Word On The Street
The markets continued to rise on Wednesday in the face of a bearish economic growth number and fears over the spread of the swine flue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 168.78 points, or 2.1%, to 8,185.78, while the S&P 500 jumped 18.48 points, or 2.16%, to 873.64. The NASDAQ tacked on 38.13 points, or 2.28%, to 1,711.94. Guy Adami thinks it’s time to take profits. Jeff Macke pointed out that the S&P 500 didn’t break out and were still in a range. He also advised taking profits. Pete Najarian said people are buying in the face of bad news. However, he thinks large investors might be buying to window dress their portfolios for the end of the quarter. Tim Seymour mentioned that the markets in the past three Fed meetings rallied an average of 2.5%, but then gave back two-thirds of those gains in the next couple of days.
Emerging Markets
The traders took a look at emerging market plays after the MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) rose 6%. Seymour liked the action in America Movil (AMX). However, he warned investors that emerging markets could be ahead of themselves. He also mentioned that qualified investors in China will now be allowed to invest in Taiwan.
Bank Stocks
The crew discussed the bullish action in bank stocks like Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) and whether the strength would continue into Monday, when the stress test results are released.  Macke said he wouldn’t put much money on the stress test, because when the government gets involved we’re left with a lot of noise. He also mentioned that the results have already been leaked and the six struggling banks are rumored to need more capital. Macke said Morgan Stanley (MS) needs to break above $26 before he can get excited.
Obama First 100 Days Trades
The panel talked about some trades that could work as Obama looks to change the landscape for healthcare. Najarian said the play is to invest in companies that are digitizing medical records like Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions (MDRX) or Athenahealth (ATHN).
Commodity Talk
The traders moved the discussion to the commodity sector. Seymour said he likes BHP Billiton (BHP), Transocean (RIG) and Baker Hughes (BHI) on the gasoline numbers. For the metals, he said copper, iron ore and steel are in trouble. Adami thinks there is more upside in names such as Baker Hughes (BHI) and U.S. Steel (X). Najarian said he favors Massey Energy (MEE) a big coal producer in the U.S.
PALM Take
Jim Goldman, CNBC reporter, joined the traders to talk about Palm (PALM), which has rumors swirling around the company that they will launch the much anticipated Pre smartphone on June 7th. Goldman said there’s nothing to it and he thinks the launch date will be sometime in mid-May. “If that’s Palm’s marketing strategy they’ve got a tough row to hoe. I would think it’s a massive mistake,” he said. Goldman mentioned that rumors are suggesting that Palm has an exclusive contract with Sprint for the Pre.
Best Market Plays
The traders highlighted a number of stocks that could be poised to head much higher as the S&P 500 attempts to break through resistance at the 870 level. Dennis Gartman said buy things you can drop on your foot and would hurt.. He likes the Materials SPDR (XLB). Macke said buy financials and sell when they break their current uptrend. He advised viewers to buy a basket that includes Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Najarian likes engineering stocks such as Shaw Group (SGR), McDermott (MCD) and Fluor (FLR).  Seymour thinks the Oil Services (OIH) names still have more room to the upside. Adami said IBM (IBM) will continue to be on fire.
Fast&Furious
Procter & Gamble (PG) is set to report earnings on Thursday. Macke does not think the stock will do much. Exxon (XOM) reports before the bell Thursday. Najarian thinks XOM will say positive things. Euronext (NYX) reports earnings tomorrow. Sandler O’Neil analyst Richard Repetto has a buy rating on the stock. Dow Chemical (DOW) is set to report earnings on Thursday. Adami said trim the stock into the report. Should investors get long Northern Trust (NTRS)? Najarian said buy it on the dips. Viacom (VA) reports earnings on Thursday. Macke said he would sell. Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!

Jim Cramer told viewers of his “Mad Money” TV show Wednesday that comparing the U.S. stock market to that of Japan’s Nikkei average, which plunged 82% from 1989 to 2008, is plain ludicrous. Cramer pointed out that we are different from Japan and we are not repeating the same mistakes they made during their stock market plunge. He told viewers to look at the GDP number that was released today. The headline was all about the 6.1% first-quarter pullback, which was caused mainly by inventory issues and government spending. However, Cramer said the important thing to consider is that consumer spending rose by 2.2% in the quarter, which shows the U.S. consumer is still active. That just wasn’t the case in Japan, where spending fell off a cliff. Also the U.S. population is growing at a faster rate, due to open immigration, and that gives the U.S. more resources to grow its economy. The Japanese are much older on average than Americans at 44.2 years vs. 36.7 years, and they have more senior citizens. This means fewer people are able to spend money and produce goods, which puts a cap on economic growth. Japan also saved their banks, even the toxic ones, while Cramer explained that the U.S. is forcing banks to take their losses. Cramer said stop comparing the U.S. to Japan because the economy stagnation is not happening here. Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!

Jim Cramer thinks owning some gold is a good way to invest, because its a classic hedge against inflation and it offers stability in a rough market. With that in mind, Cramer welcomed Sean Boyd, CEO of Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) to his “Mad Money” TV show Wednesday to find out what his outlook is for gold as a hedge against inflation. Boyd said AEM is now getting good cost production after an earnings misstep at the end of last year. The company is working on opening six new mines within a year, that will all be operating at an attractive cost. Cramer asked Boyd about the company’s gold reserves. Boyd mentioned that AEM has around 15 years worth of gold reserves and owns 100% of its properties. This allows the company to expand its mines into adjoining areas at a much cheaper cost than starting a new mine. Boyd said AEM is proud of its 27-year dividend and will continue the dividend tradition into the future. Cramer recommended buying AEM, along with SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!

Jim Cramer welcomed Ron Shaich, CEO of Panera Bread (PNRA) to the show to talk about his company’s recent strong quarter and why the stock sold off $7.50 a share following the report. Shaich said he’s seen this type of action in the stock before. He said he’s less concerned with the short-term movements of PNRA on any given day, but he’s more focused on generating returns for investors over the long-term like five or 10 years. “We’ve had a great run, and we continue to have a great run,” he said. “The key for us is to deliver the goods, and keep focused on the customer.” Shaich told viewers that PNRA is staying with its strategy of 15 years of delivering real food served by engaging people in environments that excite people. He explained that Panera’s full-year outlook is conservative because the company had some extraordinarily strong series of restaurant openings that helped to boost returns, and he didn’t want Wall Street to think that would continue for the rest of the year. “We don’t want to pump the stock, what we want to do is deliver over the long term,” he said. Cramer said he is still bullish on PNRA. However, he told viewers the stock could catch a downgrade on Thursday due today’s weak action, but that could present a buying opportunity if investors want in. Join the fastest growing community of small cap investors at Stockhideout.com

The first caller was long these stocks: Conoco-Phillips (COP), General Electric (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Intel (INTC). Cramer said he liked all of these stocks and this man knows how to play the game. The second caller’s top stocks included the following: ExxonMobil (XOM), Coca-Cola (KO), Ebay (EBAY), Parker Hannifin (PH) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Cramer said this portfolio was unbelievable. The third caller held positions in these names: Duke Energy (DUK), Conoco-Phillips (COP), Bunge (BG), Freeport McMoran (FCX) and Ingersoll-Rand (IR). Cramer said hallelujah to this portfolio’s holdings. Join the fastest growing community of small cap investors at Stockhideout.com

Bullish
Gamestop (GME), ConocoPhillips (COP) and BP (BP).
Bearish
Wal-Mart (WMT), Dendreon (DNDN), Jacobs Engineering (JEC), Nucor (NUE), Activision (ATVI) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ). Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!

“Wall Street doesn’t care about a company’s earnings last quarter,” Jim Cramer said on Tuesday’s “Mad Money” TV show. He explained that the only thing that matters is the performance going forward. Look at today’s earnings releases from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), which saw its stock drop 4.3% despite a positive report, while Fortune Brands (FO) cut its dividend and the stock finished higher by 3.9%. Cramer pointed out that Wall Street sees signs of an economic rebound, so its selling the so-called safety stocks like BMY for early-cycle stocks like FO. Cramer said a rising tide does not life all boats. Wall Street cares about future growth, and not the past, so the take away is that FO has room to go up, while BMY will likely mark time. “Fortune Brands has upside, and that’s why it’s being rewarded,” he said. Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!

Jim Cramer continues to stand behind his call that housing will bottom this summer by June 30th. Cramer said housing is the key to everything and he discussed the state of the sector with Mori Hosseini, Chairman and CEO of privately held ICI Homes, to find out if the bottom in housing is here. ICI is one of the largest privately controlled homebuilder in the U.S., and it operates mainly in Florida. Hosseini said the price of their homes stopped falling in February, and the company is starting to see a recovery that almost mirrors the rebound seen in 2001 and 2005.  He told Cramer that during the first week of April, the company sold 80 new homes in Florida. Hosseini mentioned that while things still aren’t good, the media has always been a lagging indicator.  He said for the month of April, the velocity of sales has picked up dramatically, because as a first time home buyer you will save more money buying a home versus renting. Hosseini finished by telling Cramer that a bottom is coming in housing, possibly in June or September. Get the scoop on tomorrow’s hottest trade ideas – TODAY! BeaconEquity.com PREMIER PICKS have an amazing track record. Join this select group and ride the profit wave!