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
- 4 Enemies of Bull Markets
- Experiencing Technical Difficulty?
- The Importance of Good Breadth
- How Big Money Rules the Markets
- Follow the Leader
- Mad Mail: Chesapeake Energy Is Hiring?
- Lightning Round: Royal Dutch Shell, Bank of America, RF Micro Devices and More
- Lightning Round OT: Harley-Davidson, Heartland Payment and More
- Cramer’s Christmas List
- Cramer: This Stock Offers ‘Plenty of Upside’
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 
While there seems to be a consensus that a recovery is underway, Cramer said Wednesday, there’s still a debate as to what form it will take. Investors are pushing and pulling in the direction they think is right, and that’s why the Dow lost 39 points today despite positive closes on Monday and Tuesday.
Now, Cramer was willing to admit that he’s not sure how the recovery will pan out, but he does know what people are predicting. So he analyzed each scenario and offered what he thought were the best stocks to play the move.
Some investors anticipate an L-shaped recovery, which is a steep decline that flattens out but offers no upside. This is “not the perceived wisdom” for the most part, Cramer said. Almost everyone is more bullish than that. But if you count yourself among this camp, then consider buying Pepsico [PEP
Loading...
()
], whose stock took a hit today after disappointing earnings from Procter & Gamble [PG
Loading...
()
]. Cramer thinks the decline was unwarranted, and he likes the company’s prospects.
Other people see the turn higher coming in the shape of a U, which would indicate a “gentle, soft recovery,” Cramer said. If that’s the case, then we’re near the bottom but on the upswing. What stocks work then? Cramer likes the natural-gas names, specifically Schlumberger [SLB
Loading...
()
] and Devon Energy [DVN
Loading...
()
].
Another possible outcome looks like a V. That means we’d bounce back as quickly as we’d collapsed. In this scenario, Cramer would expect 16 million autos to be built, 2 million homes to be sold and gross domestic product to grow 4%. Such a sudden boom in the economy would make cyclical plays the best stocks to own. Cramer recommended Emerson Electric [EMR
Loading...
()
], Nucor [NUE
Loading...
()
] and even Ford [F
Loading...
()
] – though only its preferred shares – for believers in a V recovery.
A bit more complicated than the V is the W-shaped rebound. This would mean a recovery would give way to a downturn only to see another recovery follow soon after. Picking a stock that works in this situation was too hard for Cramer. He recommended waiting to see if the V happened first and then deciding where to go from there.
Lastly, there’s the doom-and-gloom M, which would happen if a weak greenback, budget deficits and higher taxes ruined attempts to emerge from last year’s depression. Investors who fear the worst should buy gold, Cramer said, whether it’s the SPDR Gold Shares ETF [GLD
Loading...
()
] or Agnico-Eagle Mines [AEM
Loading...
()
]. Even Randgold Resources [GOLD
Loading...
()
] can be owned by those wanting overseas exposure. Also, international companies that don’t specifically deal in gold – Brazil’s CPLF Energia [CPL
Loading...
()
] and Cemig [CIG
Loading...
()
], Canada’s TransCanada [TRP
Loading...
()
] and Norway’s StatoilHydro [STO
Loading...
()
] – work, too.
Regardless of the final outcome, Cramer urged viewers to follow the strategy he advocates whether the market’s in boom or bust mode.
“I don’t pretend to know the letter that awaits us,” Cramer said, “but I do know what those letters truly spell. They spell diversification.”
Cramer’s charitable trust owns Devon Energy, Emerson Electric and Pepsico.
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