The old expression is "He who lives by the sword, shall die by the sword." To paraphrase, he who lives by his (big) mouth, shall die by his (big) mouth. A fate that might also await me if I'm not careful. Cramer bragged about his unaudited, never proven 24% annual return when he managed a hedge fund for 13 years. I have questioned this on many occasions for many reasons.
Nevertheless, James Cramer has put his credibility on the line and it has disappearerd recently when he bragged (or came clean, which ever you prefer) that he had manipulated information in the press with surgical precision and timing to create shorting opportunities and other advantaged trades. He tried to backtrack and un-ring the bell and he failed miserably as noted by Zac Bissonnette in "It wasn't me" says Cramer.
There is an old expression I keep learning anew: It's the first law of holes -- if you're in one stop digging. I must have used this before in one of my posts somewhere but it is worth repeating. And if Attorney General Alberto Gonzales does not see this post I hope one of his friends points it out to him. He too seems to be digging deeper when it comes to his forthrightness relative to his role in the politically motivated firing of federal attorneys.
In past articles I questioned Cramer's value and even potential harm when I wrote: Cramer pumps Tech, then hates it days later, and The Cramer "Show" can cost you big!, and still more Cramer on GOOG: more back-pedaling and it's hysterical!. This is not the first time Cramer has issued confusing and contradictory information rapid fire and now he has been caught up in his hype and bluster. Is his 15 minutes of fame over?
I hope not. For all the ridiculous things that he says and does, he is still entertaining, endearing, edgy, passionate about investing and I am willing to forgive (not forget/not believe) and say lets move on. I think Cramer is guilty of trying to play a game to the best of his ability, and lost track of where real life begins and ends and where the boundaries were. It happens often. I think part of his giving up the hedge fund business may have related to his realization that he had enough money and had to get a life.
One thing for sure, if Cramer does not stop digging he will never get out of that hole. So Cramer, if there is anything you want to say to clear your conscience, say it now and put it behind you. This is not how your story should end.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. Check out his other posts for BloggingStocks here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-27-2007 @ 10:32AM
Beltway Greg said...
Sheldon,
Please. If Cramer's comments provided any insight to you then you should be working at an auto parts store and not managing money. Companies and investment firms have been doing since the dawn of time. Today they're aided by the press who can't seem to separate fact from folly or as we call it: The PR Newswire. It's a war my friend and part of the war is disinformation. The rumours concerning the Rothschild fortune, supposedly they had messengers posted at battlefields, were simply the beginning of something of this sort. Look at the buy back press releases that companies churn out and then fail to conduct. A quarter point here a quarter point there. So what? It doesn't matter unless you're betting billions. Corporate pay and the cozy relationships they have with their boards is the real story of this age. If one investment guru takes another to task for some idle cocktail party chatter or rumour so be it. This summer some trainer at Saratoga is going to send a perfectly sound horse to post wearing bandages for the first time. The insiders are going to see this and start rumours concerning the soundness of the horse and the horse will win by ten lengths and the groom, jockey, owner, and trainer will have a field day.
Lesson? Do you're own research and if you can't handle the heat get thee to an index fund.
Beltway Greg.
3-27-2007 @ 11:18AM
Sheldon L said...
Hey Beltway!
Read my other posts linked witnin. You will get no argument from me. And if you are truly in the beltway pass this along to Gonzales.
Peace
3-28-2007 @ 10:38AM
Steve Rogers said...
The stock Cramer manipulated down was Iomega. I know if the SEC were to focus on his trading in Iomega they would catch their man. He would make crazy wild false comments about the company that would send it plummeting. All while shorting the entire time. Check it out.
3-29-2007 @ 10:00PM
imagineoneday said...
The video that sparked this controversy is again available at youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZTt7IQB9rc0