Michael Delaney

Cramer's Lightning Round - A Smoking, Sizzling Stock That Didn't Do the Job (4/6/09)

Buy and hold is never the way to go. Warren Buffet's favorite holding period is forever? Yes. But that does not mean that Warren Buffet doesn't sell a stock when it is no longer viable.

When you buy a stock, you have to pay attention. Buying and forgetting is lazy. Keep a stock for a long time (decades) if you want to. But keep track. There has to be some point where if it goes that low, you will get out. You can't sit in Enron, K-Mart, Delta Air Lines or Lehman Brothers until they go to zero. If you are down (pick a number: 20%, 40%, 60% etc.) you have to get out. Bill O'Neil at IBD likes to use 7% or 8%. That may be too small for a long term investor. But you have to have some stop loss number in mind. And the only way you will know the current price is to pay attention.

It makes no sense to watch Starbucks go below $10 when you bought it at $35. Sell it and if you really like their story, buy it back along the mutual fund managers when it stops sinking and becomes a value play.

Cramer's Lightning Round - A Smoking, Sizzling Stock That Didn't Do the Job (4/6/09)

Mad Money is aimed at investors, not traders. When you buy a stock, of course it can go down tomorrow, or next week, or next month. In fact, it certainly will. Nothing goes straight up when you buy it. And nothing goes straight down when you sell it. You're not that brilliant. (Neither am I. Neither is Warren Buffet).

When you buy something, will you have a profit a year from now? That's the question you should ask. If you want guaranteed upside, buy a T-bill and hold it until maturity. Or buy a CD at your bank.

Cramer's Mad Money - So Long Great Depression II (3/2/09)

"Let's have a return to the boring, sober-suited, conservative, reserved bankers and brokers of the distant past. I don't want to hear any more screaming and carrying on and wild mood swings."

Oh yeah! The bankers and brokers have done real well in the past 18 months. I sure would like get some advice from them.

If you do not want to watch Cramer "screaming and carrying on", don't watch him. If you think Cramer knows nothing and his picks are the "kiss of death", don't watch him. Your television has several channels to choose from.

I do not watch Cramer so he can tell me what stocks to buy. I watch his show because I think it is funny. And I watch his show to get some ideas on sectors and specific stocks which I can do my own research on. When I buy something, it is because I think it is a good prospect, not because Cramer, IBD, Fast Money, or MSN says it is a good buy. I take credit for my wins and I take responsibility for my losses. And always remember, this is supposed to be fun.

BTW, in Sane Investing in an Insane World, Cramer says that the large cap stocks are studied to death and you will have a very difficult time making big money outguessing the professional analysts. The biggest money is to be made in smaller stocks that are not yet covered by the analysts. But Mad Money mostly recommends S&P 500 companies and the Lightning Round is all S&P 500 companies. The attornys at NBC will not allow him to comment on smaller stocks lest they be criticized for moving the market. So quit trying to get rich by buying S&P 500 stocks that Cramer recommends on Mad Money. It's doubtful that you know something on a large cap that isn't already baked into the price. And quit getting so angry at Cramer. It's not worth it. Watch if you enjoy. Turn it off if you don't.

Cramer's Mad Money - Beating the Bad News Bears (3/13/09)

BMWTwisty,

You are one angry Apple-holic. Nearly all of your 33 comments are very critical (of CNBC, of Cramer and of anyone who says anything negative about Apple or Steve Jobs). Lighten up. If AAPL drops in price, you can buy more! Isn't this fun?!

S&P's Best and Worst of 2008

Jon O,

Nobody said you couldn't make money trading the stocks on the Worst list. But you could not make money investing in these stocks. And that is why ABK is now sitting at $1.19. It was $25.80 on Jan 2, 2008.