Jim Cramer's Real Money Radio Recap, Aug. 16

Recap of Jim Cramer's radio show on Wednesday August 16. Click on a stock ticker for more analysis:

Alive and Buying: Federated Department Stores (FD), TJX (TJX), J.C. Penney (JCP), Home Depot (HD) and Best Buy (BBY) - Cramer comments that the media has made the assumption that the consumer is dead because of high interest rates and rising gas prices, but the success of retail companies, such as FD, TJX, JCP, HD, and BBY demonstrate that the consumer is buying. Strong employment, according to Cramer, is responsible for consumer confidence, and tells investors not to listen to the prophets of doom; "There is a legion of lunacy on Wall Street," he said.

Ensco International (ESV) - "People don't realize that oils and oil drillers are going to make fortunes," says Cramer who says that widespread avoidance of oil and natural gas is "stupid," since global problems that will raise oil prices have not been solved. Cramer recommends ESV, which reports that the rate of borrowing rigs to drill oil keeps increasing.

Bad Rap: Home Depot (HD), Time Warner (TWX), Deere (DE)- Cramer discussed companies which have been devalued and are currently buying back their stock, such as TWX and HD, which repurchased 17% of its shares last year. He is critical of the pessimism surrounding Deere, which many believe will suffer in the current housing market, although the company reported a great quarter.

Coal is King: Peabody (BTU), Arch Coal (ACI), and Rentech (RTK) - On Monday, Cramer hosted Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell, who discussed technology that turns coal into gasoline. The government, however, has yet to catch on to this idea, which would be beneficial, since "The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of coal," says Cramer, who recommends BTU, ACI and RTK as ideal coal plays.

Bullish calls:

Microsoft (MSFT): Cramer says that this stock will go up $5 once Vista comes out, and the only question is how long investors will have to wait.
Starbucks (SBUX):This stock will go back to $34 or $35, predicts Cramer, and while he doesn't usually recommend a stock with a price-to-earnings multiple that is twice its growth rate, SBUX is an exception.
Palm (PALM): Cramer says that this stock is "ready to run."
UnitedHealth Group (UNH): This stock is too low at $48, according to Cramer, and spite of "options pressure," UNH should make a comeback.
CarMax (KMX): Cramer is bullish on this company.
Nvidia (NVDA): This is an immediate buy, Cramer says.
General Motors (GM):Cramer recommends buying GM.

Neutral/Bearish calls:

Crystallex (KRY): This stock could double or triple if Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, approves KRY's mine, Cramer points out, although he cautions that this is a purely speculative play, and not good for a core position.

More: Cramer's latest stock picks, including: Mad Money Recap, Lightening Round, Stop Trading and his Radio Show.

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