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There are a lot of sideshows going on these days that distract investors from the main event, Cramer said Friday. Instead of a focus on seven out of eight great weeks in the market, we’re bombarded with stories about Chrysler, President Obama’s finger wagging at hedge funds, “stress test” delays and Ken Lewis’ chairmanship at Bank of America [BAC
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].
Cramer called them all complete wastes of time. The most newsworthy event taking place right now is the economy’s turn up. We haven’t heard much about that, though, have we? There’s been little talk of the rise in consumer spending, the Federal Reserve’s surveys showing an increase in economic activity, a bottom in Florida real estate or the shift in copper, oil and rail-car loadings. Apparently these aren’t the kinds of stories that sell. The old journalism adage holds true then: If it bleeds, it leads. And good news rarely bleeds enough for the front page.
That’s no excuse for investors to ignore the real story, though, Cramer said. Otherwise they’d miss the moves in tech giants Google [GOOG
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], Apple [AAPL
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], Amazon [AMZN
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] and Research in Motion [RIMM
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]. Or those in housing-related stocks like Fortune Brands [FO
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] and Black & Decker [BDK
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], retailers Nordstrom [JWN
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] and Kohl’s [KSS
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], restaurateur Darden [DRI
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] and oil bellwethers BP [BP
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], Transocean [RIG
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] and ConocoPhillips [COP
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]. And these are just a few of the cyclical companies on the rise thanks to improving economic conditions.
Of course, the opposite is also true here. So-called safety stocks like Bristol-Myers Squibb [BMY
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] and Procter & Gamble [PG
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] are being left behind as Wall Street buys more of those cyclical plays. It doesn’t matter that these two companies reported strong quarters while Fortune Brands slashed its dividend. When the economy starts to turn, Cramer said, the macroeconomic picture trumps everything else. That’s why FO has ramped up anyway.
Things are getting better, Cramer said. The markets, the economy – you name it. So pay attention to profits and not these distracting sideshows.
Cramer's charitable trust owns BP and ConocoPhillips.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CBNC
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