Bailout Watch 140: DetN Slams Jim Cramer
In October 2006, celebrity stock picker Jim Cramer reacted to GM’s cratering stock price by telling his viewers to buy shares in the ailing (not to say doomed) American automaker. And then again in February of this year. Perhaps Cramer’s over-compensating for missing the boat (as in Titanic). The Detroit News reports that the Mad Money maven used the airwaves to argue against subsidizing the GM – Chrysler merger (a bit late on that one Jimbo). “He slammed the idea of government help to make a General Motors Corp.-Chrysler LLC merger work,” the DetN reports. “Because that would result in a ‘bailout’ to Cerberus Capital Management LP. He called that ‘a crime’ that would bring a ‘big backlash.'” Sounds about right (for a change). So what’s the DetN’s problem? Uh, class warfare? “‘They’re just rich people,’ Cramer said, adding that if Cerberus didn’t lose money on its investment it would send the message that it ‘pays to be reckless.’ He said the government should support automakers to protect employment, but only if current auto shareholders ‘were wiped out.'” Not getting it. “Sounds like someone needs a little anger management counseling,” the hometown paper concludes. Or not.
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They had Cramer on the Today show during the bank implosion. I think he was nearly in tears. I kept thinking Bear Sterns, Bear Sterns, if he's so upset we're going to be ok.
Even a broken cuckoo clock is correct - twice a day. Cramer likely has caused a lot of novice investors to piss away their discretional income; it's not entirely his fault, the online trading firms are complicit.
I flicked past Cramer one day in late September while he was advising viewers to hold their stocks across the board because the "housing thing" would turn around and Barak Obama wouldn't let anyone lose their homes. No-longer an authoritative analyst (was he ever) - he is now an in the tank stooge - at best.
@ NickR: Amen, brother!