Jim Cramer is a liar, a whore of financial community, and a person who really pretends to tell it like it is, but actually misleads people as much as he can.
The reason I write this now is the interview he gives with Time Magazine that says that instead of really being contrite on the daily Show for being an asshat and helping to mislead people, he really wanted to hit Jon Stewart with a chair. He is by his own admission a complete fraud and a liar. I really, really hope Jon Stewart takes him to task for these ridiculous comments:
“I tried not to take it personally, but it was so vicious,” Cramer tells Time magazine, out tomorrow. “The ultimate takeaway from the evening was, Jim, why didn’t you defend yourself? And the answer is, I was trying to defend our network and take a high road and I didn’t want to hit him with a chair or break his face or something like that. But he was very vicious. One day he’ll answer for it.”
Here is the link: Jim Cramer comments
Jim Cramer got sandbagged by Jon Stewart, and he has every right to be pissed about it. As I noted at the time (e.g., here),
Stewart’s criticisms of Cramer, some of which had merit, related mainly to Cramer’s actions last year and earlier (e.g., Cramer’s comments regarding Bear Stearns prior to that firm’s collapse). Why bring that up now? As I speculated elsewhere recently […] Cramer seemed to be targeted because of his recent criticisms of President Obama — particularly since he made an easier target than some other Obama supporters who recently criticized the President, e.g., Warren Buffett
As for you, Aaron, maybe you ought to be a little less judgmental and hostile toward Cramer. What makes you better than him? Granted, you have a much smaller audience on the VIC, but haven’t you inaccurately hyped a stock or two there, promising that it’s earnings are about to “explode”? And remember, Cramer was preaching caution back when the Dow was around 11,000, telling investors to sell any stocks they couldn’t let ride for 5 years — and you attacked him for it at the time.
Perhaps a little more introspection is in order.
I don’t think I’m better than anyone and I own up to all of mistakes and do not for one minute pretend like I know where the stock market is going or how.
Further, Cramer has a history of being a blatant liar, like how he claims he knew the dot come bubble was going to collapse or how he warned people to get out of financials. His blaming of short sellers for the lack of a bull market is disgusting.
Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nkZ3eHeXlc
I own up to being wrong with the earnings direction of HEM, but I still own the stock. And I have been wrong with PNWIF at least according to the stock, but again I still own it. I am eating my own cooking and am not running a charade like Cramer is.
He is an out and out charlatan of the greatest magnitude.
And one more comment, is how on the Stewart show he mentioned that he would change, he would do better. He would not be a whore anymore. And then one week later he is back to the same old crap.
Aaron,
Everyone gets predictions wrong, and many investors can get taken in by the rosy projections of CEOs, forgetting that most CEOs of public companies wouldn’t be in their positions if they weren’t charismatic and effective salesmen. That’s not at issue. Your use of words like “explode” to describe levels of future revenues and earnings (which, for the most part, haven’t materialized yet) with your picks is the verbal equivalent of Cramer’s over-the-top antics.
I respect that you eat your own cooking (which Cramer’s CNBC contract legally prevents him from doing), and that you’ve owned up to errors with HEM, but Cramer owns up to errors on his stock picks all the time, and he seems to be quicker to admit his mistakes than you are. He also calls out CEOs who have mislead him (and other investors) on earnings. I haven’t seen you do that, even though at least one of your portfolio companies’ CEOs — DSNY’s Vestergaard — has repeatedly over-promised and under-delivered (this week’s news about the Universal International deal may be as big as you say it is, but if you’re looking for a reason why the market hasn’t responded more enthusiastically, look at how many times Vestergaard has promised imminent earnings and failed to deliver them).
Cramer certainly has his faults (as we all do), but your attacks on him (a “whore”?) seem gratuitous and unwarranted. I do think he should have known what he was getting into with Stewart, and should have been ready to defend himself. His bluster after the fact is stupid and pointless.
I hear your arguments and respect them, but I disagree. First, off you are right that I have used written comments that can be read as too exuberant. This is a mistake that I will correct.
This will be my last comment on this, because Cramer just makes me upset. He was caught front running stock recommendations in SmartMoney. He has admitted to doing highly unethical things in his hedge fund. He pretends that he knows things that he doesn’t. He pretends to let investors in on some secret world that I believe only exists in his mind. He also makes things up. He owns up to some things, but doesn’t own up to others. This way he gets to act smart and honest. I have repeatedly caught him in lies and half-truths that is why I do not subscribe to realmoney.com or follow thestreet.com.
His blaming of short sellers as the true evil of the market shows that he is just a shill of the bull market and that in a tough market all he does is whine, make stuff up and beg for government assistance.
Final note, as to the company you mention, if anything I have learned that it always takes small companies longer than expected to hit milestones. And that many times smaller companies are held hostage to larger companies. But your point remains valid. This is a show me stock.
I don’t subscribe to Cramer’s stuff either, and I agree with you that his criticism of short sellers is wrongheaded (for that matter, so is the criticism of short-sellers by some CEOs — you want to crush short-sellers, all you need to do is produce positive results). I also don’t watch Cramer’s show anymore.
You’re also right that he has admitted to doing unethical stuff. In his autobiography (of which I read the first 100 pages or so in a Barnes & Noble) he essentially admits that the way he made money in his hedge fund was by manipulating analysts.
Re Destiny, I spoke with Vandenberg about an hour ago, and he seems to agree with your assessment about Universal International. I’m inclined to believe him when he predicts profitability, because he hasn’t falsely predicted it several times, as Vestergaard has. You make good points about small companies generally, but large or small, credibility is a perishable asset. A CEO is better off underpromising and overdelivering than the reverse.