This is not a defense of Jim Cramer -- he's a big boy, he can defend himself. But as someone who appears on TV and radio from time to time, I thought I'd offer some insight into why he acts like he has live ferrets in his pants. It's all about the Big Bang Boom!
I just did an interview with CNBC’s "On the Money." The episode airs tonight (March 11), assuming it's not pre-empted by a Wall Street perp walk or something. Leading up to the interview, they kept emphasizing to me that they really needed excitement in my voice.
"I’ll do my best to channel Jim Cramer," I told one of the producers.
Then another producer came on the phone. "Sean, we really need that Big-Bang-Boom," she told me.
And you wonder why Jim Cramer sometimes acts like he has live ferrets in his shorts. He's probably getting that input from producers all the time. Now if anyone can explain to me why Larry Kudlow acts the way he does, LOL.
I tried to oblige with the "Big Bang Boom!" After all, CNBC is entertainment. That’s it. You should not adjust your portfolio according to what you see on TV. The producers are under tremendous pressure to have "exciting" TV. We can assume the stars -- note that I didn't say journalists -- are under the same pressure. And do you know why? Because they are deathly afraid of having shows that are the equivalent of distilled Sominex (the deceased Louis Rukeyser would be an example). Most financial news is boring to non-financial types. Financial news is up against Octo-Mom. Heck yeah, I can understand why they're going to go for the Big Bang Boom.
As for my 3-minute segment, I hope I gave a little insight on selling gold. Even before the interview, I told them, "I’m not the guy who buys gold from people — I can hook you up with that guy." But they wanted to talk to me, because I'm a natural resources analyst and I appear on TV now and then. Anyway, I have a post about selling gold on my blog that has more details and hopefully more insight for people who are thinking about selling their gold. Cliff's Notes version: DON'T sell to those cockamamie companies that advertise on TV that they'll send you an envelope, you put your gold in it, and they'll send you back cash.
Oh, and here’s some interesting news on gold: Banks were January net buyers of 1.1 million oz of gold in January. One data point does not a trend make. But if this holds true in February we have a trend, and we could be on path to much higher prices in gold. In the short-term, as I have stated recently, I expect gold prices could go lower.