When CNBC's Jim Cramer heard from a caller on Monday about recent declines in the stock of United Rentals, he knew he had to calm her fears about the seemingly unforgiving market.
"The world has turned, our market has turned on anything industrial believing that there is going to be a dramatic slowdown because of our trade war," the "Mad Money" host explained. "The world has decided that these stocks can no longer be owned because a trade discussion that is turning into a tiff and a tussle has made it so people think the world is done growing."
So as stocks reversed course and erased their early-day gains, Cramer set out to find what's working in a market that changes its mind on a dime.
"It's a motley crew for certain," he said, pointing to "the utilities, the real estate investment trusts, ... the oil and oil service stocks, a smattering of domestic companies with no Chinese inputs, some takeovers and the companies that can deliver finely honed upside surprises, like McDonald's this morning ... or Visa last week."
But looking at Monday's intraday trading — from the decline in telecommunications stocks to the broad-based selling in the technology sector — it became clear to Cramer that those pockets of strength weren't enough to sustain a rally.
"But, and this might be a mighty big but, these leaders are enough to keep us from plummeting," he said. "[That's] something we need to take into consideration, especially at a time when so many commentators are eager to give up [on and] bury this market."
Allergan CEO on new depression drug
One of Botox maker Allergan's newest drugs could flip the script when it comes to treating depression, Chairman and CEO Brent Saunders told CNBC on Monday.
Depression — and the suicides associated with it — is one of the top causes of death among younger generations. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States in people between the ages of 15 and 44.
"Ripasudil is a great drug that we have at Phase 3," Saunders told Cramer. "We'll get the data [in the] early part of next year. It could be an absolute game-changer for depression."
The key to success for T-Mobile and Sprint?
As ridiculous as it may seem, Cramer could see the T-Mobile-Sprint merger gaining government approval thanks to the man at the center of it all: T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
After interviewing Legere and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Monday, Cramer doubled down on his praise of Legere, calling him "the greatest salesman of our era."
"Look, I've known John forever," the "Mad Money" host said on Monday. "He's made outrageous promise after outrageous promise after outrageous promise, he's put forth one ridiculous claim after another, and every single one of them has been borne out or come true."
All things considered, Cramer argued that Legere could be the key to approval for the $26.5 billion deal. But he wasn't so confident when he first heard about it.
Ventas CEO on chasing the 'Silver Wave'
Real estate investment trust Ventas may have gotten criticism from analysts on its earnings call, but the negativity seemed off-base to Chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro.
Ventas, a REIT focused on senior living, got flak for extending its lease contract with Brookdale, the largest senior living provider in the United States. But Cafaro told Cramer on Monday that the market got it all wrong.
"The Brookdale lease extension that we announced on Friday is really fantastic. It's great for us and it's also positive for our customer Brookdale," the CEO said. "The main point is that we extended our lease maturities on about [$]180 million of annual rent out to 2025, and so we have eight more years of lease protection guaranteed by Brookdale."
And for Ventas, those eight years don't just mean cost savings, but the beginnings of a longer term strategy.
"We start to see, in 2020, huge growth in the senior population," Cafaro said. "And so by 2025, this so-called Silver Wave will be rockin' and rollin' and that is really, really positive for us."
First Data Corp. CEO on international growth
On a day when his company's stock skyrocketed nearly 19 percent, First Data Corp. Chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano revealed to Cramer some of the key factors that pushed shares higher after earnings.
"It was very important to make a turn and buy CardConnect, buy BluePay," the CEO said of First Data's recent acquisitions. "Those were fast growth companies in a fast growth area and they've paid off handsomely."
Bisignano emphasized the importance of expanding his company's business to be cover more than just bank-affiliated merchant acquisition. With CardConnect and BluePay, First Data gained access to e-commerce, card gifts and, most importantly, double-digit growth.
"Both were leaders," the CEO said. "We went and bought both those properties – they were double-digit growers – and we brought their capability into the rest of our company and consolidated a lot of the business and now have those assets helping the rest of the company grow."
Lightning round: Can't fight the trend
In Cramer's lightning round, he shared his take on some callers' favorite stocks:
First American Financial: "No, no. I mean, it's like anything even remotely connected with the housing segment is just not working and I'm not going to fight the trend. I wish I could, but I just don't have the energy."
Ionis Pharmaceuticals: "[CEO] Stan Crooke did a good job negotiating that deal. The problem is, first of all, there's competitors coming into that space. But second, a lot of people feel it gave away the upside. I'm not one of those people, but I'm not going to fight the trend. You'll hear that from me a lot in the Lightning Round of late. I can't fight the trend because when things start going down, they don't stop going down."
Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Allergan.
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