Jim Cramer: ‘I ran a clean shop’…
Here’s some follow-up on the Cramer market manipulation controversy. (hat tip to MaoXian):
Jim Cramer took the airwaves this morning and backed away from controversial remarks made in a December 2006 internet television interview with TheStreet.com.
A contrite and nervous sounding Cramer told MSNBC’s Don Imus that “mistakes were made†when he appeared on the internet business television show claiming that hedge fund managers were manipulating the market, through both legal and illegal means, making disparaging remarks about his fellow financial journalists at CNBC and the Wall Street Journal, encouraging market players to engage in illegal activity – and implying that he too engaged in illegal activity when he was in the hedge fund business.
“I have to either shut up or get better at telling what I did or didn’t do,†Cramer told Imus. “I didn’t do a good job at distinguishing between the two.â€
Did he engage in illegal activity?
This post has 8 comments
March 23rd, 2007
the fame just does not seem to be worth it. he needs some time off.
Take a year and come back reinvented wih something new and fresh.
He can do that.
March 23rd, 2007
Sweet, great audio Mike!
/
Was looking for this after the video got taken down yesterday.
March 23rd, 2007
I heard the discussion on the December interview It seemed to be fairly accurate. I’m sure deeply down - that the reason we are short term traders has something to do with “more than one day’s action on the market” and how it is manipulated.
It doesn’t take much to begin a “slide” just by chipping away at the rock. Much easier than
to make the market climb. But a short focused
inflow of money where the market is balanced
(buyers and sellers) will cause it to make a short term climb.
I think Cramer told the truth - and it will work against him.
I am not a Cramer fan - but he certainly “undresses” some covered issues - Bob Pasini is the “Mouth of the Floor” at the NYSE - to be used by the manipulators. Jim was right on!
He is the cause of his own success and eventually his downfall. Wall Street doesn’t
like to be undressed.
paul
March 23rd, 2007
well said Paul
March 23rd, 2007
The most well know secret on the Street. The only ones that don’t know are the full time workers who use their 401Ks to trade. It’s a fun game, no different from poker. When people realize this things will change. However, there have been many Cramers over the past 100 years and no one listens. I bet you there will be a bunch of articles that come out debunking what he said. Then you will have some regulator that comes up with some phony rules to comfort the public. And the cycle will start all over again.
March 23rd, 2007
I agree with Howard. Illegal stuff happens. It’s business, but by no means should Cramer have to put himself in a precarious position like that.
March 23rd, 2007
thx for the post mike…i’ve been eager to see a cramer response to recent allegations in regard to that video
March 23rd, 2007
I have never held Cramer on a high pedestal for the reasons demonstrated on the Wall Street Confidential. It just proves to all of the conspiracy theorists on hedge funds that there money is a wash with irresponsible managers and all of this is lumped into the concept of a hedge fund! I am sure that the long-short equity does have games that are played like this on a constant basis and I have seen similar in the foreign exchange markets but to have to go as far as making sure people know what they are doing is illegal is beyond irresponsible. Disclaimers are in place in a Private Offering to categorize the risk, which the client will understand but taking it to the point that you would have to commit illegal acts to justify returns just shows the quality of management Cramer is. Do we think that Warren Buffet had to do this? Remember that many hedge funds are doing exactly what they set out to do and that is cover exposure and risk for the underlying client like a pension fund. I think he is giving the industry a bad name and only trying to sell his show and ego. Cramer is not a money manager…he is an actor.
Evan Andersen
Lydia Capital
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