That’s right kids, smackdown time — Jim Cramer is going mano-a-mano with Jon Stewart, tomorrow night:
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Should be fun . . .
Do not value money for any more nor any less than its worth; it is a good servant but a bad master. ~Alexandre Dumas fils, Camille, 1852
According to the CFTC weekly data for the week ended Tuesday, net shorts in the euro fell by 38% from last week's record high and are now at a 6 week low. Net shorts in the pound moved up a touch to just shy of its record high. Net longs in the Australian$ rose to the most since May '08 and net longs in the Canadian$ rose to the highest since Nov '07. Gold new longs fell to a 4 week low. Net longs in crude rose 14% and are just 12k contracts from a record high dating back to...
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March 11th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Both men are talented comedians, and we need the amusement.
What next? Erin Burnett mud wrestling with Ann Coulter?
March 11th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Cramer talented comedian? How about annoying comedian, how many bottons can he push? John will just be a pussy and try to laugh about it. It would be fun if he would actually say “F&%k you” to Cramer’s face and not just in his report about Cramer.
March 11th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I’ld love to finally see John tell Cramer “F%&k you” to his face. Unfortunately John lacks cojones. Something tells me this will just be innocent laughs.
March 11th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Erin’s a chick, she has no chance against Mann Coulter, send Dennis Kneale in against Coulter and then if he gets lucky he could claim Andy Kaufman’s vacant intergender throne!
http://andykaufman.jvlnet.com/champ.htm
March 11th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Stewart wins!
CNBC doing damage control with a Cramer Daily Show appearance
(CNBC to Cramer: “C’mon Jim ya gotta show you’re a good sport”).
Don’t count Stewart out for asking hard questions.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I dunno. I think this one could get mighty uncomfortable. Cramer strikes me as the bullying type who doesn’t respond well to being challenged by anyone. Did you see the look on his face on the Today Show when Veira played the clip? He was fuming. I’ll be out tomorrow evening (a rare night out of my Una-Bomber cave) tivo’ing this one just in case is worth watching.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
John Stewart mis-charaterized Cramer’s Bear Sterns clip. Stewart showed more “cojones” than any ass-kissing Hollywood up-and-comer when he went on Crossfire.
This… is television.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Seems like a bad idea. Worse than when Cramer recommended Credicorp (BAP: NYSE) to his audience back in March of 08. No, I did not take his advice, just like I didn’t take his advice on Genesis Leasing (GLS). The man is paid to give bad advice- that is exactly WHAT he is there for. If the guys at TDS really had a taste for blood they would ask him why he pumps stocks to retailers in order to give his buddies cover. Or maybe offer condolences for his friend Seth Tobias or ask him if he knew good ole Tiger or if he had seen his ‘’stripes”.
How can this interview be funny or remarkable? Stewart already stomped Cramer’s nads into applesauce. What’s left to do?
March 11th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Cramer is an attention whore. You can believe he’s enjoying taking the spotlight from Santelli, regardless of how he accomplishes that.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
This is breathtakingly bad PR management on CNBC/GE’s part.
There is going to be a huge, populist purge against the former heroes of the bull market in the mainstream media. This story is only just beginning, and it will certainly spread beyond the Daily Show.
Turning this into a running feud lights a fire under the story and hurts the whole CNBC franchise.
CNBC needs to ignore Stewart and let the story die, not keep it alive — or, even more foolishly, escalate the situation by taking it to their other media outlets. Any discussion of this topic can only damage them further.
Ultimately, it may not matter much — I suspect CNBC will be off the air by the time the secular bear market is over. They will become a home shopping site or something.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
ennData Says:
March 11th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
“John Stewart mis-charaterized Cramer’s Bear Sterns clip. . .”
Which one? He showed 3.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Cramer picked the wrong guy to go up against. There is an endless supply of Cramer’s market calls, bottom calls, stock picks, etc., that have underscored his total whoredom for his show and his total lack of respect for the rubes who follow him.
Jon Stewart is also a gentleman, but Cramer will never be able to rehabilitate himself as the YouTube supply of the most idiotic calls known to the investing public are there for posterity.
Like Kudlow, as long as people continue to watch there is no need to be accurate, or have any conscience about their bloviations.
At least Jon Stewart admits he is a comedian, these guys can’t admit that they are whores.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Mannwich said: ” a rare night out of my Una-Bomber cave”. A cave with TiVO? Nice.
Business is that good in the Twin Cities huh, Jeff? Still the cave is a good idea, that should hold up well in the housing downturn. Leftback’s cardboard lean-to on the Upper East Side has yet to decline in value.
The bounce off 715 looked OK for those riding the Ritholtz bear market rally. The Leftback Bottom (Intra-day low of SPX 666.79 on 3/6/09) remains in place, 55 points or 7.5% below today’s close.
Unless initial claims is horrendous tomorrow one might expect to see the safety trades (gold, $, Treasurys) sell off tomorrow and the rally to continue in the direction of 740. Bad numbers might see a retreat to 690.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Yes, leftback, my “office” (0r Mann-den if you prefer a little corporate marketing/PR/drapes-hanging to spruce up the reality of my partially finished basement) sits far below ground in the basement (sans any door but with egress window) of a 1921 house. In the summer it gets so humid down here, I must empty the de-humidifier at least 3 times/day. My “Mann-den” is tucked away in a windowless corner of that basement (unless you count the little tiny “window” above that one can’t see out of but provides a tiny amount airflow in the summer), so most days I feel a little like ‘ol Ted must have felt back in his salad days(sans the urge to bomb and kill people of course).
March 11th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hey Mannwich,
How do you think the Cities will fare in this mess?
March 11th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
My bet is on Cramer breaking down and crying. He has that really unstable look in his eyes. I think he can see the writing on the wall; his show is over, sooner rather than later. No one watches it except to laugh, and it’s on a supposedly serious financial channel. The longer CNBC keeps it on, the more people will stop taking them seriously. If they ever did.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
“Turning this into a running feud lights a fire under the story and hurts the whole CNBC franchise.”
…….I agree……CNBC is…….don’t laugh…..supposed to be a serious cable network devoted to financial markets…….sure they can have a few edgy shows like fast money……but at bottom they are supposed to be a serious channel talking about a very serious subject……take this cred away and what do you have…..the market collapse has left them vulnerable to being turned into a laughing stock…….Stewart saw his chance and took it…….he’s going to be working this for months……I’m going to be most interested to which side of his personality Cramer puts on display…….the chair thrower……or the faux serious financial expert which always has distinct overtones of Uriah Heep to me…..I think Stewart will actually play the straight man to try and embarrass him.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Is is just me or is it sad that it takes a comedian to take the blovation out of Jim Cramer?
Is this what financial commentary has come to?
March 11th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Stewart should show clips of Cramer kissing Spitzer’s ass and hugging him on TV.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
here’s an opinion that won’t be popular:
1. James Cramer is a Giant of financial journalism and TheStreet.com invented the financial web. Anyone who’s mad at him because they bought stocks he likes is an imbecile. The point of the show is not to follow every idea he has, the guy is picking 2 or 3 names per day! are you f@#$in crazy buying all of them because the funny man on tv said so?
2. At this point, Jon Stewart and Cramer are in cahioots like Andy Kaufman and that wrestler….this whole hubub is good business for NBC Universal and Viacom (Com Central)…they are performing and quite possibly having dinner after the show
I look forward to watching the “performance” knowing full well this is an orchestrated grudge match between two highly entertaining personas
March 11th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
much easier to not have no opinion- anyone can shrug their shoulders. Cramer believes what he says when he says it. Are his picks wrong sometimes- sure. But who cares- you are not suppose to run out and buy his stock recommendation- it is only a recommendation- which is probably more informed than the “financial managers and brokers” who’s only claim can be- “well, you didn’t lose as much money as everyone else did”.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
QUIZ: The financial media reported that the Treasury auction of 10-year notes went very well today, and the 10-year finished the day at 2.90. This suggested “strong demand” for “the safe haven” of US government debt.
Question: Who was the buyer?
Answer: A professorial looking man with a beard left the building quietly by a side door with a large suitcase. Some of the lads from the primary dealers were outside doing a few lines of coke. About the same time, a van arrived from the local Chinese laundry and was loaded up with what looked suspiciously like gold bars.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
@Mannwich & leftback.
You should see the attic redoubt wherein my ass daily sits (mostly, except when meeting clients), purging its curmudgeonly bile. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and thus is perhaps good preparation for the end of civilization as we know it.
But I do have a couple of windows. Beats a cube, I guess.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
This should cheer everyone up, even the Curmudgeon:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/NYs-Cuomo-says-Merrill-misled/story.aspx?guid=%7B13A02960%2DCFF0%2D4576%2DBBC8%2D7D6C948F30B6%7D
Come on Andy Cuomo, have Thain on toast, mate!
Perp-Walks-O-Rama.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Question: Who was the buyer?
Answer: A professorial looking man with a beard left the building quietly by a side door with a large suitcase. Some of the lads from the primary dealers were outside doing a few lines of coke. About the same time, a van arrived from the local Chinese laundry and was loaded up with what looked suspiciously like gold bars.
lb,
you forgot the jump/cut to the cat, in the same time-zone, re-enacting the Drexel days of yore– with the Sec’y under his desk– Parrots, in the trees, outside his window, down South from here..
curiously enough, they term their currency denominator ‘dollar’, as well..
~~
Buyers, ain’t ‘Globalisation’ wonderful, you find ‘em most anyhere these daze..
Wow, If ya believe that, I’ve some fresh debentures I’ll short to you..
that’s a ya (in the plural sense, btw)
IOW, lb, no kidding..
March 11th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
lb,
“Come on Andy Cuomo, have Thain on toast, mate!”
I was just wondering if Cuomo was going to try to score some serious prosecutorial ‘Rewards Points’..
you know, someone needs to..
March 11th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
The problem is that Cramer is like the bible, he has said just about everything. So depending on the spot you choose, you can quote him for recommending, bying, or selling, or holding, anything. If CNBC have loaded Jim up with quotes of saying the opposite or of qualifying what he was quoted saying on the previous show, it may be a bigger problem for Jon Steward than you would expect. If CNBC can make Jon look a little cheap and unfair in what he choose to quote, and prevent him from being funny (something he has a hard time with in a confrontational setting because he is so uncomfortable with confrontation), then they have their soundbites to use for counterattack. Jon need to move out of the Cramer specifics and do the big picture type of things, such as the fairness of presenting onesided opinions rather than the pros&cons of a specific stock, and the lack of follow up (on their website) of every single call, so people can get a fair view of their batting average.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
If Jon Steward want to have Cramer explode he could try to suggest that it is a little unfair for someone on a TV show to recommend that people invest in a particular stock, without clearly having listed if they themselves, or their friends, or family are invested in that stock and would benefit from viewers rushing into that particular stock. That said while a full color picture of Cramers face fills the screen
. The reality of CNBC and Cramer is that they are just feeding the small investment amateurs to the big Tigers.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
@Swampfox: I’ve only been here in the Twin Cities (came from NYC ) for four years now but industry seems to be pretty diversified overall and the populace pretty educated, so that’s a plus, but what we’re facing is pretty unprecedented in our lifetimes, so who knows? People here in general seem to be pretty grounded and practical and although some got caught up in the housing mess, I have to think that this bodes well for the economy here long term (whatever “long term” means). What do you think?
March 11th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Perp walks are indeed coming. Can’t wait to see who’s on the list. I’m really, really hoping the Tan Man is among them….
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/business/12crime.html?hp
March 11th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Where’s Santelli, and why’s he not going on TDS?
March 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Cramer is a charismatic guy, he may handle it far better than most expect.
Or, of course it may be a Rome vs Everett type brawl.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
With Kramer as his minder, this would be the perfect opportunity for Santelli to make up for last week’s cancellation of his scheduled Daily Show appearance.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
….Too many people here don’t comprehend the concept of brand equity…..If you perceive CNBC as a serious cable channel about financial markets then the notion this controversy is not doing them no harm is….well lets say it’s strange…By even going on Stewart’s show Cramer is lending cred to his charges…..This is all marketing 101 for godsake….there’s not going to be a food fight…….by even making Cramer defend himself he’s throwing him and the whole CNBC network on the defensive…..If I were Stewart I’d show clips other than Cramer’s own and make him defend them….then watch him squirm
March 11th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
“Or, of course it may be a Rome vs Everett type brawl.”
Jason, no way, that’s funny. “Chris” may Never live that down..
March 11th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
There is a simple fact in life, if you are wrong about something, own up to it, admit it, learn from it and move on. Jim making various TV show appearance is poor PR. If you are a public figure, you can’t admit you are wrong about something? Oh wait… Bush and our government does it regularly. Why should anyone act differently?
March 11th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Carny Barker versus Court Jester.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Cramer should take a lesson from Santelli and just STFU about it and move on. I give Santelli credit for being smart. Do not ever get into a battle with the likes of a comedian, especially the likes of a Stewart or Letterman. They can’t win those battles ever.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
@Mannwich,
I’ve been in the cities going on eight years now. I tend to agree with you about the diversification of industry. It’s certainly a plus. Before even thinking about this downturn, I think the worrisome trend is the tax policy that drives entrepreneurs away. I know and know of far too many individuals that change residency to sell a business and then no longer invest charitably or economically in the state. They love the cities and stay for 1/2 a year minus a day, but it’s not the same. Such short term thinking by the pols in the state… the kicker is that many leave for their golden years, but return to their MN families for the last few years of life and go on Medicaid and other state services which costs a ton. I don’t think it’s sustainable.
Anyway, I think we’ll do alright in this mess compared to other regions. Nonetheless, I think that we did go a bit overboard in housing, but not nearly to the levels seen in CA, FL, or AZ. The thing that surprises me is how many of the local banks made bad loans. Madoff and other schemes ripped through a lot of the investment class here, too. I think the CREs may be hurting a bit here, too.
That said, even if things get pretty bad, something about the people let’s them handle adversity pretty well. Plus a lot of the state laws and structure were put together in a manner that gives the state and advantage over many others, particularly in the Midwest. Good ole Scandinavians.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
@Swampfox: I hear you about the tax policy (which probably needs to be entirely overhauled both at fed and state levels) but in comparison to other states it seems this state spends its money somewhat wisely in a relative sense (e.g. have good public schools, a great/clean parks system, bike/walking trails, fairly clean lakes, rivers, decent, not great, public transit), so that doesn’t bother me too much. NYC’s and MA’s (my prior two states) were/are far worse so it’s all relative for me. It just seems like the people are sensible and practical here, sometimes too much so, but I really admire it. I also like the independent political streak. People really pay attention, are very active in the community, and vote here. Very solid people and place overall.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
@Speedlet
“Ultimately, it may not matter much — I suspect CNBC will be off the air by the time the secular bear market is over. They will become a home shopping site or something.”
just a technicality, but CNBC is not even “on the Air”, they’re a cable outlet. Being myself a broadcast professional, I can tell you that the Law is different for them in regards to the mandate for Public Service.
If my outlet would give even a tenth of the bad advice CNBC spews on a daily basis, we’d be sued to hell.
But you’re most likely right, CNBC is going to hurt soon, if anything by GE’s necessity to cut the fat out of that pig :c)
March 11th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
I have a feeling that this smackdown will be anti-climatic.
The only thing that feels remotely like justice through this whole mess is the laughs that Jon Stewart has given me. He does better research than the supposed “news” shows, as evidenced by the Cramer takedown. And he has more “cojones” than the 535 nimrods in Washington combined.
One more thing that makes Jon Stewart so special is that he never forgets that his primary objective is to make us laugh, and he does that better than anyone I’ve ever seen. Cramer’s not particularly funny (or insightful, accurate, articulate, useful……), so I don’t think even the great Jon Stewart can make him funny.
The most troubling part of all this is why is the smartest guy on TV a comedian?
March 11th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
what a crying shame… the guy should be in jail
March 12th, 2009 at 4:24 am
Wow! Sounds like fun. I’ll have my popcorn and my big “#1″ foam finger on and wavin’. I just hope Cramer doesn’t resort to fisticuffs. I’d hate to see little 5′7″ John Stewart screaming a girly “f*** you” under pommeling Cramerian fists.
Cramer doesn’t stand a chance on this one. His miscalls have made him the rube jester king of business TV. Whatever street cred he had from his hedge fund days eons ago washed away in a flood of foot-in-mouth gaffs that have made him a laughingstock. As Stewart said in his previous bit about CNBC, “if I’d watched CNBC I’d have a million dollars today…provided I started with 100 million.”
If he’d only tuned into Cramer he wouldn’t have bus fare home.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:57 am
It’s going to be a disappointment.
Stewart never goes for the throat in person. At worst, he only mentions the bad stuff, and only after a long and ponderous lead up. He’s charming, but not capable of performing an inquisition in person. This is in stark contrast to his far more pointed pieces when guests aren’t present. Frankly, Fred Willard would knock it out of the park if he were doing the interview with Cramer. (I’d love to see some America 2 Night reruns with Willard and Martin Mull.)
Cramer will turn on the charm, turn the subject to him personally, point to his numerous disclaimers that many, if not most, fail to pay any attention to, and they will shake hands at the end. It will be just slightly north of boring. ‘Rope-a-dope’ meets ‘aimless but charming’.
As I’ve said before, I have no major problems with Cramer. Yes, he goes over the top regularly. But put this in contrast with Madoff like characters and the parade of sales phonies on CNBC who want to impress you with their rock solid appearance, then personally take your money. Not to mention the carnival like atmosphere on the entire channel. Cramer regularly tells people never to buy without researching everything. He doesn’t troll for dittoheads.
Stewart should make Cramer a metaphor for the business news concept ant not make him the scapegoat for the industry.
Stewart is going to weenie out. He’ll go soft on Cramer and dilute the interview so that the lowest common denominator in the audience might understand it. The whole thing will be a washout, I suspect. Just about all of his other showdowns have gone this way. I am expecting a major anticlimax and a feeling of being used and discarded afterward.
I’d rather see Cramer and Stewart team up and do a Comedy Central 30 minute scripted special on the investment business. Now that would golden.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I hope Jon does not let him off the hook. The damage he has done should not be swept away.
I imagine Cramer will use his sell everything call as his lifeline.
You are better off listening to Suzie Orman for God’s sake.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Moss Said:
March 12th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I imagine Cramer will use his sell everything call as his lifeline.
comment:
I listened and it saved me a boatload of cash. I sold all in early Nov 2007, bought back in early 2008 and made a couple percent. I bought again and cashed out on his call. I lost a chunk, but much less than most. Idiotically, I put my toe in the water a couple of months ago and am now trying to figure out how to recoup. Still, his call was all the incentive I needed to avoid catastrophe. Right now I’m inconvenienced but fully expect to be whole long before the masses. Basically, I’m down my 2007 profits. If Cramer had not made his sell everything call, I’d be in much worse shape.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Let me continue.
I’m not a Cramer devotee. I know how to listen to him. The reason I know how to listen to him is because I read and heard many of his frequent disclaimers. He tells people to never do anything he says immediately after he says it. Experts know how to fleece the uninitiated and you will always lose when you go against them. He never claims infallibility and insists you parse what he says and put it in the context of your own investment plans. Then he insists you study and never stop studying. Ever. The rest is schtick.
Idiot complainers are basically lazy losers who think a hot tip is all you need to make zillions of bucks. Now you want to get even by sniping at Cramer instead of reading a few books. If you lost after chasing a hot Cramer tip, you are stupid. Even he would agree, I’m sure.
I suspect a lot of the complainers here and elsewhere are either useful idiots or opportunists who are using Cramer as a distraction from their own malfeasance. If you put all of your effort into blaming the clown, you might not notice them silently stealing from you. Or notice their cheerleaders on the business news channels hyping for them.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I watch the Daily Show all the time. Jon is almost always polite and nice to his guests, even the ones you know he doesn’t like. I have only seem him be mean one time in years, some right wing nutcase who wrote a crazy book. I expect his that many will be dissapointed in the interview, but you never know for sure how one of these will play out. A lot will depend on what Cramer does. Most likely the whole thing will be quite funny.
I agree with others, CNBC made a huge mistake in how they played this thing. They should have let it die, another funny from the Daily Show. Now it has become an ongoing joke, which turned out to be hugely popular, and you can bet the Daily Show will play it for what it is worth.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I watch The Daily Show almost daily. I think he and Colbert are the most entertaining shows on TV. I have seen Stewart tear a few folks a new one with satire in person. Chris Matthews from Hardball was one where Stewart really slaughtered him in person. As someone earlier pointed out Stewart tore Tucker Carlson and that other guy on Crossfire a new one on TV as well. I think he has the cajones to go toe to toe with Cramer.
I’m not much of a Cramer fan but he does know an awful lot about specific companies. If he really isn’t coached ahead of time on what the callers are going to ask or have a heads up display on his teleprompter then his corporate trivia knowledge is amazing. He can regularly take a ticker symbol from some obscure company and tell you what company it is and the trading range and generally a thing or two about their management and the dynamics of that industry. Even though I respect his ability to memorize specific company facts I don’t value his analysis and I find his presentation obnoxious.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Cramer is like a lot of us who made money in bull markets…lucky…as the old saying good a bull market makes you smart…he, like most of us, has had his troubles with this bear market..
I don’t watch him any longer either…