Time to clear the 'hopium' smoke

Companies are busy defending their outlooks to a market that expects the worst. That's bullish, not bearish.

By Jim Cramer Jun 18, 2012 10:35AM

No offense. All defense. That's what every day feels like these days. "So-and-so is out defending Boeing (BA) against stories of slowing orders." "Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) defended on Amazon (AMZN) competition." "McDonald's (MCD) defended on slowing Asia." "Starbucks (SBUX) defended on slowing Europe." "Harman (HAR) defended on Apple's (AAPL) Siri incursion into autos." "Nike (NKE) defended on possibly faltering Asian sales."

 

I find this kind of research to be reflective of how negative everything has become. These aren't upgrades. They aren't new, positive catalysts. They are simply attempts to try to defend a decline that may or may not be warranted.

 

Some of these defenses have to be made, simply because analysts were already recommending the stock and they feel they have to say something.

 

But the more insidious are literally defenses against charges that are simply bogus or that really can't be refuted by the parties right now.

 

The worst of these is the Harman attack. Here you have a company that's embedded in a lot of high-end luxury cars with a sound and gadget solution that customers seem to love. At the Apple developers app conference, we heard chatter that Apple wants Siri built into cars. So the presumption immediately was that Apple was going to upend the business and take share away from Harman. Morgan Stanley led this assault with a report that directly said Harman's car franchise, its most important one, would be under Apple assault.

 

Dinesh Paliwal, the CEO of Harman, immediately came on "Mad Money" and tried to refute this negative story as best he could. Here's the issue, though: Apple doesn't talk about suppliers, and Harman risked its relationship with Apple, which includes an Apple collaboration for BMW, by addressing the fracas.

 

No wonder the stock got hammered.

 

We are in a moment when all you have to do is mention business in Europe for any company that does business there. We are also in a quiet period when many companies can't address those worries. And we have no company being able to talk directly about its own Apple biz.

 

I know there are tons of people who call this period one in which traders and investors are smoking "hopium."

 

I couldn't disagree more. I think this is a horribly negative moment in which we presume that everything is falling apart.

 

The defense usually falls on deaf ears. No matter what you may think of the Greek election, remember that there is more negativity than I have seen in ages.

 

That's bullish, not bearish.

 

 

Jim Cramer is a co-founder of TheStreet and contributes daily market commentary to the financial news network's sites. Follow his trades for Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust and is long AAPL, BA and MCD.

 

 

 

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42Comments
Jun 18, 2012 1:59PM
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yesteryear it was good to be bullish when everyone else was bearish and good to be bearish when everyone else was bullish. Today, that reverse psychology is bull. Good luck to those willing to take the risk, but I think its insanity. The bad result in Greece only prolongs the agony there till the next bailout and till the realization that austerity and 30%, 40% or higher unemployment is going nowhere. Spain is in serious trouble. Italy is heading that way. Europe is in recession. China is in slowdown. Fiscal cliff coming for US. And you talk of bullish. Bull Jim, bull.
Jun 18, 2012 12:07PM
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The best "advice" I've learned to follow over the years?  Listen to Cramer and the rest of the so called experts and then do the opposite of what they recommend.
Jun 18, 2012 3:01PM
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some of his BEST:

nyx              stock of the year for 2010 at 90 now 30

aa               best dow stock for 2011 at 18 now at 9

gm    ipo    wait until 34 then buy as much as you can now 23

f                   buy at 18 because its going to 28 now 10

THUMB DOWN IF YOU WANT...........THESE ARE VERIFIABLE FACTS

 

Jun 18, 2012 12:46PM
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don't forget he got his followers in oil at 105 saying it was going to 150 and gasoline going to 5

...............gas now in the 3's oil in the low 80's..............this self loving hack is killing naive investors...

why does MSN allow this?

Jun 18, 2012 4:18PM
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Doesn't Cramer just look like a smarmy used car salesman?  Who would trust a guy with that smug grin?
Jun 18, 2012 3:24PM
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Yes, if you have "mad money", feel free to use it and follow Cramer's advice, but please keep the money you need (retirement, college savings, etc) in safer prospects...

Jun 18, 2012 12:53PM
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"That's bullish, not bearish."

 

Gee, Jim, what exactly aren't you and your cronies bullish on? Slowdown in China? Pending panic kicked off by PIIGS? Land bubble in Midwest built on ridiculous corn prices built on ridiculous ethanol subsidies? Maybe I'm just too gloom and doom, but give me Fleckenstein any day.

Jun 18, 2012 1:37PM
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Time to take a new look at isolationism.
Jun 18, 2012 4:27PM
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all you do is push stocks which you control.

how about stocks like ctl that pay 7%.

why dont you ever talk about them

Jun 18, 2012 1:47PM
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Years ago, I told my ex that it seemed the market analysts caused a lot of the problems with their Chicken Little, the-sky-is-falling predictions, then smuggly patted themselves on the back for being right; glad to see I'm not the only one who has this perception.
Jun 18, 2012 2:56PM
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the losses from following cramer are well deserved and severe

BEWARE THE SHYSTER

Jun 18, 2012 4:34PM
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First of all, Cramer is an idiot. Among the insane comments he has made, my favorite came in 2006 when Cramer said "if every loan in 2006 that was subprime blew up…we would still not notice." Secondly, in 6 hours, this 'artcle' has accumulated 1 and 1/2 pages of posts. I believe it is fairly obvious that NO  ONE outside of NBC considers this jack-#ff and 'expert' by any strectch of the imagination. Finally, I have seen this guy hit himself in the head with an inflatable hammer, its a little late to be trying to be taken seriously, isn't it?

Jun 18, 2012 11:07AM
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The negativity abounds for good reason. Headlines on MSN, it costs Spain, seven percent interest, on any new bonds issued.  No secret that the big investment banks, are manipulating the market. The integrity of wall street, has gone. There goal is to get the little investor into the market, so they can further line there pockets. No Thank You.
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wwcd ? ask yourself: What Would Cramer Do?"  then do the opposite...
Jun 18, 2012 12:43PM
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don't forget he got his followers in ford at 18 gushing over the ceo and saying the stock was going to 28...........now at about 10.........how does MSN allow this hack on its site?
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I am ultra Bullish on NOT listening to Cramer's ****ty
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CRAMER IS A TOOL...    Seriously, does anyone listen to this idiot still?

 

it's like a man sitting on a chair  that has a broken leg. He falls, and hurts himself... Cramer is the guy that comes over and says, you should not have sat on the chair it had a broken leg.

 DUH!

 

Cramer= Yesterday's new's !

 

Cramer, how is FB doing?  LOL

Jun 18, 2012 12:48PM
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don't forget cramer and suzie orman have never been seen together and since they are both

scam artists they very well could be the same person.....look at the teeth...i think so

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