The same force that so hurt the markets this winter has yet again reared its ugly head: the White House’s anti-business rhetoric. Cramer on Wednesday blamed the negative sentiment for stocks’ recent pullback. Investors don’t seem to trust President Obama to create jobs and stimulate the economy, not when he prioritizes climate change and health care.
“I want President Obama to succeed,” Cramer said, “but right now he’s getting it wrong.”
Obama’s administration seems to be working on all the wrong things, at least for now given the recession and the chatter about revisiting the early March lows. On top of cap-and-trade and Medicare, the president has pushed for the expansion of union powers, taxing offshore corporate profits and even probing AT&T and Verizon on antitrust grounds. Cramer doubted that Obama could send clearer signals that his concerns are anywhere but the economy. Not that these aren’t noble pursuits, but people need steady income so they can pay their mortgages.
“The president should be focusing on job creation,” Cramer said, “but is in fact doing very little of the sort.”
A look at the Mad Money Obama Accountability Index, created just after Inauguration Day, tells the tale. The index, comprising Bank of America , General Electric, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Caterpillar and General Motors, has dropped to 96.1 from its starting point of 100. While that may not sound bad, this measure of Obama’s job performance “has been on the downswing,” Cramer said. And on a technical basis, the OAI could drop to 84 if all this anti-business chatter continues.
Businesses won’t start hiring until we get two of three economic imperatives, Cramer said: people need to feel their jobs are stable, their home prices are stable and that stocks are going higher. Right now we have stabilization in home prices, but not in jobs. And then there’s the OAI. One of three isn’t good enough.
Cramer urged Obama to postpone his agenda for now in favor of boosting the economy. And the best way to do that is to fight unemployment.
“Without more job creation,” Cramer said, “the president’s agenda and his tone will continue to slowly and inexorably squeeze the life out of this stock market.”
Cramer's charitable trust owns Bank of America, General Electric and JPMorgan Chase.
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