Bear-Hunting Season Has Been Extended - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[Dritte Million]

Bear-Hunting Season Has Been Extended
By James J. Cramer

3/3/00

Pardon me while I apply my chain saw to the bears` jugular on this beautiful Friday afternoon. It should have been just an OK day given all of the supply that is hitting the market. It should have been just OK, given that the VIX, that index of volatility, has sunk very low. It should have been a ho-hummer, when you consider that bonds didn`t react to the slower employment number.

But the Stihl-wielding bulls know better. They know that the Fed will get less aggressive if the numbers slow. They know that many cyclical stocks are trading at or near 10-year lows betting that the Fed is going to throw us into a recession.

Now they know that it may not occur. So they are pulling the chord on those humming saws and going searching for the few bears that just awoke from their long winter sleep and getting some real blood sport going.

We like `em here.

We like techies, particularly old tech and boring cyclicals trading at their lows.

We like that there are four juicy tech conferences next week and that General Elec (GE:NYSE - news - boards) has a big meeting to talk about e-commerce.

We like the sweet sound of those chain saws swinging in the breeze looking for those big brown targets.

Let the hunt continue Monday.

[Dritte Million]

Bullish on the Bull
By James J. Cramer

3/6/00

You`ve got to love a market that sees new highs for Merrill Lynch (MER).

When Mother Merrill goes up, that`s a sign of strong health for so many different parts of the economy that I usually have to fight myself not to be longer when it happens.


For Merrill to hit new highs, we have to have both bond and stock markets in good spirits, a solid underwriting calendar and hopes that the Fed tightenings might be reaching a conclusion in the foreseeable future. It also might mean that the Old Economy, the part of the economy that has been scalded by the Net, may be making a comeback. I think that`s possible because I believe Merrill Lynch`s online plans -- all the ease, speed and cost savings of online with a human touch when you need it -- could be the big home run of this year.

If these prognostications pay off, we could be in for a rocking good time for much more than just Merrill.

I am a huge believer that certain stocks can forecast the health of markets. Merrill`s stock is one of those accurate forecasters. It is a terrific thermometer and it tells me that the bull isn`t going away anytime soon.

This run of Merrill, which was not takeover-driven, could mean clear sailing for the next few months, for more than just the Nasdaq. I never fret too much when the bull is back.

Oddly, there is one place where the bull hasn`t paid a visit: the Merrill research department. I can`t recall a more negative group. Maybe they should pay less attention to their data and more to what the stock price is saying. It has a much better record of late than they do.


We are bullish on the New Market