The Market Has Decided a Recession Is Coming, Says Mad Money’s Jim Cramer

The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, says the market has already decided that the Federal Reserve “will tighten and create a recession no matter what.” Cramer also recently said that we are in a bull market, advising investors to buy the dip.

Jim Cramer on Recession

The host of CNBC’s Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, believes that the market has already decided that the U.S. economy will be in a recession. Cramer is a former hedge fund manager who co-founded Thestreet.com, a financial news and literacy website.

Cramer tweeted Monday:

It does not take too long for this market to go negative. It’s already re-digested Friday’s news and decided that the Fed will tighten and create a recession no matter what.

After a series of 75-basis-point hikes, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points last week. Stocks rallied following the Fed announcement. In addition, new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 517,000 new jobs were added in January and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% from 3.5%, hitting a level not seen since May 1969. However, Cramer noticed that the S&P 500 fell slightly on Monday morning.

Many people are not expecting the U.S. to slide into a recession. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday on ABC’s Good Morning America: “You don’t have a recession when you have 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.” Moreover, global investment bank Goldman Sachs cut the probability of the U.S. entering a recession in the next 12 months from 35% to 25% Monday. “Continued strength in the labor market and early signs of improvement in the business surveys suggest that the risk of a near-term slump has diminished notably,” Goldman Sachs wrote.

‘We’re in a Bull Market’

A number of people pointed out on Twitter that Cramer recently said we are in a bull market. The Mad Money host explained on Jan. 31 that the market’s ability to gain due to strong earnings reports suggests that it has more room to run. In contrast, “Bear market goes the opposite way — stocks open up, then get clobbered and you feel humiliated. Good earnings mean nothing except price target cuts,” Cramer opined, adding:

If we’re in a bull market, and I think we are, you have to prepare yourself … We have to prepare for the down days now because in a bull market, there are buying opportunities.

He concluded: “Even if it doesn’t reverse today, well then, there’s always tomorrow, so don’t think of betting against it.”

Do you agree with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer? Let us know in the comments section below.