At what point are oil prices too low to keep helping the stock market go higher?
Jim Cramer thinks we have found it, with declines across the board seen in the Dow (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI), S&P (^GSPC) and NASDAQ (^IXIC). Sellers are worried that there could be something lurking under those plummeting prices of oil, even as there was a $3 rebound from the hideous oil session on Friday.
So what is Cramer worried about? The negative ripple effect from overseas. If the collapse of Cyprus could affect the banks in the U.S., then a collapse in oil-dependent Russia certainly could have a large impact.
Oil prices dropping are just a symptom to indicate that it is getting worse. That could have a positive effect on the U.S. economy.
"In the end, though, the money flows here, and therefore any decline is buyable after a couple of sessions of weakness," Cramer said.
The "Mad Money" host recommends buying stocks that are not so economically sensitive, such as health-care, biotech or travel and leisure stocks.
The chain reaction to low oil is just too good for Cramer to ignore. Yes, there will be a downside, but he thinks that it's manageable. Now is the time to buy on oil's weakness.
After the hideous decline in oil on Friday, how worried should investors be? Jim Cramer turned to one company whose stock has been crushed by the outright collapse of crude.
Cramer spoke with Magnum Hunter Resources (MHR) Chairman and CEO ,Gary Evans, to take his pulse on the drop in crude oil.
"The bloodbath is for everybody. It doesn't matter whether you're an oil company or a gas company, we are all being treated the same," Evans said.
The CEO also added he has not been bullish on oil for almost two years, as he recognized that oil prices were unsustainably high. As a result, 60 percent of Magnum's production comes from natural gas and he anticipates it will rose to over 90 percent by the end of December.
Sometimes being an independent thinker can go a long way, especially when you are someone like Cramer who is caught in a retail pickle.
He does not know whether he should trust the National Retail Federation survey of online shopping, or the actual numbers.
"When in doubt, I say go with the numbers themselves," said the "Mad Money" host.
The National Retail Federation announced on Monday morning that they saw a sharp decline in Black Friday and sluggish spending from shoppers online as well during the four-day holiday period.
"The most important takeaway, though, is not that online flopped too. It's that Black Friday in the mall is no longer as important, and online sales are more important than ever," Cramer added.
The "Mad Money" host is willing to bet that there is actually a really nice increase in consumer spending when the analysts take a look back further down the road. To Cramer, that means we should be trusting the statistics and online pros like Channel Advisor and Comscore, not an outdated analysis from the Retail Federation.
One stock that continues to rally right through the holidays, is Skechers (SKX). Cramer thinks it is important to highlight this stock as one of the strongest outperformers around.
The "Mad Money" host is in awe at the amazing turnaround this company has made in the past couple of years. They have ramped up marketing of their products, both on TV with comedic ads featuring Pete Rose, and with Demi Lovato racking up likes with pictures on Instagram wearing the shoes.
This stock is up more than 30 percent in the past six months, and was ready for action on Black Friday. Cramer spoke with CEO Robert Greenberg and COO David Weinberg to find out how they have fared in the holiday season so far.
"We actually have performed very well through October into November, and while our comps were up mid to high single digits for Friday, which is good as well though we thought they might go higher. Once we read how everyone held back, it's actually not that bad and we have continued to use the same performance we have had through October-November," said Greenberg.
In addition to a company like Skechers, low oil prices are also benefiting restaurant stocks. One stock in particular, Fiesta Restaurant Group, has reaped as it is up 38 percent in the past six months. Low oil means that consumers will have extra cash in their pockets to spend on going out to dinner, and would even be willing to drive further to a restaurant, all good news for Fiesta.
To dive in further, Cramer sat down with Fiesta Restaurant Group (FRGI) CEO, Tim Taft to find out if the company can keep growing.
"First what we are going to do is we are going to fill out Texas. We can double the size of the company just by what we have on the books," Taft said "When gas spiked three years ago, we usually see a decrease in sales and we powered right through it. Now our same store sales continue to be very strong."
In the lightning round, Cramer continued to point out those stocks impacted by oil when he gave his take on a few caller favorites:
Windstream (WIN): "I like a 9 percent yield like everybody else. But I also need some growth and I don't see any growth there. I think it's okay ... I'm not crazy about it and I think the upside has been taken."
United Rentals (URI): "There is a tie to oil and gas, but it's not so clear that I would be selling the stock here. Remember that this stock has had a major run. Let the profit taking go on, if it gets below $100 then pull the trigger."
