Cramer's Gameplan: What Matters in the Week Ahead?

The year is quickly drawing to a close, but don't think Jim Cramer is heading for the bench. He's very much in the game.

What follows is the Mad Money host's "Game Plan" for the week beginning of Monday, December 10th.


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MONDAY DECEMBER 10TH

On Monday Cramer will be sifting through all the commentary made on the Sunday talk shows.

"Last week we saw the positions harden on both sides of the aisle and the market didn't like it. We will watch Meet The Press and the others to gauge the real opportunities for a deal," he said.

Rhetoric that's harsh and uncompromising will be interpreted by the Street as another step closer to the edge of the 'fiscal cliff' - that is, another step close to all those tax hikes and spending cuts that go into effect January.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 11TH

On Tuesday Cramer will be watching two big investors meetings.

"First, there's Dell World 2012," he said. Is the risk taken out of this one, or does it even matter? Will this meeting breed talk of a Dell leveraged buyout, as Goldman hinted in its sell to buy research upgrade last week?"

"Second, there's the Monster Beverage meeting. How many times can you tell us that Monster drinks aren't any worse and may actually be better than a cup of Joe from Starbucks? Let us count the ways at this analyst meeting slash love-fest. I bet these analysts will be plenty hopped up by the end of this one."

Read More: Cramer's Plays on Housing Rebound

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 12TH

There are still some earnings reports worth watching.

"On Wednesday morning we get results from Joy Global. Here's a company that has the best read on Chinese growth of all the companies that I follow," said Cramer. In fact, Joy Global called the bottom in the slide over there by analyzing data on Chinese electricity use. People think that this is an original equipment business, but once again we will hear from the straight shooting CEO, Michael Sutherlin, that maintenance is more important. Also, listen to what he has to say about India."

"After the close Wednesday we hear from Restoration Hardware. We've been all gaga lately for housing plays, but this one seems to be overlooked. I urge you to take a fresh look at Restoration ahead of the quarter as the comps, so to speak, Ethan Allen and Williams Sonoma, have been very strong. I like when companies that just came public give you fresh numbers; they tend to be good ones."


THURSDAY DECEMBER 13TH

Cramer will be looking for more info on the state of the consumer.

"Pier 1 Imports reports on Thursday morning. Will Pier One continue to deliver? Did Sandy hurt them? Was Thanksgiving big, as they sell a lot of seasonal merchandise They will let us know. Remember, we've been behind Pier One ever since CEO Alex Smith turned it around. I bet this time will be no different."

Also Cramer will be listening for information on telco.

"Equipment maker Ciena reports on Thursday morning, too. Spending by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and the like, has been inordinately geared toward towers, and not on the optical or software build out. The starving we've seen in this group, which includes Juniper and even Cisco, tells me that we should be worried, even as Finisar, a fellow optical traveler, had good things to say when it reported earlier this week."

Again, there are also important meetings.

"We have a number of them," said Cramer; CVS Caremark, Phillips 66, and United Technologies. CVS is the cheapest and best drug store play. Phillips 66 will remind us of how smart it was to break up the old Conoco Phillips-, and perhaps put some focus on how Hess could be next. United Technologies will give us a fiscal cliff update and a sense of how aerospace is doing now that Goodrich, a premier supplier, is part of the family," said Cramer.


FRIDAY DECEMBER 14TH

"On Friday Scotts Miracle Gro has its analyst day. Can they explain their poor execution? Frankly, I doubt it," said Cramer.

Also, Cramer will also be watching some economic numbers – especially November Industrial production and capacity utilization numbers. Cramer said this batch of data could put Wall Street on recession-watch, depending on what they show.


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