FEATURED SLIDESHOW
Who Is The Worst CEO?Mad Money needed new inductees for its
Wall of Shame, so we asked viewers for
nominations.
RECENT POSTS
- Extreme Makeover: Wall Street Edition
- Lightning Round: Knight Capital, Potash, CPFL Energia and More
- Lightning Round OT: Enersis, Activision Blizzard and More
- Warren Buffett’s Favorite Coal Stock?
- The FDIC’s Newest Darling?
- Cramer: Praise Bernanke, Buy These Stocks
- Cramer: Retail Investors Returning to Market?
- Mad Mail: Does the iPhone Still Have a Chance in China?
- Lightning Round: CVS Caremark, Devon Energy, Tyson Foods and More
- Lightning Round OT: Ford, NewAlliance Bancshares and More
MAD MONEY FEATURES
PODCASTSWatch the Lightning Round whenever and wherever you want.
OFFICIAL MAD MONEY WIDGETGrab this all-in-one application and get recaps of the show sent right to your desktop or blog.
CRAMERS SOUNDBOARDAdmit it: You've always wanted to hit the "They
know nothing!" button. Here’s your chance.
CHECK OUT OUR PHOTOSCheck out Cramer on set, back to school, behind the scenes and more.
SHOP FOR MAD MERCHANDISEBuy Cramer books, bobbleheads and other Mad Money merchandise.
RING TONESPick up the phone! It's Cramer! New Mad Money sounds for your cell phone.
TEXT MESSAGE ALERTMad Money's mobile. Get show highlights sent to your phone.
Text Size 
Ron Insana might be as recognizable to CNBC viewers as Jim Cramer. A former host of “Street Signs” and longtime contributor to the network, Insana has worked with and around stocks for 25 years. During Thursday’s show, the Mad Money host credited Insana with timing the end of the 1998 bear market. So to say that Cramer respects him would be an understatement.
That’s why Cramer was so struck by Insana’s latest call. He’s switched to bull from bear and announced he’s dumping all the defensive stocks in his portfolio. Bristol-Myers Squibb [BMY
Loading...
()
], The Walt Disney Co. [DIS
Loading...
()
], Cisco Systems [CSCO
Loading...
()
], Microsoft [MSFT
Loading...
()
], Pfizer [PFE
Loading...
()
], Time Warner [TWX
Loading...
()
] and Verizon Communications [VZ
Loading...
()
] are out, and the banks, homebuilders and insurers are in.
Remember, defensive stocks are those that work regardless of the economy. So if Insana turns his back on them, that means he’s taking a much more aggressive stance. He’s saying that the markets and the economy are about to turn up and probably turn up big. Cramer, however, largely disagreed with this thesis.
In the very least, Cramer said, investors want at least one or two defensive names in their portfolios for the sake of diversification. Especially if they pay dividends, such as Verizon and Bristol-Myers, which offer 6.4% and 6.3% yields, respectively.
Cramer also disagreed with Insana’s characterization of Cisco as a defensive stock. The company books and sells 85% of its business in each quarter. So when Cisco’s clients start spending again, CSCO should be one of the first stocks to go up.
Disney was another name that Cramer refused to label a sell, saying it was a good play on cheaper gasoline. But he did agree that Microsoft’s margins would suffer with Google’s new open-source operating system on the way. And he doubted that the Wyeth acquisition would do much for Pfizer, so both MSFT and PFE should be sold.
On the buy side, Cramer liked all of Insana’s bank picks: Bank of America [BAC
Loading...
()
], Citigroup [C
Loading...
()
], US Bancorp [USB
Loading...
()
], Wells Fargo [WFC
Loading...
()
], JPMorgan Chase [JPM
Loading...
()
] and Huntington Bancshares [HBAN
Loading...
()
]. Bank earnings this coming quarter should be “spectacular,” Cramer said, and he likes HBAN as a speculation play.
But buying the homebuilders is a mistake, Cramer said, referring to Insana’s endorsement of Hovnanian Enterprises [HOV
Loading...
()
], Lennar [LEN
Loading...
()
] and Toll Brothers [TOL
Loading...
()
]. While home prices seem to have stabilized, there’s no sign of appreciation just yet. And the homebuilders need that in order to do well. Plus, aside of Toll, this group’s balance sheets leave much to be desired. Cramer urged investors who want a play on housing to buy Home Depot [HD
Loading...
()
] instead.
No doubt Insana’s call was “compelling,” Cramer said, “but I am not as bullish as he is.”
“I am more defensive,” the Mad Money host continued, “less inclined to think that this market can take off, which is what would happen if Ron’s right.
Cramer’s charitable trust owns Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cisco Systems, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes