The Fry Guy - Cramer's Midday Mad Money (8/14/08)

Stocks discussed in the in-depth session of Jim Cramer’s Mad Money TV program, Thursday, August 14.

“I believe the worst is behind us,” Jim Cramer told viewers. Again Cramer made a case for the bulls and offered some of the reasons why he feels the market bottomed on July 15. He said the financials, consumer stocks and even housing stocks can begin to rally as it appears inflation has finally peaked especially since oil and gas continue to decline and stabilize.

Cramer Case Certain Stocks  (CLX), Kellogg (K), Kimberly Clark (KMB), Google (GOOG)

Cramer made a case for consumer stocks like Clorox, Kellogg and Kimberly Clark, all of which he said should do well in this environment. Cramer again made a case for Internet giant Google, after his interview Wednesday with CEO Eric Schmidt, saying he sees three to five years of strong growth for the company.

The World Has Not Bottomed

Taking a step back from the US economy, Cramer also said that the while the US market has bottomed, much of the rest of the world hasn't. He sees the US rally being fueled in part by foreign investors buying into US companies because “we're where the bargains are.”

Back to the Fries - McDonald's (MCD)

When it comes to great American brands, there's one company that's universal, and that company is McDonald’s, Cramer says. James Skinner, McDonald's CEO, came on the show discuss the company's continued successes. Skinner said that while the Olympic games in Beijing are a big draw for the company, McDonald's continues to flourish in China, with more than 100 stores in Beijing alone. When asked about its declining sales several years ago, Skinner said McDonald's simply “took its eyes off the fries” and was concerned with getting bigger rather than better. However, he noted the company has been focused in recent years on its core brands and products. Skinner said that McDonald's has been using many different tools to mitigate the effects of rising food costs, including employing hedging and supply-chain efficiencies. As a result, the company has been able to avoid passing many of those increases onto its customers. Now, with 31,000 restaurants in 118 countries, McDonald’s is just about where it wants to be, Skinner said. Regarding future growth, Skinner said the company is focused on continued expansion internationally. There’s still room to grow in Russia, China, Spain and Italy – even the U.S. adds a couple of hundred of locations a year – but the company seems to have found its stride.

Martha’s Turnaround - Martha Steward Omnimedia (MSO), Wal-Mart (WMT), Macy's (M)

Sometimes in business, the brand is bigger than the stock, Cramer said. To exemplify this point, he welcomed Martha Stewart, founder of Martha Steward Omnimedia, to the show to talk about her company's remarkable turnaround since she was found guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in October, 2004. Stewart said her company and its brands remained very strong throughout the difficult times. “There are so many products people don't even know we make,” she said. She pointed to the company's successful magazines and the more than 3,000 products the company has on sale at retailers such as Wal-Mart and Macy's. She also said its TV programs are now seen in over 70 countries across the globe. With its acquisition of popular TV chef Emeril Lagasse's company in February, 2008, the company will be even better, according to Martha.

Outrage of the Day

In this segment, Cramer chastised the media for the lack of good news headlines. He asked why there have no headlines on housing affordability and lower heat oil costs. Cramer told investors to start looking at the positives in the market instead of dwelling on the barrage of negative news.

Seeking Alpha publishes a summary of Jim Cramer's stock picks every day including: Mad Money Recap, Lightning Round and Stop Trading!

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

Seeking Alpha is not affiliated with Jim Cramer, CNBC or TheStreet.com

Comments

[tginomorebush:]

Cramer changes his tune daily .... buy sell buy sell ..... has got to be right some of the time......

2008 Aug 15 08:08 AM

[leh:]

Pretty lame reasoning IMO--we should be excited about "only" paying $4.50/gallon of heating oil instead of $5.25? Give me a break. Housing affordability? Maybe if you live in Detroit. Cramer's been smoking his own dope for way too long. I live in the NY Metro area and prices are just starting to notch down from previously insane levels. We still have a long way to go IMO.

2008 Aug 15 11:01 AM