Bill, you must know your blog is listed on one of the best financial/economic websites that I have been reading for years - the financial blogs are free...the rest USED to be free but it is still very good....this is my 'economic degree' material url.

People should check this out if they don't already:

http://www.rgemonitor.com/component/option,com_newsfeeds/task,aggr/feedid,10003

I tend to keep my mouth shut when I see things like this, but I read a column of his today that reminded me of one of yours from a while back. By the way, he apparantly said he was still long on KRY in the lightning round today.

But back to my point. He had an article today which reminded me of one you did a while back. I think I've linked correctly to the articles I've quoted from. It was actually a lot further back that I realized but here it is all the same.

http://www.billcara.com/archives/2005/04/cloudy_constell.html

"CNBC's Cramer has been touting Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) on his interesting MadMoney program. I'll take that trade; I say sell it!

Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) $58.34
International producer and marketer of beverage alcohol brands, including wine, spirits and imported beer categories. Recently bought Mondavi.

Diageo (NYSE: DEO) $59.59
International supplier of branded food and beverage products with operations in four principal segments: spirits and wine, packaged food, beer and quick service restaurants. Brands include Pillsbury, Smirnoff, Burger King, Johnnie Walker and J&B.
"

Today's close
STZ $24.17 (adj 48.34 - 16-May-05 [2:1])
DEO $66.15

It's taken a year but it seems he now sees your point.

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/funds/madmoneywrap/10287188.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

"Cramer's No. 1 stock pick in the sin sector is Diageo." and "Cramer's second pick, "although not a close second," is Constellation Brands "
16-May-05 [2:1]

Portfolio management is a business and its pay for performance. I trade a small pool of money for a small group of family and friends. That's what the "Kitty" part of CalexKitty represents, as in Jimmy Stewart saying, “I got the Kitty!" in "Its a Wonderful Life". Most people still don't want to learn to manage their own money and is frightening, so I don't mind, in fact enjoy, helping a few close people until they wake up to the necessity of the discipline.

I worry about my parent's retirement accounts in the hands of Wall Street. I got my dad to start skipping some of the downside over the long term in his account by moving his money around at key points in the market, based on very light and simple technical analysis of trendlines that he felt comfortable with. He has the option of putting it all in cash with one day's notice and his options are actually pretty good compared to some of the retirement options I've seen.

I notice many of my friends don't have the option of moving money as freely as my dad's extra cushy government pension does. I don't have a 401k or IRA so its odd to see their web-based control panels and the limited methods of control. One friend is with Fidelity and although she has ten or twelve options, not one of them is cash. Fidelity seems to provide the illusion of control without actually giving control. I don't want to single out Fidelity in particular, but the facts are the facts. Most 401ks get beat up every time the market crests, but the managers still walk away with more dough per year than most little people will earn in a lifetime.

I don't know how Cramer is still on television. The first time I saw the program I thought, "I wish I could see show dossier before the show aired." Then I thought, "hey ...isn't that illegal? How does this show even exist?"

It is almost impossible to believe that there are not at least a few people front running his show. I figured he'd be hauled off by the SEC within a week. Then he even got a subpoena and threw it on the ground and lambasted it on air. So the SEC backed down - and made a public statement, tail between their legs. Cramer even has his own spot right in the middle of the final hour of trading where he gets to scream out with glee, “Stop Trading!� as if somehow he controlled the market. At half past three during the open and after hours, it appears to some degree, he does.

I sit on a committee that oversees the fund selection for my company's 401K. It has been an interesting experience. The company that administers our plan uses SSB (Citigroup) as their advisor and fund manager.

I have participated in programs with less flexibility and choices before so I will not complain but rather make an observation.

In all the meetings we have had this year, I continue to bring up the possibility of allowing ETF's in the program. Every time I bring it up, the 401K administrator does the cha cha cha around me. It is clear to me that keepers of the 401 accounts do not want ETF's around. Just another wall that needs to be torn down.

As for Jim Cramer, I love his mad money show. It is pure entertainment. He is the PT Barnum of Wall St. Of course, I would never take anything he says about buying or selling stocks seriously.....Well ok, I have shorted a couple turds that he has recommended along the way ;)

cb,

they want your commission :) with etf you have less volatility = less risk and less trading = less commission = bad for Citigroup :) understand that

Steady. Steady. Steady.

Gold down $10.80 at 7am after being very volatile all night. We may yet get that next leg down.

Plan your trades. Trade your plan.

BCA notes money on the move-

"Several classic defensive industries have begun to outperform, a notable trend change given that it began even before the recent stock market correction."

http://www.bcaresearch.com/public/story.asp?pre=PRE-20060518.GIF

In regards to yesterdays sudden collapse into the close-

"Bird Flu Spooks Markets

Bloomberg.com posted a story at 1:43 PM this afternoon indicating a possible human to human transmission of the bird flu virus in Indonesia. Clearly the markets did not like this news, and more and more people seem to be hearing about it, as the SPDR's (SPY) are trading down another 70 cents after hours."

http://tickersense.typepad.com/ticker_sense/2006/05/bird_flu_spooks.html

stockman-

That is a spin job by the bulls. After a gap open the markets trended downward from 11 am on. Lower highs, lower lows. When bids didn't materialize late, the bulls walked away. That story didn't come out until almost 2pm. JMHO.

cb - instead of having ETFs as 401k choices, what you ought to do is have the self-directed 401k brokerage option. Fidelity has a great program. Then your employees can buy virtually any stock, bond, mutual fund, or money market that they want.

We have much reference to the little people here, and we know who we are,
but just who are the Big People or Gnomes?
While viewing the RGEMoniter site, posted by bbcmoney, thanks, I came across this
interesting effort that gives us a birds eye view of the power we face.
Yes, we have Bill's blog, but the Gnomes are not to be easily over come.
Keep in mind as we gleefully watch the price of gold rise, it represents everything they
oppose...the little people gaining understanding and control of the truth.
Know thine Enemy!
http://www.theyrule.net/2004/tr2.php?mapid=2993

Jansing,
The program does allow for the account you mention for deferred compensation, it was not mentioned for the 401 plan. As a member of the committee, I also want to drink my own kool-aid, so opting out into a private account doesn't represent the masses.

What I would like to see is model portfolios with ETF's along side the mutual funds and then eventually displace the funds altogether. It is probably going to happen once all the gnomes have enough ETF's in their universe to have a revenue nuetral impact to the business (or the competition offers it and they start losing business).