Cramer's 'Stop Trading!': Buy Caterpillar

The construction company will benefit from reconstruction in the wake of China's earthquake, Cramer says.

By TheStreet.com Staff May 14, 2008

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Buy Caterpillar (CAT), Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment Wednesday.

On news of an earthquake that has cost a great deal of damage and as many as 15,000 lives, Cramer spoke of the "rebuild in China," which he said was an equivalent of Hurricane Katrina in terms of infrastructure buildout. He pointed viewers to Caterpillar and Terex (TRX) as plays on the news. He also recommended Cummins (CMI). "They're all headed up ... because of the rebuild," he said.

Cramer said today's rally has a lot to do with bullish action from mortgage insurer Freddie Mac (FRE). "They have gotten rid of the systemic risk," he said. He called Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (FNM) the "last of the black holes" for the financial crunch.

Cramer said Freddie is getting a lot of business, which he thinks may actually offset the company's losses. He said bears don't believe that's the case, but he pointed out that Freddie is a well-run company. Fannie is not as good, he said.

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In the consumer discretionary space, Cramer said he had thought "the buyers would just call it quits" after the government's stimulus checks came in. He revised his forecast, saying maybe earnings from Kohl's (KSS) tomorrow will be the time to sell.

He expressed his surprise at the continued rise of some retailers. "Certainly we know that Costco (COST) is better than we thought. ... TJX (TJX) was a little disappointing, and look -- it goes up." He pointed out that Wal-Mart (WMT) stock has traded back to where it was before reporting earnings.

"A lot of people feel that the worst is over," Cramer said. He pointed out that the Fed called victory when inflation numbers came in better than expected.

Cramer also said that the year of wind power may arrive this year, not next year as he had previously predicted. He pointed out bullish action in Fluor (FLR) and First Solar (FSLR) as evidence of alternative energy stories.

He also said that Research In Motion (RIMM), Apple (AAPL) and MasterCard (MA) are offering leadership in the economy.

On the housing crisis, Cramer said that Toll Brothers (TOL) CEO Bob Toll was "negative negative negative" when the two spoke on last night's "Mad Money" TV show. He predicted that the housing problem in Florida would be much better in 18 months.