The late-September swoon is here and it’s time to take evasive action, Jim Cramer warned his Mad Money viewers Friday. That means investors need to lock in gains, raise cash and even sell short to protect their positions against what is historically a rough period for stocks.
The good news is the major averages have already been hit, which lightens the pressure. A market that’s negative is also easily impressed.
Over on Real Money, Cramer explains why oil just keeps barreling along. ‘Let’s see why the rally can keep going for oil and natural gas and look at that striking Diamondback Energy buyback.’ Get the full story and more of Cramer’s investing insights.
Cramer’s game plan for next week started with eyes on China, where Evergrande, a huge conglomerate with $350 billion in debt, could default and impact U.S. markets. We’ll also hear from homebuilder Lennar (LEN) – Get Lennar Corporation Class A Report, which will provide an update on the housing market.
Next, on Tuesday, we’ll hear if there’s any good news at FedEx (FDX) – Get FedEx Corporation Report. Cramer will also be watching Adobe (ADBE) – Get Adobe Inc. Report and Workday (WDAY) – Get Workday, Inc. (WDAY) Report, two of his favorite cloud stocks.
The Federal Reserve will make a decision on interest rates Wednesday, and Cramer expects the market will react negatively to anything they say, especially regarding the federal debt ceiling.
Thursday brings earnings from Costco (COST) – Get Costco Wholesale Corporation Report, Nike (NKE) – Get NIKE, Inc. (NKE) Report and Darden Restaurants (DRI) – Get Darden Restaurants, Inc. Report along with an analyst meeting from Dell (DELL) – Get Dell Technologies Inc Class C Report. Cramer told viewers to be careful with Nike, but said he’d buy Costco after they report and Dell after the meeting.
Finally on Friday, Fed Chair Jay Powell will be speaking, but as with Wednesday, nothing he says will likely be seen in a negative light.
Executive Decision: Builders FirstSource
In his first “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Dave Flitman, president and CEO of Builders FirstSource (BLDR) – Get Builders FirstSource, Inc. Report, the building materials supplier with 550 locations in 39 states.
Flitman said Builders FirstSource operates in 84 of the top 100 markets in the U.S., with the majority of their revenues stemming from single family home construction. Some 12% of sales comes from multifamily units, he said, and another 12% from the professional repair and remodeling markets.
When asked about the state of the housing market, Flitman explained that the U.S. had been under-building for years, but in 2020, the home builders began to pick up the pace. Then, as the pandemic hit and housing heated up even more, suppliers simply weren’t ready to cope, especially once COVID shutdowns began. This has led to shortages and cost inflation across many categories from lumber to doors and windows and beyond.
There are still opportunities to be…