'Mad Money' Recap: Market Refuses to Quit (Final)

"This market refuses to surrender to negativity," Jim Cramer announced to his "Mad Money"TV show viewers Monday.

He took a moment to acknowledge and marvel at everything that has gone wrong that our markets have practically ignored over the past week or so.

First there was the MF Global bankruptcy, the eighth largest in American history. Cramer said while this was a huge scandal, the financial stocks are not seeing any ripple effect. Then there was the collapse of the Greek government, another non-event that just a few weeks ago would've sent the markets heading for the hills. But he said the markets remained strong.

There were negative comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, to which the markets gave a collective yawn, said Cramer. The last time the Fed chair spoke, the markets took note, he said, but not this time.

There has also a precipitous rise in the price of Brent crude to the highest levels we've seen since July. That surely would have stifled the U.S. markets, right? Apparently not. Neither did increasing concerns over the financials of Italy nor the bad U.S. jobs report from last week. All non-events.

Yet through all of these negatives, companies like Qualcomm (QCOM), Emerson Electric (EMR) and EOG Resources (EOG) all posted great earnings and the markets overall, have done really well.

Cramer said even though the markets are favored to lose this race, he's not willing to jump back in quite yet. He said the markets still need to see a sizable pullback before he'd be ready to test the waters fully. That said, Cramer noted that the markets' resilience must be acknowledged and respected.

Retail Strength

In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer opined on the recent upgrades of both Pier 1 Imports (PIR) an d Home Depot (HD). He said if you were to believe the media, homes are just a wasting asset that everyone is losing money on. But in reality, consumer spending is stronger than believed, said Cramer, and homes, at least in some places, are regaining some of their luster.

Cramer said that Pier 1 and Home Depot are excellent operators, but the trend can also be seen at Macy's (M) and Lowes (LOW), two other chains with large exposure to home-oriented spending. Things may not yet be great with home prices in our country, said Cramer, but consumers wouldn't be spending money to fix them up if they were still planning on skipping out on the mortgage.

Medical Technology Play

In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX), the electronic medical records purveyor that recently delivered a three-cent-a-share earnings best on a 12% pop in revenues. Shares of Allscripts trade at 19 times earnings with a 24% growth rate and are up 149% since Cramer first got behind the company in January, 2009.

Tullman said that Allscripts is well positioned in not only patient records but also in billing systems and care management as well. He said that the medical world is one of the last industries to truly utilize technology to increase efficiencies and better patient care, but now with new Medicare rules, doctors and hospitals will have to step up and take notice.

Tullman also said that some insurers are now lowering malpractice insurance for doctors that use electronic records and overall the company is seeing lower loss of life and improved patient care through the use of their products.

When asked about new technology like tablet and smartphones, Tullman said that doctors have been late to adopt Apple's (AAPL) iPad, but Allscripts has new products coming ! out for all platforms. "We have you covered at Allscripts," touted Tullman.

When asked about the company's expansion plans, Tullman said that international growth is still important for the company, but in the case of the Middle East, the company decided to step away from that market and instead focus on the most vibrant and profitable markets for the company, which includes the U.S.

Finally, when asked about competition between out nation's largest pharmacy chains, Tullman said that Allscripts works with all major pharmacy chains as well as with independent operators and will not only transmit prescriptions, but also check for errors and make sure the drugs are covered under the patient's insurance plan as well. He said Allscripts benefits no matter where a patient gets a prescription filled.

Cramer said he continues to like Allscripts.

Reassured on Dividend

In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer once again sat down with Herbjorn Hansson, chairman and CEO of Nordic American Tanker (NAT), a company Cramer called the best house in a bad neighborhood. Nordic posted a larger-than-expected earnings miss on negative cash flow.

Hansson responded to criticisms that his company cannot afford to continue its 8.6% dividend by saying that Nordic American must support its shareholders, even in bad times. He said strongly than "we can afford it, and we we will prioritize it." Hansson also noted that while he cannot promise anything, the company can "can pay it for years," even with negative cash flows.

Hansson said that he's an optimist when it comes to the world economy. He said the shipping business is a tough business, but Nordic American is used to it and can handle the pressure. Hansson said that just last month his company purchased another ship for $25 million. That same ship would have been $60 million just a few years ago and $100 million before that. ! The move puts Nordic American though in a strong position for when global shipping turns around.

Hansson also said that the shipping business does not have a trend line and tends to be very volatile. So just because things are low today, it doesn't mean business can't turn on a dime. He noted that October rates were very strong, for example, but have since retreated.

After getting reassurances on the dividend, Cramer said he still thinks Nordic American Tanker is the best of breed shipping company and the dividend is, for now, safe.

Lightning Round

Cramer was bullish on Cooper Companies (COO), Manitowoc (MTW), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Apple (AAPL) and Apache (APA).

He was bearish onUniversal Display (PANL) and AmeriGas Partners (APU).

Am I Diversified?

Cramer spoke with callers to see if their portfolios have what it takes. The first caller's portfolio includedWalgreen's (WAG),Nike (NKE),Waste Management (WM),International Paper (IP) and General Mills (GIS).

Cramer said this portfolio was "perfect."

The second caller's top holdings included Southern Company (SO),United Technologies (UTX),Electronic Arts (ERTS),Conoco-Phillips (COP) and Discover Financial (DFS).

Cramer said that this portfolio was also properly diversified.

The third caller had Garmin (GRMN),Citigroup (C),Walt Disney (DIS),Verizon (VZ) and Apple (AAPL) as their top five stocks.

Cramer said this was a terrific portfolio that will be able to tough it out in any environment. To contact the writer of this article, click here: Scott Rutt.

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