Residential Real Estate Agent · Costa Mesa, CA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 380 votes
For those of you that watch MM... his entire first piece was on his theory that housing was bottoming in 105 days. Now I know Cramer has taken a huge hit to his credibility over the last year or so... and even more so after last Thursday w/ Jon Stewart... but does anyone agree with this?
Real Estate Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2008 · 716 posts · 41 votes
17y
No one has a crystal ball, so I do not think he has any clue what he is talking about.
Also, I see no signs of movement that may cause a turn-around. The problems that caused the downturn have not gone away, so why should the downturn go away?
The only thing that's happening in my area in SC is young people who are renting from me and other landlords are buying homes to get the $8000 maximum incentive. There aren't replacements on the horizon despite signage, Craigslist, and the local classifieds. Agents aren't even holding open houses that I can tell. But property tax reassessments are through the roof. They don't care if nothing is selling.
Real Estate Broker · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 323 votes
17y
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cramer
Career
[edit] Journalist
He began his journalism career in college, working for The Harvard Crimson, and rising to become its president. Upon graduating, Cramer worked his way through several entry-level reporting jobs in search of his big writing break. Dating back to March 1, 1978, Cramer worked for the Tallahassee Democrat in Tallahassee, Florida, where he covered the Ted Bundy murders. Then-executive editor, Richard Oppel, says "Jimmie was like a driving ram. He was great at getting the story."[4]
[edit] Lawyer
Following this experience, Cramer moved in with his sister in Greenwich Village. His sister was studying to be a lawyer and encouraged Cramer to become a prosecutor. Cramer was one of the earliest reporters at American Lawyer magazine, where he worked for founder Steven Brill.[5] Cramer later earned a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.[3] During his years at Harvard, Cramer worked as a research assistant for Alan Dershowitz.[citation needed]
After graduating in 1984, Cramer's plans to become a prosecutor were dashed when he was denied employment with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, headed at the time by Rudy Giuliani, because his law school grades were deemed not good enough.[3]
Cramer was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1985 and his current status with the NY Bar is "delinquent".[6]
[edit] Investor
Cramer obtained employment in 1984 as a stock broker in Goldman Sachs' Sales & Trading department. Cramer's success in this position led him to found his own hedge fund, Cramer & Co. (later Cramer, Berkowitz, & Co.) in 1987. The fund operated out of the offices of hedge fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt's Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co., and early investors included Eliot Spitzer (a Harvard classmate and one of his oldest friends) [7], Steven Brill, and Martin Peretz.[8]
A year later, Cramer married Karen Backfisch-Olufsen, who was a trader with Steinhardt's firm.[citation needed] Cramer retired from his hedge fund in 2001, after finishing with a self reported 29% return in 2000. Cramer's fund had one down year from 1988-2000 while he ran it, in 1998, a year that was disastrous for many in the industry. Cramer, Berkowitz finished down 2-3% and they did not charge a management fee that year to their clients. The fund was taken over by his former partner Jeff Berkowitz after Cramer's retirement.
[edit] TheStreet.com
In 1996 Cramer co-founded TheStreet.com with The New Republic editor Martin Peretz, one of his hedge fund's original clients. Cramer later had a falling out with Peretz over business matters. Cramer is currently a market commentator and adviser to the TheStreet.com, as well as its largest shareholder. Cramer also manages a charitable trust stock portfolio which is tied to TheStreet.com through a subscription service called the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio. Cramer currently works on a new project, MainStreet.com, in an effort to bring stock savviness to Main Street. An earlier similar project, TheRoad.com, did not yield the success Cramer had anticipated.
[edit] Mad Money
Main article: Mad Money
The cable television program Mad Money with Jim Cramer began on CNBC in 2005. It features his opinions on stocks queried by callers. Mad Money is also well known for over-the-top antics such as Cramer throwing his latest book whenever a caller mentions