Interestingly enough, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) and the Kuwaiti Investment Authority are investing in the deal.  Rohm & Haas is more diversified than mere chemicals but a 74% premium deal has interest likely falling into other key chemical players and ones to watch would be Air Products (NYSE: APD), Celanese (NYSE: CE), Eastman Chemicals (NYSE: EMN), Ashland (NYSE: ASH) and in particular Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN).

The deal is subject to shareholder approval, but this is likely a done deal so long as no anti-trust issues crop up.  The 52-week trading range is $44.13 to $62.68 and shares have never traded that high, so it seems no  one will fight this.   

There are more than 30% of the shares owned or controlled by Haas family trusts and they have indicated their support of the merger.  Rounding up the other votes should be easy at this point.

Jon C. Ogg
July 10, 2008

Here were Cramer’s TOP 9 STOCKS FOR 2007, with a call broken down for each one.  Borat would say HI FIVE on some and NOT SO NICE on others, as would be expected.  Cramer’s 14,582 year-end DJIA target…..Friday’s close was 13,365.87……although we did hit 14,279.96 on OCT11, 2007.  Cramer also gave a batch of price targets on most of theDJIA components:

• Batch 1 (AA, MO, AIG, AXP, BA, T)
• Batch 2 (CAT, C, KO, DD, XOM, GE)
• Batch 3 (MMM, GM, HPQ, HON, HD, INTC, AMD, SHLD)

Cramer’s Stock Picks FOR 5-YEARS OUT:

• Cramer’s First Pick For Five Years Out: First Solar (FSLR, SPWR)
• Cramer’s Second Pick For Five Years Out: MedcoHealth (MHS)
• Cramer’s Third Pick For Five Years Out: Transocean (RIG)

SOME LISTS: His list of recession proof stocks compared to ours.  We are updating our
Defensive Stocks For The First Half Of 2008" currently.  Cramer gave a huge list of companies he expects to benefit from the alternative energy traders (SGR, FWLT, BWA, OMG, FSLR, FTEK, WFR, TTEK, ZOLT, BP, SPWR, CY, CPST, ITRI)… Jim Cramer pondered which US companies China would want to acquire, about 3 months before sovereign funds started buying into US companies.  Cramer’s mortgage winners and losers…… Here were his MAJOR BULL MARKET STOCK PICKS(MHS, CVS, AGN, CELG, GENZ, CEPH, RIG, HAL, EMR, CAT, CMI, UTX, KO,PEP, CL, GS, SKS, VFC, UNP, CSX, BA), some of which are DJIAcomponents.  Cramer produced a "MUST OWN" list of stocks, many of whichare up significantly and some are down (WHR, BDK, ATI, BGC, HON, ASD, JCI, MDR, FWLT, CAT, TEX, DE, QCOM)

Cramer spent lots of time on International stocks that most US investors might not cover on their own.  He made a big call on Mercadolibre (MELI) (also BIDU, GOOG) with some emphasis on buying immediately, right before it made a huge run up.  Cramer’s Hidden Video Game Investment Perfect World (PWRD, ATVI, ERTS, VIA) was one he said could run more than 50% for 2008.  Cramer made 5 TOP CHINESE PICKS (CEO, CHL, SSW, FMCN, BIDU, GMR).  We’ll see in 2008 if any of his Canadian OIL TRUSTS get acquired in 2008 (BTE, CNE, PGH, PVX, PWE, AAV, GDI).  Cramer also went over his top picks from Europe for American investors (TOT, SI, ABB, PHG, BF)

ON TECHNOLOGY:  Cramer’s NEW HORSEMEN OF TECH…. will the list change in 2008???  Did Cramer Say $1,000.00 on Google, Or Is It $600.00? That was in May 2007.  Cramer Gave Monster Price targets to Baidu.com (BIDU, GOOG).. will these targets change in 2008? Cramer was very positive on all the GPS stocks,although we’d expect that Cramer will change his tune in 2008 now thatthe holiday madness is behind us (GRMN, UA, CROX, NVT, TRMB, SIRF).

Would it be fair not to include the Barron’s attack on Cramer from summer for those of you that criticize his every word?

ON WARREN BUFFETT…. Cramer noted that BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT in Canada may be the next Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK/A) NYSE: BAM). Cramer reviewed 10 Warren Buffett stocks for analysis and then reviewed 10 More Warren Buffett stocks:

• Stock Tickers: BRK/A, BNI, KO, PG, WMT, USG, AXP, WFC, MCO, JNJ, COP
• Stock Tickers: BRK/A, UNP, USB, MTB, ASD, NSC, WLP, UNH, IR, HRB

Will his buyout of ALCOA (AA) prediction come true in 2008??? Cramer gave a list of stocks that had bought back so much stock that they might be taking themselves private.

Join our free email distribution list for other Cramer calls or for updates we send out regarding IPO’s, spin-offs, restructuring, reorganization, activist investors and more.

Happy New Years from the 247WallSt.com team!

Jon C. Ogg
December 31, 2007

Jon C. Ogg
July 18, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Jon C. Ogg
July 17, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

It is always interesting to see how short sellers treat shares of stocks that are undergoing a spin-off, a restructuring, or an organizational change.  Frequently you see large changes upand down as shareholder initiatives such as a spin-off, a corporate break-up, a questionable acquisition breaking apart, or a recapitalization can affect the street perception.  These also often take months or longer to come to fruition.  These are not all of the restructurings and spin-offs in NYSE-listed stocks, but these are a sample of the more watched deals.

Those with increased short selling…..

Tyco International (TYC), as it gets closer to its near-forever break-up into 3 units next week.  Tyco short interest grew from 20.89 million in May to 21.81 million in June.  Short sellers must not be seeing value just like we don’t.

Morgan Stanley (MS) as it gets ready to dump the poorest image image credit card in the country, Discover Card.  Morgan Stanley saw a 9% gain from May’s 10.2 million shares in the short interest grow to 11.16 million shares.

Ford (F), which is likely selling two units of Rover and Jaguar and might sell its finance business.  Ford saw a huge jump in short selling from 208.8 million in May to 214.1 million in June.  Ford shares are actually up 50% from the 52-week lows. believe it or not.

Cypress Semiconductor (CY) as some recent hope has come out for the company to unlock more value by unloading more of its holdings in SunPower Corp. (SPWR).  CY shares have seen an increased short selling from 13.89 million in May to 15.495 million in June, a gain of 10.3%.

Tribune (TRB) now that the Sam Zell privatization pilfering is closer.  The 6.1 million shares in May has grown to 6.88 million shares, a gain of more than 10% in short selling.

Kraft (KFT) and Altria (MO), now that the Kraft (KFT) spin-out has finally occurred and some more time has passed on the calendar.  MO saw a drop of 11% from 53.2 million shares down to 47.2 million shares, which could have been expected; and you saw the inverse move in KFT with may’s short interest of 32.14 million shares growing to 39.2 million shares in June.

Hillenbrand (HB) as it gets ready to split the medical products and beds from the casket unit.  Hillenbrand saw May’s short interest of 1.43 million shares grow 2% to 1.459 million shares in June.

The decliners….Not as active as the increases…..

American Standard (ASD), after its spin-off of WABCO. ASD saw a drop in its short short interest of 30% from 7.46 million shares down to 5.15 million shares in June.

EMC (EMC) as the company is closer to the spin-off date for VMWare, which is expected to be a hot IPO or spin-off issue.  EMC short interest was actually a decline of 6.5% from 38.93 million in May to 36.37 million in June.

Dow Jones (DJ) saw a drop in its shares in the short interest with May’s 5.78 million shares drop down to 4.94 million shares as financial betters didn’t want to increase their bets that the company would stay private.

Alcoa (AA), as prey or bait? Short sellers don’t want to find out.  May’s 16.8 million shares in the short interest fell to 14.68 million shares in June.

Weyerhaeuser (WY) saw its 9.16 million shares in its short interest drop to 7.76 million as investors are still thinking the value will unlock as a potential break-up, REIT-Conversion, or asset sales.

Jon C. Ogg
June 22, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

It is always interesting to see how Wall Street bets with or against Warren Buffett’s stock holdings.  These are among the most recent holdings of the great Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A-NYSE) and you’ll be able to see how there was more of an increase in short selling in the Buffett holdings.  Keep in mind that by now many of these will no longer be current holdings because these public company holdings change from quarter to quarter, and for that matter there will be newer holdings that are not included in here.

Company        (TICKER)        JUNE     MAY    CHANGE
Burlington Northern (BNI)     6.24M    6.19M    +0.7%
Procter & Gamble (PG)         19.35M   14.2M    +36%   
American Express (AXP)       23.5M     21.6M    +8.9%
Wells Fargo (WFC)                 51.8M    35.9M    +44%
Moody’s (MCO)                          18M      17.5M    +3.3%
ConocoPhillips (COP)           21.38M  17.37M  +23%
Union Pacific (UNP)                4.5M       4.4M      +1.9%
Anheuser-Busch (BUD)         9.81M     6.79M    +44%
US Bancorp (USB)                  35.4M     25.2M    +40%
Wellpoint (WLP)                       5.62M     5.3M       +5.7%       
UnitedHealth (UNH)                9.7M      8.94M      +8.5%   
Ingersoll-Rand (IR)                 5.11M    3.31M       +54%
H&R Block (HRB)                    20.3M    23.3M       -12.7%
Coca-Cola (KO)                      20.19M   27.8M       -27%
Wal-Mart (WMT)                        37.1M    38.1M       -2.5%
USG (USG)                              14.97M   16.05M      -6.7%
SunTrust Banks (STI)             7.42M      7.94M       -6.5%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)    15.37M    16.1M       -4.8%
M&T Bank (MTB)                      1.69M      1.93M       -12.7%
American Standard (ASD)      5.15M     7.46M       -30%   
Norfolk Southern (NSC)          4.7M       5.47M       -14%

As a reminder, last night Jim Cramer reviewed some of the Buffett holdings as well with an opinion about piggybacking on each of these.  Here is the critique Cramer gave for stock tickers UNP, USB, MTB, ASD, NSC, WLP, UNH, IR, HRB  and here is the critique he gave for stock tickers BNI, KO, PG, WMT, USG, AXP, WFC, MCO, JNJ, COP.

Jon C. Ogg
June 22, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

On CNBC’s Mad Money tonight, Jim Cramer reviewed stock picks from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A) to what is good in there and what isn’t.  He already gave 10 other picks earlier, and here is his second list of reviews for Buffet’s picks:

Union Pacific (UNP)…Cramer loves it, even after the run he thinks the rail company can make you money.

US Bancorp (USB)….Cramer thinks it’s a serious buy for the high-yield and the balance sheet.

M&T Bank (MTB)….Cramer likes financials, but he doesn’t like this one because of the subprime contagion when you can buy a better bank now.

American Standard (ASD)….Cramer likes it because the break-up could yield $15 upside.

Norfolk Southern (NSC)….Cramer likes this rail pick too, although probably as third of the rail stocks.

Wellpoint (WLP)…Cramer thinks it is the best healthcare  cost containment in the sector and he likes it.

UnitedHealth (UNH)….Cramer owns it and thinks it WAS a best of breed and now the cheapest in the group.

Ingersoll-Rand (IR)….Cramer said its buyback was great and it’s the best of its kind.

H&R Block (HRB)….Cramer said it deserves to go lower and he doesn’t know what Buffett was thinking because of the problems inside it.

Jon C. Ogg
June 21, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in any of the companies he covers.

Jon C. Ogg
May 21, 2007

Last month we all found out that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway decided to take a ride on the Reading by investing in Burlington Northern (BNI-NYSE).  He also said that he had invested in two others, and now we know the holdings out of today’s larger filing.  Here are the positions noted in the filing.

Here is a full list out of the SEC FILING:

Here are the rail positions: Burlington Northern (BNI), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP).

American Express (AXP), American Standard (ASD), Ameriprise, Anheuser Busch (BUD), H&R Block (HRB),  Coca Cola (KO), Comdisco, ConocoPhillips (COP), Costco (COST), First Data (FDC), Gannett (GCI), General Electric (GE), Home Depot (HD), Ingersoll Rand (IR), Iron Mountain (IRM), J&J (JNJ), Lowe’s (LOW), M&T Bank (MTB), Moody’s (MCO), Nike (NKE),  PetroChina (PTR), Pier 1 Imports (PIR), P&G (PG),  Sanofi Aventis (SNY), Servicemaster (SVM), Sun Trust Banks (STI), Torchmark, Tyco International (TYC), US Bancorp (USB), USG Corp (USG), United Parcel Service (UPS), United Health group (UNH), Wal-Mart (WMT), Washington Post (WPO), Wells Fargo (WFC), Wellpoint (WLP), Wesco, Western Union (WU)

Jon C. Ogg
May 15, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC Jim Cramer addressed the opportunity created by the big down day.  He thinks some stocks are so loved that hedge funds and mutual funds just keep buying.  These funds can’t buy what they want all at once any longer, so they just keep buying and then the smaller funds jump on board.  The other change is that the companies are shrinking because of buybacks.  On days like today they sold off and that’s an opportunity for you to buy.  The floats on these are small enough that they almost trade like small cap stocks.  He has a dozen of these stocks:

Whirlpool (WHR), Black & Decker (BDK), Allegheny Tech (ATI), General Cable (BGC), Honeywell (HON), American Standard (ASD), Johnson Controls (JCI), McDermott (MDR), Foster Wheeler (FWLT), Caterpillar (CAT) and Terex (TEX), and Deere (DE).

This follows up on yesterday’s feature by Cramer where he sort of touted this as a scam on Wall Street in Qualcomm (QCOM).

Jon C. Ogg
May 10, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.