Jim Cramer's Mad Money In-Depth Stock Picks, Aug 15

Stocks discussed in the in-depth session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV program, August 15. Click on a stock ticker for more analysis:

A Little Optimism: Target (TGT), J.C. Penney (JCP), Brinker (EAT), Federated Department Stores (FD), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)

Cramer advises not to be scared off by the bears that are predicting stagflation and a hard landing scenario and to stay in the market, which he says is "fantastic" right now. The "experts" have painted an overly gloomy picture of the housing market, says Cramer, and, contrary to popular belief, the consumer is alive and buying, judging by the better-than-expected performance of TGT, JCP, EAT, FD and ANF. Cramer gives supermarket and defensive stocks three more months, and believes that there will be a soft landing.

Black Gold: Massey Energy (MEE), Walter Industries (WLT), Peabody Energy (BTU), Arch Coal (ACI)

Cramer likes coal, because it is the cheapest energy play, but he recommends large rather than small companies, such as MEE and WLT, which suffered from supply interruptions. Larger coal producers, like BTU and ACI are less vulnerable to mishaps, and have gone down quite a bit because of competition with natural gas, but should rise soon because natural gas has rallied. Although coal is considered to be cyclical, it is used by electrical utilities, and BTU and ACI are favored because they extract coal with low sulphur and ash content.

Special Guest: Pennsylvania Governor, Edward Rendell

Cramer asked Governor Rendell why his state is putting money into "the wrong kind" of coal, and Governor Rendell described a liquefaction process, which converts inferior coal into a low-sulphur variety. The Democratic governor discussed how he is trying to persuade President Bush that coal "has got to be our ace in the energy game," since the U.S. has billions of tons of reserves.

Wanna Bet? International Game Technology (IGT):

IGT is Cramer's favorite casino stock, which should thrive as new casinos are expanding in Southeast Asia, and plans are being made to install slot machines in U.S. bowling alleys and truck stops. Many tax-shy Americans like the fact that half of the revenues from casinos go to the state government, and Cramer likes IGT's slot-machine replacement cycle, although this doesn't begin until 2008.

CEO Interview, Larry Kellner, Continental Airlines (CAL)

Cramer asked Larry Kellner how much CAL has suffered since last week's thwarted terror attack ; "Actually, business has been pretty strong because it's summer," he answered, "Bookings are down a bit, but it's OK." On foreign airlines buying U.S. companies, Kellner says he is not in favor of such a deal if it is because of an alteration in administrative rules, but he does not object if Congress allows it. Cramer wanted to know if CAL has contacted Procter & Gamble (PG) or a liquid company, given the recent restrictions on carry-on luggage. Kellner says he is unwilling to charge for meals or water because it hasn't been done before. Kellner says that the advantage of investing in his company is that there is room to evolve and Cramer added that, of all the airlines, CAL is the one to buy.

Seeking Alpha publishes a summary of Jim Cramer's stock picks every day including: Mad Money Recap, Lightening Round, Stop Trading and his Radio Show.

Get Cramer's Picks by email -- it's free and takes only a few seconds to sign up.