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Stocks finished mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average brushing with record highs, as investors welcomed upbeat economic data as well as earnings from Coca-Cola Co. and Johnson & Johnson, but remained cautious about key technology earnings due after the close. The bullish underlying tone continues with the help from benign readings on core inflation, upbeat earnings news, and better-than-expected housing data.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 52.58 or 0.41% to 12,773.04, briefly topped its record closing high of 12,786.64 hit last February, before scaling back. The broader S&P 500 index closed up 3.01 or 0.20% to 1,471.48, and the Nasdaq composite ended lower by 1.38 or 0.05% to 2516.95.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a narrow margin of 16 by 15 on volume of 1.57 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers 17 to 12 on volume of 1.95 billion shares.

Stocks surged as investors eyed merger news and a rash of earnings, even while the tech-driven Nasdaq struggled. While the first wave of earnings have been strong, the overall earnings reporting period is expected to be weak. S&P 500 earnings are currently on track to rise 3.4% from a year earlier. That rate of earnings growth will be the slowest in more than 3-1/2 years, slipping below 10% on a year-over-year basis after 14 quarters of double-digit growth.

In mixed economic news, the rising gasoline costs drove consumer prices up 0.6% in March, the sharpest rise in nearly a year. The core prices rose a smaller-than-expected 0.1%. Both housing starts and building permits rose more than expected in March but results were affected by severe weather in the Midwest and were weaker versus prior-year levels. There has been a surprise drop in industrial production in March, missing forecasts for a flat reading. Capacity use dropped more than expected.

Shares of Coke closed up $1.30 or 2.6% to $51.57, on reporting first-quarter earnings and sales that rose from a year ago and topped estimates. The company posted earnings of 56 cents a share on sales of $6.1 billion. Analysts were expecting 53 cents and sales of $5.63 billion. However, sales in North America declined 3%.

Stock of Johnson & Johnson closed up $1.53 or 2.4% to $64.55, after reporting higher quarterly earnings and sales that topped estimates. Excluding special items, it earned $1.16 a share, against the expected $1.04. The results were hurt by a $807 million charge related to a recent acquisition.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 51 cents to settle at $63.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, retreating after an early advance.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
30-day risk-free trial

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the shows, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
aQuantive (AQNT) (Mad Money)
Capital One Financial (COF) (Mad Money)
Cepheid (CPHD) (Lightning Round)
Coach (COH) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Countrywide (CFC) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Foster Wheeler (FWLT) (Green Market on Mad Money)
General Maritime (GMR) (Lightning Round)
Goldman Sachs (GS) (Mad Money)
HSBC (HBC) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) (Lightning Round)
Nastech Pharmaceutical (NSTK) (Lightning Round)
Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) ($110-$115 target) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Shaw Group (SGR) ($105 target) (Green Market on Mad Money)
ValueClick (VCLK) (Mad Money)
Wachovia (WB) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Washington Mutual (WM) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)

Neutral
Starbucks (SBUX) (Lightning Round)

Bearish
Dyax (DYAX) (Lightning Round) (Lightning Round)
Excel Maritime Carriers (EXM) (Lightning Round)
Houston Wire & Cable (HWCC) (Lightning Round)
Meruelo Maddux Properties (MMPI) (Lightning Round)
Tribune (TRB) (Lightning Round)

* Click here and receive a free market forecast using VantagePoint software.
* Click here for 2 free books that teach you how to trade the E-mini’s.
* Click here for free cassette “17 Rules for Successful Futures Trading.”

Stocks rallied and lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average by over 100 points, with sentiment boosted by upbeat earnings from blue-chip stock Citigroup Inc. and by a $25 billion leveraged buyout of educational lender Sallie Mae. News that retail sales topped expectations in March also helped. Cheer was a combination of the economic numbers falling in line and earnings season starting with more good news than bad news.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 108.33 or 0.86% to 12,720.46, the broader S&P 500 closed up 15.62 or 1.08% to 1,468.4, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed up 26.39 or 1.06% to 2,518.33.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by a margin of 23 to 8 on volume of 1.6 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by more than 21 to 8 as 1.8 billion shares changed hands.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan added to positive sentiment by downplaying the risk problems in sub-prime mortgages pose to the U.S. economy. He played down his earlier concern about a possible U.S. recession, saying the world economy would provide a cushion.

On the economic front, retail sales rose 0.7% in March, defying expectations for a slowdown in consumer spending. Economists had forecast just a 0.4% gain. The higher retail sales remind us that we can’t assume the consumer is dead when we haven’t seen any sustained evidence for it.

Sallie Mae has agreed to be purchased for $25 billion by a group. Shares of Sallie Mae jumped 18.4% to $55.35. The deal is for $60 a share, and led the shares of Sallie Mae to jump $8.23 to $54.99.

Google has agreed to buy DoubleClick, an online advertising firm, for $3.1 billion. This was bought in 2005 by Hellman & Friedman for $1.1 billion. This will boost its presence in the area of Internet display advertising, ads on banners, videos and other non-text based types of ads.

Shares of Mattle closed don 24 cents or 0.85% to $24.10 despite reporting a first quarter profit against the expected loss. Strong sales of its pre-school Fisher-Price toys and its Hot Wheels toys for boys offset a 21% drop in U.S. sales of Barbie dolls. Sales rose to $940.3 million, up 19% compared to $793.3 million last year. Analysts had forecast Mattel to log sales of $848 million.

U.S. light crude oil for May edged higher, gaining 27 cents to settle at $63.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
30-day risk-free trial

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the shows, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Abbot Laboratories (ABT) (”goes to 60″) (Lightning Round)
Akamai Technologies (AKAM) (Lightning Round)
American Standard (ASD) (Mad Money)
Annaly Mortgage (NLY) (Mad Money)
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) (Lightning Round)
CF Industries (CF) (Mad Money)
Charter’s (CHTR) (mentioned on Mad Money)
Citigroup (C) (Lightning Round)
Coca-Cola (KO) (Mad Money)
Comcast’s (CMCSA) (mentioned on Mad Money)
Crocs (CROX) (Lightning Round)
Danaher (DHR) (Lightning Round)
eBay (EBAY) (Mad Money)
Federated Department Stores (FD) (Mad Money)
GobalSantaFe (GSF) (Lightning Round)
Halliburton (HAL) (Lightning Round)
Haynes (HAYN) (Lightning Round)
Immucor (BLUD) (Lightning Round)
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) (Mad Money)
J.C. Penney (JCP) (Lightning Round)
Mosaic (MOS) (Mad Money)
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) (”83 goes to 90″) (Lightning Round)
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) (Mad Money)
Rite Aid (RAD) ($10 target) (mentioned on Mad Money)
Saks (SKS) (Mad Money)
Schering-Plough (SGP) (Mad Money)
Schlumberger (SLB) (Mad Money)
Sotheby’s (BID) (”ultimate high-end play”) (Mad Money)
Steel Dynamics (STLD) (Mad Money)
Time Warner’s (TWC) (mentioned on Mad Money)
Transocean (RIG) (Lightning Round)
United Technologies (UTX) (Mad Money)

Bearish
Aventine Renewable Energy (AVR) (Lightning Round)
Digital River (DRIV) (Lightning Round)
Eli Lilly (LLY) (Lightning Round)
Family Dollar Stores (FDO) (Lightning Round)
Grey Wolf (GW) (Mad Money)
Harley-Davidson (HOG) (Mad Money)
JetBlue (JBLU) (Lightning Round)
Open Text (OTEX) (Lightning Round)
Vonage (VG) (mentioned on Mad Money)

* Click here and receive a free market forecast using VantagePoint software.
* Click here for 2 free books that teach you how to trade the E-mini’s.
* Click here for free cassette “17 Rules for Successful Futures Trading.”

Stocks closed higher for both the session and the week benefiting from upbeat earnings and forecasts from blue-chips Merck & Co Inc, General Electric Co. and McDonald’s Corp. Investors looked past news of falling consumer sentiment in April as they weighed the implications of rising March producer prices.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 59.17 or 0.47% to 12,612.13, the broader S&P 500 closed up 5.05 or 0.35% to 1,452.85, and the Nasdaq closed up 11.62 or 0.47% to 2491.94. For the week, the Dow rose 0.4%, the S&P gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by a margin of 19 to 12 on volume of 1.411 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers narrowly topped decliners on a margin of 18 to 11 on volume of 1.853 billion shares.

General Electric reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue that met analysts’ forecasts. The company also gave earnings guidance for the second quarter and the full year that was in line with forecasts. It earned $4.5 billion from continuing operations, compared to $4.2 billion last year. Its revenue rose 6% to $40.2 billion, beating the forecast of $39.8 billion.

Stock of Merck closed up $3.85 or 85 to $50.21, after the company said that first-quarter earnings would top estimates, overshadowing news that a government advisory panel said Merck’s proposed painkiller Arcoxia should not be approved. Merck raised full-year 2007 earnings guidance to a range of $2.75 to $2.85 a share excluding restructuring charges.

Shares of Sallie Mae closed up $6.12 or 13% to $46.87, on news that it is in talks with buyout firms and could be sold for over $20 billion. SLM, is the largest U.S. student loan provider.

Shares of Apple closed down $1.95 or 2.6% to $90.24, after it stated that it would delay the release of its new operating system, Leopard, to October from June, because it had to divert its engineering resources to the new iPhone. The iPhone is still on track for a June release, the company said.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery fell 22 cents to $63.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
30-day risk-free trial

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the shows, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Allergan (AGN) (Lightning Round)
Annaly Capital Management (NLY) (Mad Money)
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) (Lightning Round)
Color Kinetics (CLRK) (”Best in Show”) (Lightning Round)
CVS (CVS) (Lightning Round)
Dow (DOW) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Express Scripts (ESRX) (Lightning Round)
Gap’s (GPS) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Hasbro (HAS) (Lightning Round)
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) (Lightning Round)
International Securities Exchange (ISE) (Lightning Round)
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) (Lightning Round)
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) (Lightning Round)
Mattel (MAT) (Lightning Round)
Medco Health (MHS) (Lightning Round)
Mueller Water (MWA) (Lightning Round)
Pepsi (PEP) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Rochester Medical (ROCM) (Lightning Round)
Sappi (SPP) (Mad Money)
Yamana Gold (AUY) (Lightning Round)
Zimmer (ZMH) (Lightning Round)

Neutral
Salesforce.com (CRM) (ugred viewers to decide) (CEO on Mad Money)

Bearish
BB&T (BBT) (Lightning Round)
FBR Capital Markets (upcoming IPO) (Sell Block on Mad Money)
Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR) (Sell Block on Mad Money)
J2 Global Communications (JCOM) (Lightning Round)
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) (Sell Block on Mad Money)
Mannatech (MTEX) (”don’t buy don’t buy”) (Lightning Round)
MGIC Investment (MTG) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Smith & Wesson (SWHC) (Lightning Round)
US Gold (UXG) (Lightning Round)
Valero Energy (VLO) (Lightning Round)
Vonage (VG) (Sell Block on Mad Money)

* Click here and receive a free market forecast using VantagePoint software.
* Click here for 2 free books that teach you how to trade the E-mini’s.
* Click here for free cassette “17 Rules for Successful Futures Trading.”

Stocks bounced back as investors sought bargains following the market’s drop in the previous session and looked past rising oil prices and disappointing outlooks from U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The tech-fueled Nasdaq leading the way, as investors set aside worries about the day’s weak economic news and opted to scoop up select shares.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 68.34 or 0.55% to 12,552.96, the broader S&P 500 closed up 8.93 or 0.62% to 1,447.80, and the Nasdaq composite closed up 21.01 or 0.85% to 2480.32.

Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers 21 to 10 on volume of 1.49 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners 19 to 10 on volume of 1.97 billion shares.

Despite the gloom of yesterday and the disturbing inflation news, the stocks were up because of the March retail sales numbers that were good. Additionally, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment jumped last week. However, concerns about the growth versus too much growth issue are likely to continue to limit any market advance in the months ahead. In the short term, stocks may get an upward push from earnings, simply because expectations for the first quarter are so diminished that companies are likely to beat forecasts.

Nestle has announced that it will buy Gerber from Swiss drug maker Novartis in a $5.5 billion in cash, becoming the world’s biggest baby food company. This will give its nutrition division - annual sales of about $8.21 billion. Gerber is expected to generate an estimated $1.95 billion in sales in 2007.

Stock of Research In Motion closed down 8% after it reported higher quarterly earings that missed estimates. Additionally, an informal inquiry by the SEC into past stock-option grants has been upgraded to a formal investigation. The company earned $187.9 million, up from a profit of $18.4 million in the same period a year earlier.

Stock of Biotech Genentech closed up $0.13 to $82.69, after reporting earnings excluding special items of $792 million, up from $491 million in the first quarter of 2006. The operating revenue rose 43% to $2.84 billion from $1.99 billion. The revenue topped analysts’ expectations for a 38% increase to $2.74 billion. Sales of Avastin, a drug for lung and colorectal cancer, jumped 34% to $533 million.

Stock of Wal-Mart finished flat, despite posting a better than expected 4% increase in March sales but offering a tepid forecast for April. Its March same-store sales were expected to rise 1.6%. Total sales rose 11.7% to $34.26 billion. However, this growth is likely at the expense of April sales

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.84 to settle at $63.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the government reported a large drop in gasoline supplies.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
30-day risk-free trial

Summary of the stock picks by each of the traders on the latest episode of “Fast Money.”

Bullish
“Gold” (Bolling)
“Silver” Owns (Bolling)
Activision (ATVI) (Macke)
Agrium Inc (AG) (Bolling)
Ameriprise Financial (AMP) (Adami)
Apple (AAPL) (Bolling)
Apple (AAPL) (Strazzini)
Bank of America (BAC) (Adami)
Barr Pharmaceuticals (BRL) (Macke)
Barr Pharmaceuticals (BRL) (Strazzini)
Bunge (BG) (Bolling)
Cameco (CCJ) (Bolling)
Citigroup (C) Buy at $50 (Strazzini)
Deere (DE) (Bolling)
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) (Adami)
GameStop (GME) (Bolling)
Genentech (DNA) (Strazzini)
iShares Silver Trust (SLV) (Adami)
Lam Research (LRCX) (Strazzini)
Monsanto (MON) (Bolling)
Ninetendo (NTDOY.PK) (Bolling)
Pan American Silver (PAAS) (Adami)
Research In Motion (RIMM) (Bolling)
Research In Motion (RIMM) (”buy in the $120s”) (Adami)
Research In Motion (RIMM) (Strazzini)
Simon Property Group (SPG) (Macke)
Simon Property Group (SPG) (Strazzini)
Starwood Hotels (HOT) (Adami)
Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) (Bolling)
USEC (USU) (Bolling)
Wal-Mart (WMT) (Strazzini)
Wyndam Resorts (WYN) (Bolling)
Zumiez (ZUMZ) (Macke)

Bearish
“Retailers” (Macke)
Apple (AAPL) (Adami)
Apple (AAPL) (Macke)
Barr Pharmaceuticals (BRL) (Adami)
Barr Pharmaceuticals (BRL) (Bolling)
Chico’s (CHS) (Macke)
Citigroup (C) (Adami)
EMI (EMIPY) (Strazzini)
Gap (GPS) (Macke)
Manor Care (HCR) (Bolling)
Simon Property Group (SPG) (Adami)
Simon Property Group (SPG) (Bolling)
Warner Music (WMG) (Strazzini)

Dylan Ratigan - The Commissioner
moderator of “Fast Money”

Eric Bolling - The Admiral
“Independent trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange. His specialty, navigating the charts to make you money.”

Guy Adami - The Negotiator
“Block trader at CIBC. He sees what the big boys are doing before anyone else even knows.”

Jeff Macke - The Lone Wolf
“Head of Macke Asset Management. He’ll call a criminal a criminal and a genius a genius.”

Tim Strazzini - The Risk Doctor
“Former head of wealth management at Merill Lynch. You work to make money, he works to help you protect it.”

* Click here and receive a free market forecast using VantagePoint software.
* Click here for 2 free books that teach you how to trade the E-mini’s.
* Click here for free cassette “17 Rules for Successful Futures Trading.”

Please do your own research, and verify all information before acting on it. This summary of Cramer’s picks is not intended to replace watching the shows, where his comments about the stocks often include advice about entry and exit points.

Bullish
Airgas (ARG) (”back up the truck”) (Lightning Round)
Akamai (AKAM) (Lightning Round)
Akamai (AKAM) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
American Ecology (ECOL) (Lightning Round)
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) (Mad Money)
Brocade (BRCD) (”$12 target”) (Mad Money)
Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) (Lightning Round)
Disney (DIS) (Lightning Round)
DivX (DIVX) (Lightning Round)
Dynegy (DYN) (”$12 target”) (Mad Money)
Express Scripts (ESRX) (Lightning Round)
Goldman Sachs (GS) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Grainger (GWW) (Mad Money)
Harris (HRS) (Lightning Round)
HealthExtras (HLEX) (Lightning Round)
Lundin Mining (LMC) (Mad Money)
M&F Worldwide (MFW) (Lightning Round)
MedcoHealth (MHS) (Lightning Round)
Mosaic (MOS) (Lightning Round)
Nucor (NUE) (Lightning Round)
NYSE Euronext (NYX) (”buy buy buy”) (Lightning Round)
Qwest (Q) (”$12 target”) (Mad Money)
Reliance Steel (RS) (Lightning Round)
Sociedad Quimica (SQM) (Lightning Round)
Terra Nitrogen (TNH) (Lightning Round)
Vertex (VRTX) (”buy buy buy”) (Lightning Round)
Walgreen (WAG) (Mad Money)
Wheeling-Pittsburgh (WPSC) (Lightning Round)
World Wrestling (WWE) (”$20 target”) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)

Bearish
CMGI (CMGI) (Lightning Round)
Dean Foods (DF) (Mad Money)
Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) (Lightning Round)
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) (mentioned on Stop Trading!)
Sonic Solutions (SNIC) (Lightning Round)

* Click here and receive a free market forecast using VantagePoint software.
* Click here for 2 free books that teach you how to trade the E-mini’s.
* Click here for free cassette “17 Rules for Successful Futures Trading.”

Stocks closed lower as the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended an 8-day winning streak, after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting on interest rates confirmed the central bank’s focus on inflation and dashed hopes it would soon cut rates to boost a slowing economy.

Today, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 89.23 or 0.71% to 12,484.62, the broader S&P 500 closed down 9.52 or 0.66% to 1,438.87, and the Nasdaq closed down 18.3 or 0.74% to 2459.31.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners 11 to 5 on 1.569 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by 19 to 10 as 1.976 billion shares changed hands.

The minutes of the Marc meeting were a bit more aggressive than expected. The minutes underscored for stock investors that the Federal Reserve Board is unlikely to cut interest rates anytime soon. When the Fed left interest rates unchanged three weeks ago, it tweaked the tone of its accompanying statement by removing a key phrase indicating that further rates hikes might be needed. But in the meeting’s notes, they made the change to reflect increased risks to growth, even though “further policy firming might prove necessary to foster lower inflation.”

Investors are already bracing for a sharp deceleration in earnings growth. The S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise only 3.3% for the first quarter, marking the first time that earnings growth dips below 10% in 14 quarters. Additionally, the housing market is expected to see prices fall this year for the first time in nearly 40 years. The National Association of Realtors expects a 0.7% decline in the median price of an existing home sold in 2007.

Shares of Alcoa closed up $0.18 to $35.08, after the company reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue that topped estimates, thanks to higher metal prices. The company earned $691 million, from continuing operations excluding restructuring charges. Revenue increased 11% to $7.9 billion.

Shares of Citigroup closed down $0.60 to $51.80, after announcing that it will cut 17,000 jobs, or about 5.2% of its work force, as part of a broad restructuring geared to save the company billions over the next three years. In addition to the cuts, the bank will move 9,500 jobs to “lower-cost locations” - with about two-thirds of those jobs being moved as the positions become vacant.

Shares of Amgen closed down $0.78 to $56.34, after it stated that it will delay reporting earnings by four days so as to include results of a clinical trial in which patients with lung cancer took its anemia drug.

U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $62.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving back bigger gains accrued after the government reported a big drop in gasoline supplies.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter
30-day risk-free trial