Back in July of 2007, Jim Cramer -- who is a very smart guy -- conducted an interview on TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) website, where he told Farnoosh Torabi that the subprime crisis had "absolutely no relevance" and added that the media was making a big deal out of it to try to look like they knew as much as the hedge fund managers.

Ooops. Let me be clear: I'm a big fan of Mr. Cramer, and I watch his show regularly. But the bottom line is that, when it comes to predicting the future of the market and analyzing issues as complex as this -- no one knows anything.

The Associated Press reports that CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) is buying CNet Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: CNET) for $1.75 billion. This $11.50 a share deal is a 45% premium over Wednesday's closing price

CNet's Web sites include News.com, TV.com, Mp3.com, MySimon and GameSpot. And CBS expects to use CNet to tap into the Internet advertising market. This deal raises the question of whether any CBS competitors will decide to get into the game of buying Internet content companies.

Here are three possible targets:

• TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM) - This provider of business, investment and ratings content has $65 million in sales and a market cap of $236 million.
• TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT) - This provider of online content for buyers and sellers of corporate information technology (IT) products has $95 million in sales and a $531 million market cap.
• WebMD Health Corp (NASDAQ: WBMD) - This provider health information services to consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals, employers and health plans has $332 million in sales and it's market capitalization is $1.7 billion

I think traditional media companies buying Internet ones could become a trend. It would only take two more such deals to make it one.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

The cover story on this week's Barron's is likely to get attention for a long time, and may even serve to drive down the price of TheStreet.com (NASDAQ: TSCM), Jim Cramer's company. Journalist Bill Alpert takes a look at the track record for Cramer's picks on his show Mad Money.

According to Alpert, "a comprehensive and careful review of his stock picks by Barron's finds that his picks haven't beaten the market. Over the past two years, viewers holding Cramer's stocks would be up 12% while the Dow rose 22% and the S&P 500 16%, according to a record of 1,300 of the CNBC star's Buy recommendations compiled by YourMoneyWatch.com, a Website run by a retired stock analyst and loyal Cramer-watcher."

I would never dream of buying any stock based on Cramer's recommendation, and here's why: Warren Buffett, one of the greatest investors in the world ever, has often said that he can only find a few good investment ideas per year. All you need is a few in your life to do well. How about Jim Cramer? He gives a few stock picks per show, five days a week, and then gives dozens more buy and sell calls on the Lightning Round each week.

This flies in the face of what most people understand about the markets. We can argue about the extent of their efficiency (Burton Malkiel would argue that nearly every stock is perfectly priced all the time) but the idea that anyone, even a guy who bites heads off of bears, could find so many market inefficiencies each day is absurd. If Cramer can do that, how come almost no one can beat the market? Cramer makes it too easy -- except, according to the Barron's report, he doesn't really. He just pretends to on TV.

What is most spectacular about the buybacks announced this week is not just their size, but also that they are occurring in industries whose fundamentals are at a cyclical bottom or just beginning a cyclical upswing.

• Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) -- increased share buyback by $22.5 billion, roughly one-third of its market capitalization
• Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE) -- buying back 42% of its outstanding stock through a Dutch auction
• National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: NSM) -- last week increased its buyback to $2.5 billion, or 27% of its market cap.

TheStreet.com has an excellent chart on share buybacks announced during the last few months.

Home Depot is buying back stock while the housing construction market is still bottoming, Expedia just started reported good results earlier this year and National Semi said in its most recent conference call that the wireless semiconductor market is exiting an industry bottom.

Why is there so much cash available for these massive share buybacks? Huge returns on invested capital (ROIC) is the answer. US companies have done a great job earning their cost of capital. Even if companies do not grow revenue quickly, as has been the case with Home Depot, they generate massive free cash flow. The same can be said of Expedia and National Semi.

The massive buybacks being announced just as industry fundamentals are bottoming or beginning an upswing is a very bullish signal for these stocks.

Each bull market has its unique way of demonstrating enthusiasm for stocks. In the late 1920s, it was stock market chatter at the local barbershop that was an indication of stock market excesses. In the 1990s, The Beardstown Ladies, an Illinois-based investment club filled with seniors, graced the covers of news publications.

What about this bull market? It appears it is jock stock pickers. Lenny Dykstra, of the 1986 New York Mets World Series championship team, writes for the TheStreet.com in its News & Analysis section. What does Lenny write about? The buying and selling of options on semiconductor and related stocks. Wow! That's not too risky.

It is time to take all those MBA diplomas and throw them out the window. Forget Graham & Dodd and the Efficient Market Hypothesis, go out and sell naked puts with Lenny Dykstra.

Jim Cramer is many BloggingStocks readers' favorite personality: he's brash, he's loud, he's smart. Although his CNBC shows, Mad Money and Stop Trading! have insanely high ratings, I've always thought of him as perfect for radio; so few of his bells and whistles really need your attention visually. It's all about the (literal) bells and whistles, moos and catcalls with Cramer.

Yet, today the announcement: Cramer is set to end his radio show, RealMoney with Jim Cramer, to "focus on TheStreet.com Inc.'s video and multimedia initiatives." December 1, this Friday, will be the final nationally syndicated radio show. From now on, if you want Cramer? You'll have to get it on CNBC or purchase one of his sponsored videos.

This may be good news for TheStreet.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSCM), the company founded by Cramer and a single-minded Cramer-hyping machine. They're sure to get lots more revenue from those Cramer fanatics out there. The stock was up 40 cents, a whopping 4.78%, to $8.76 on the news. But it's bad news for radio, and especially CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), whose stock was down a few cents to $30.03 for the day.

Will we see a downfall in radio? Is our world so image-obsessed that we can't live without the visages of our favorite personalities? Or is this just a play of greed by Cramer and TheStreet.com -- they didn't like to share any of the profit with CBS and its radio affiliates? Is audio-only dead?

Interested in investing in wind power? Whether it's because you see that the demand is forecast to double within 3 years for wind turbines, or because you're trying to encourage more wind use for personal reasons, how can you go about this?

Kevin Kelleher of The Street points out that it's tough for US investors to find companies that are all about wind power to make the investment. He names some companies you can invest in, but includes GE as one way you could invest in wind power.

1.5% of GE's income last year was through wind power sales. That's $1 billion in sales, hardly a drop in the bucket. Kelleher's other choices are sketchy at best, with US Wind Farming not making any revenue, and Western Wind Energy being in legal trouble.

GE offers the odd benefit of being able to invest in a blue chip company, stable with paying dividends, as well as investing in the future of alternative energy sector that GE is driving and trying to grow. A stock pick for both conscience and safe stock play? That's got to be attractive to some types of investors. Furthermore, GE is clearly a leader in this technology and market, so if you're interested in wind power, a look closer a GE is worth it.

[pic via: kevinzim]