend Eliot Spitzer. Cramer went to Harvard Law with the embattled governor and his wife Silda, and over the years has defended Spitzer against the torrent of criticism directed at the so-called sheriff of Wall Street for his high-handed tactics.

Cramer appeared on this morning's Today to discuss with Meredith Vieira
yesterday's dramatic Fed move. But at the end of the interview, Vieira
raised the Spitzer situation, and that sent Cramer to the verge of
tears. The transcript below doesn't do justice to just how emotional
Cramer became, so readers might want to view the video.

A Rather Sedate Jim Cramer Reacts to Spitzer Prostitution Revelation

By Jeff Poor | March 10, 2008 - 15:56 ET

Later Says He’d 'Bank on a Socialist in Brazil' more than 'a Republican'

It wasn't exactly one of CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer's most jovial appearances, but it was certainly interesting to see how he'd react to the big story of the day.

A dejected Cramer showed his disappointment immediately following reports New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was involved in a prostitution ring on CNBC's March 10 "Street Signs."

The New York Times reported on its Web site on March 10 Spitzer was involved in a prostitution ring and there has some speculation as to whether the New York governor would resign. Cramer pledged his support for his former Harvard classmate.

Media Finally Getting It: Ethanol Mandates a Dumb Idea

By Jeff Poor | February 28, 2008 - 14:51 ET

They're starting to get it. The media are figuring out government meddling in U.S. energy policy is taking a toll on the American economy.

On February 20, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key inflation reading, rose 0.4 percent in January, matching December's rise. Why? Increased food costs because corn is being used for ethanol.

"Farmers are replacing wheat fields with corn to meet the demand for alternative fuel, but that means higher flour prices - and in one Pennsylvania pizza shop, more expensive pies," NBC News correspondent Chris Jansing said on the February 27 "NBC Nightly News."

Cramer Flip-flops: Bond Insurers Won't Cause Dow Crash

By Jeff Poor | January 31, 2008 - 19:46 ET

Two weeks and two rate cuts later, CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer has a revived faith in the U.S. stock market.

On January 18, Cramer appeared on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and warned if the government didn't intervene and prevent the failure of two large insurance companies, Ambac and MBIA, the Dow Jones Industrial Average would drop 2,000 points in the upcoming weeks. Cramer isn't talking about that sort of collapse anymore.

"For months I was worried about [MBIA CFO] Chuck Chaplin and MBIA (NYSE:MBI) and ABK [Ambac Financial Group, Inc.] (NYSE:ABK)," Cramer said on the January 31 "Street Signs." "Everyone's worried about it now? Why should I be worried about it? When you have a problem on your hands and everyone's worried knows about it, [New York State Superintendent of Insurance] Eric Dinallo to [President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York] Tim Geithner, it's done. It's done."

Where Are Bernanke’s Critics in the Media after Disclosure of the SocGen Scandal?

By Jeff Poor | January 25, 2008 - 22:01 ET

You've probably heard about the French trader who has managed to stash away $7 billion before going on the lam. What's the big deal with sticking it to some French bank for $7 billion?

This $7-billion loss by the French bank Societe Generale (SocGen) (EPA:GLE) might have caused the sharp plunge in some European stock markets on January 21 - which spurred the Federal Reserve to make an unprecedented emergency 75-basis-point rate cut on January 22.

One economist drew a correlation between the SocGen scandal and the Fed's decision to make the emergency rate cut.

CNBC’s Cramer Still Bearish Despite 'Emergency' Rate Cut; Questions WSJ Reporter’s Fed Coverage

By Jeff Poor | January 22, 2008 - 15:50 ET

After the Fed made an "emergency" 75-basis-point rate cut this morning, CNBC's "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer, who has gone from bull market cheerleader to bear market doom and gloomer in the last six months, said it was too little too late.

"[T]his is obviously the kind of action I was most fearful of - which is that they would have to go panic and that they would get way behind the curve," Cramer said on CNBC's January 22 "Squawk Box." "But, you know but once they do it, I'm less ... I can't hammer them as much. This is the kind of action if they had done it three months ago, we would have been safe."

On MSNBC's January 18 "Hardball," Cramer predicted the Dow Jones Industrial Average would decline 2,000 points over the next couple of weeks. However, he was a little less pessimistic after this rate cut.

CNBC’s Burnett Reveals Cramer 'Certifiably' Crazy; Why She Called Bush a 'Monkey'

By Jeff Poor | January 18, 2008 - 17:05 ET

CNBC "Street Sweetie" Erin Burnett revealed what some might have suspected about "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer all along.

"[H]e's crazy - certifiably," Burnett said on the January 18 "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

Of course, Cramer is a regular on NBC's "Today" and "Nightly News" as an expert on the economy. On December 19, Cramer appeared on "Today" and was very critical of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke for not cutting interest rates more than a quarter point. In another "Today" appearance on January 17, he declared the economy was in a recession, a 180-degree change from his comments earlier in the month when he declared "sunny skies" were ahead for the economy.

Cramer Says There’s a Recession, but We Still Need Media Balance

By Nathan Burchfiel | January 17, 2008 - 12:30 ET

CNBC host Jim Cramer acknowledged on the January 17 "Today" show that the media's consistently negative reports about the economy contribute to the possibility of a recession by lowering consumer confidence and spending.

"Today" anchor Matt Lauer told Cramer, "People come up to me and say on the street ... they say, ‘Why don't you stop talking about recession? Because simply by talking about it, you're going to freak out consumers and definitely push us into one.' Is there any logic to that thinking?"

"The answer," Cramer said, "is that we have to point out the positives with the negatives." What a novel concept!

In the first two weeks of 2008, the media have focused heavily on fears of a recession in spite of the fact that two surveys of economists put the chances of recession at less than 50 percent. The media have focused on the likelihood of a recession by a ratio of

Cramer Says He Won’t 'Kiss Up' for Bernanke Interview and Fed Wants 'Us to Live in Hoovervilles'

By Jeff Poor | January 11, 2008 - 17:51 ET

CNBC “Mad Money” host, resident ranter and stock-picker extraordinaire Jim Cramer can now add “media critic” to his list of duties.

Over the past six months, Cramer has become a YouTube sensation for taking shots at Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, including his infamous “They know nothing” rant on CNBC’s August 3 “Street Signs.”

Today Cramer used his “Stop Trading” segment on CNBC’s “Street Signs” to blast Bernanke some more and accused some in the media of kissing up to Bernanke for the “big interview.”

“I guess I should just kiss up and get the big interview with Ben like everybody else wants,” Cramer said to “Street Signs” fill-in host Melissa Lee. “Sorry, I could care less.”

Cramer obviously wasn't impressed with Bernanke's comments yesterday where he said the Federal Reserve stood ready "to take substantive additional action as needed to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks."

Cramer Blasts Fed for ‘Punishing’ Borrowers, Later Compares Fed to Soviets

By Jeff Poor | January 2, 2008 - 19:02 ET

CNBC's ticking time bomb Jim "Mad Money" Cramer lashed out at the Federal Reserve again on January 2 for not cutting interest rates. This time he suggesting the Fed was intentionally doling out punishment to reckless investors.

"I have to tell you that I look at this situation and I say to myself, ‘They [the Federal Reserve] want it. They want a recession.'" Cramer said on CNBC's January 2 "Squawk on the Street." "They're Puritans. They want to punish the people who were reckless in their eyes and the punishment has still not finished being meted out."

Cramer was called into a discussion about the Fed with CNBC's David Faber and "Squawk Box" co-host Joe Kernan.

White House Correspondent Dances with the Stars on ‘Today’

By Genevieve Ebel | December 20, 2007 - 14:14 ET

As Chief White House correspondent for NBC, there is no doubt David Gregory has danced his way through a lot of fast breaking stories in Washington, DC. Little did we know just how much practice Gregory had been getting of late.

On December 19, Gregory danced around the economy's "Naughty and Nice" list with Jim ‘Cramer Claus.' But while filling in for ‘Today' host Matt Lauer on December 20, Gregory pulled out all the stops. Demonstrating what looked like an audition for ABC's ‘Dancing with the Stars,' Gregory expressed his enjoyment of guest Mary J. Blige's performance by dancing along.

‘Cramer Claus’ Has Harsh Words for Bernanke Six Weeks After Making Incorrect Energy Price Predictions

By Jeff Poor | December 19, 2007 - 17:44 ET

♪♫ ♪ You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why - Cramer Claus is coming to town ♪♫ ♪

Yes, that's right - CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer "Claus" appeared on NBC's December 19 "Today" to tell viewers Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was on his "naughty list."

"He is a guy that doesn't get regular coal - I'm giving him high-sulfur stinky coal," Cramer said. "He is in the end an academic who is over his head frankly. I hate to say that. He's a volunteer official who is trying to do his best. But he had his chance and he's lost it."