CNBC
Cramer Remix: This was the real creator of December's short-lived bear market
Elizabeth Gurdus
Updated

In This Article:

  • CNBC's Jim Cramer breaks down how the Fed was the driving force behind the December slump.

  • The "Mad Money" host also sits down with the CEOs of Carbon and ADP.

  • In the lightning round, Cramer's callers impress him with their stock picks.

Many market commentators will try to explain why the stock market kicked off 2019 with the best January in decades , but CNBC's Jim Cramer stressed on Friday that the move wasn't tied to historical patterns or the calendar.

"You know why stocks had such a good start this year? For the same reason they had such a bad end last year: our Federal Reserve chairman," Cramer said on "Mad Money."

Investors have to remember that, when it comes to the stock market, history seldom repeats itself, Cramer said. That's why he worries about market-watchers who try to "gin up" patterns in the stock market, because they tend to lead people astray.

"I say each year stands on its own. I don't know a soul who predicted that  disastrous December we just went through," he said. "This was a nauseating, out-of-nowhere, and, most of all, short bear market, and it was very much the Fed's creation. Almost no one saw it coming because no one thought the Fed would do what it did. In fact, all I heard going into the fourth quarter was the opposite: when the market's doing well for the year going into September, you're going to end the year strong. Another useless so-called truism."

Click here to read his full take.

Cramer's game plan: Get ready to buy the dips

Investors should prepare to do some buying in the week ahead as still-strong job growth and a patient Federal Reserve continue to improve the outlook for stocks, Cramer said Friday after a day of modest gains for the averages.

"We're still basking in the glow of a Fed gone pragmatic, while employment stays strong and inflation is tame. That's the ideal backdrop for stocks," he said. "I say be ready to buy the next dip, because 2019, which was supposed to ... be the year the business cycle finally keels over, may turn out to be surprisingly rewarding."

With that in mind, Cramer got right to his busy game plan for the week ahead, which will see earnings reports from Alphabet GOOGL , Disney DIS and more.

eBay + Elliott = Unlocked value?

Elliott Management's recently announced $1.4 billion stake in eBay EBAY could create real value if eBay's leaders cooperate with the activist hedge fund, Cramer said.

"The guys at Elliott have some great ideas that could potentially make shareholders a lot of money. At the same time, eBay's management team is a lot better than you might think if you were only looking at the stock's recent performance," he said. "If eBay and Elliott can work together, then, like Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains in Casablanca, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

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