“No! No! No! Bear Stearns is not in trouble. If anything, they’re more likely to be taken over. Don’t move your money from Bear.”  –  Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money” on March 11, 2008.

Three days later, on March 14, Bear Stearns stock plunged 92% after it was taken “under” by JP Morgan.

Today Cramer has made the claim on CNBC that “a lot of the bear markets have ended since February 10.”  According to Cramer, apparel, restaurants, iron ore and machinery groups are now in bull markets.  “C’mon in retail  stock trading minnows, the water is nice and warm.”

This assertion is just ludicrous.  For starters, we know from hard industry data released a little over a week ago – LINK – that the service sector – i.e. restaurants and retail-oriented businesses – are now shedding employees.  If a new bull market in consumption were born, service businesses that rely on middle class disposable income expenditures would be hiring, not firing.

Clearly Cramer completely neglects the fiduciary duty to conduct appropriate due diligence before issuing investment advice.   Because if he actually rolled up his sleave and did some work, he would have found the middle class is sinking in a sea of debt.  Sorry Jim, imminent personal bankruptcy is not conducive to disposable income-based consumption.

Currently a proposed rule issued by the Department of Labor would raise the bar on the investment advisory industry’s standards of fiduciary duty. “Fiduciary duty” is a legal duty to act solely in another parties’ interests.  Naturally Congress, funded by CNBC and Suze Orman, Inc are working overtime to oppose this rule.

Using the Bear Stearns case as an example, Cramer was advising his viewers to hold their Bear Stearns stock.  But was he acting in the viewers’ interests?   More likely, Cramer’s hedge fund cronies were busy unloading their positions in Bear Stearns as quickly as possible before that Titanic hit the iceberg.

I did an analysis of Bear Stearns in January 2008 and concluded that Bear was technically insolvent.  I shorted the stock in the low $80’s and managed to cover in the $30’s.  Cramer is a complete idiot if he truly thought Bear Stearns was a viable going concern.  In the absence of a willingness to believe that Cramer is a moron given his educational background,  the obvious conclusion is that Cramer is exceedingly corrupt.

What will it take for the Justice Department to investigate Cramer and all of his off-CNBC dealings?  My colleagues and I have known for well over a decade that Cramer is little more than a front for the hedge fund community.  Cramer is the Wall Street version of Hillary Clinton.  He’s gotten away with committing egregious crimes for so long that he likely  is unable to differentiate between legal and illegal.  Rule of Law, what’s that?   Cramer should not be on CNBC issuing pump and dump recommendations, many of which end up badly impaling retail stock investors.  Instead, Cramer should be busy defending himself from a bona fide SEC/Dept of Justice inquiry into his operations.

Cramer also pumped up the infamous “FANGS”  today.  He singled out AMZN just because Piper Jaffray and Wells Fargo both said AMZN was “doing much better than people think?” Based on what, Jim?   “Fiduciary duty” is not defined as parroting comments issued by retail brokerage firms who’s business is predicated on selling overvalued stocks to retail pigeons.

AMZN stock has been up as much as $9 today because of Cramer’s pump and dump call plus the fact that AMZN debuted its online streaming fashion show to promote its new clothing line.  Hey there’s an original idea, use the broadcast media to stage a mock fashion show in order to sell clothing.  Why didn’t QVC and Home Shopping Network think of that?

If AMZN’s clothing line business is like nearly every other business line of AMZN’s, it will sell it’s clothing for less than the cost of producing and delivering the product to the end-user.  QVC trades at a 13 p/e.  If AMZN does not make money on its clothing business, at what multiple of zero should AMZN’s clothing business be worth?  Currently AMZN’s $9 Cramer spike has melted into a loss of 23 cents.  Did you get some of your buddies out on that, Jim?

For original analysis and long term and short term short-sell trading ideas, check out the Short Seller’s Journal.  Last week several subscribers made between 50-200% on a “quick hit” short sell trade idea on Big Five (BGFV) that I emailed out them on Monday mid-day. (click on image to subscribe)