Ringing the Booyah at the Top?

In the 1980s, it was Michael Milken, the now dethroned king of junk bonds, and Ivan Boesky, the arbitrageur-turned-insider-trader, whose fortunes loosely mirrored an explosive bull run that ended -- temporarily, at least -- in a stomach-churning stock market crash.

A decade later, it was individuals like Henry Blodgett, cheerleader to the dot-com era stars, and Bernie Ebbers, the now-imprisoned ex-chief executive of former high-flyer Worldcom, whose influence and popularity tracked the equity market's rocket-like trajectory into irrational exuberance and eventual crash-and-burn.

In recent years, it has been all Jim Cramer, the hyperkinetic hedge-fund manager turned one-man media conglomerate, whose audience appeal seems to have grown in lockstep with each leap and bound of a seemingly relentless four-year upswing in share prices.

Could Mr. Cramer's fortunes, like those of the U.S. stock market, have reached their inevitable turning point? Given the contagious interest in "Cramer Reveals a Bit Too Much," a report in today's New York Post about a video interview the wild man of financial TV gave last December -- when the market was still rallying, interestingly enough -- maybe so.

Flamboyant Wall Street trader turned TV host Jim Cramer, not known for being the shy, retiring type, might have said too much in a video interview he did for a financial Web site.

The host of CNBC's daily program "Mad Money" had hedge fund-trading desks buzzing yesterday after he bragged about manipulating stock prices during his days as a trader.

In the video from TheStreet.com's "Wall Street Confidential" Webcast, Cramer boasts about manipulating the price of a high-flying stock down, and even acknowledges that doing so might have been illegal. The video is making the rounds on YouTube.

"A lot of times when I was short, I would create a level of activity beforehand that would drive the futures. . . . It's a fun game," Cramer said in the Webcast, which was moderated by TheStreet.com Executive Editor Aaron Task.

Cramer later said that "no one else in the world would ever admit that, but I don't care."

However, seconds later, he acknowledged, "I'm not going to say that on TV," referring to his show on CNBC.

A remarkably successful money manager when he ran the $450 million Cramer Berkowitz hedge fund, Cramer in the Webcast shared his "tips" on how to drive a stock price down so that a short-position - a bet that a stock price would drop - remains profitable.

He added that the strategy - while illegal - was safe enough because, "the Securities and Exchange Commission never understands this."

A call to Cramer was not returned.

Perhaps he was out looking for his booyah?

Comments

[MissTrade]

Why does it matter what Cramer says now that he is out of the hedge fund business. Everyone knows the reason cramer left the biz, it was because his tactics he used to use like this and callign ceo's for inside info were disallowed after SarBox was instated. He left the game because the rules changed. Not sure what can be done to Cramerica at this point. He's pure infotainment, nothing more, nothing less. When the market goes down his day in the sun will be over, who knows when that will be, but his time is fleeting no doubt.

[Edward Charles Ponzi Jr]

I find it amazing that a guy with his background talks about investing as if macroeconomics does not even exist. Oh, Company X has a new model hoola-hoop? Buy its stock!

[Ryan Parr]

Cramer is the worst of the worst, but he fits in with the other characters at CNBC. Of course CNBC is always sure to put up their 'disclaimer', and the truth is they could care less if he dupes all the clueless investors. All they care about is the ratings, but intelligent investors soon grew tired of his rants, with sound effects and toy bears being skewered, sliced, or impaled. At least they were good enough to move him to the news hour or late night, and
they had to move him to when after hours trading was closed because it was clear that he was selling his
calls for money, or favors, or both.

Even when I did watch his bit early on, keeping the volume on mute was mandatory. Goofballs apparently bought, or didn't buy, stock based on Jim pushing the bull or bear button. Then there was all of Jim's other antics, foolish behavior, with the appropriate sound effects, and worst of all the so called 'lightnin' round. Boooooooyah... umm hmmm...

I was amused by the website cramerwatch.org where Cramer's performance was religiously tracked against random picks made by a resident chimp. It seemed that it was always a very close contest between Jim and the chimp.

Cramer is still just a cronie of the insiders on Wall Street. Being politically correct, instead of recommending a short sell, or hold, he leaves it at
"don't buy".

Cramer's clown act is so lame that eventually his ratings will drop enough that he will get canned, or else he goes to federal prison for a few years. Everybody knows he's just a huckster and shyster.

[Chris]

I'm not sure why you think that Milken was dethroned. From the Wikipedia:

With an estimated net worth of around $2.1 billion as of 2007, he is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 458th richest person in the world.