• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Basic Materials

Cramer: Investing in Europe May Not Be Such a Bad Idea

I am not calling for the end of the Trump trade, but Europe looks good.
By JIM CRAMER
Mar 22, 2017 | 06:00 AM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: PPG, AKZOY, KHC, UL, DEO, SAN, DB, RIO, BP

Suddenly, with two giant, albeit rejected takeover bids, Europe doesn't seem all that bad as a place to invest. Suddenly, the euro seems a little more stable. Suddenly the politics of Europe, after the incredibly destabilizing FBI revelations and the internecine squabble among Republicans, seem downright placid. And with the downfall of the so-called uber-nationalist party in the Netherlands, perhaps politically, suddenly Europe feels like the good old days when you didn't have to think about who was running the government.

OK, maybe I am biased after spending a few days talking to business leaders and fund managers in London. Perhaps I am dazzled that a staid company like PPG (PPG) would pursue a $24 billion hostile bid for Akzo Nobel (AKZOY) or that Kraft-Heinz (KHC) would be willing to shell out $143 billion for Unilever (UL) , but you have to believe these aren't idle chunks of money thrown around by uninformed individuals.

And you certainly have to believe that politically, even one week from the release of the official Brexit document that Europe's got some stability to it that we, ah, lack for the moment?

Now, I am not calling for the end of the Trump trade. That will go on even if health care isn't repealed and replaced in the next 10 days. Only Comey calling for an indictment really stops the longer-term thesis that has carried this market far.

But let's take the case of Diageo (DEO) . Here's a company that sells liquor all over the world that is then translated into weak pounds. How can that not be more desirable to Kraft-Heinz than Unilever at this point? Why do we insist that Kraft-Heinz has to stick with food? Check out Diageo's chart; Bruce Kamich, our technical analyst, says it could be time to take a big drink.

Or how about Santander (SAN) ? With the hub of London about to be tarnished to some degree -- even as I heard nary a public peep from any banker about how London could be impugned by Brexit -- why shouldn't we be thinking about Spain doing better as a financial hub? Santander has done a lot to be recapitalized in the last few years.

We could go for Deutsche Bank (DB) , too, while the rights trading plays out.

And if you felt that the world was going to be a stronger place, how about a stock like Rio Tinto (RIO) ? You think there will be oil and gas mergers -- assess BP (BP) , which in Kamich's opinion has taken the long way back.

All I am saying -- and Bruce Kamich yesterday did a series of terrific charts about European companies -- is that the money has got to come somewhere. And with Brexit now discounted and with the Dutch elections perhaps emerging as the high mark of what could be called violent nationalism, investing in Europe, buying the stocks of U.K. companies that do small business in the UK -- which is now subject I think to inflationary pressures at home -- may not be such a bad idea.

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust, has no positions in the stocks mentioned.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Financial Services | Basic Materials | Consumer Discretionary | Energy | Consumer Staples | Markets | Economy | Politics | How-to | Jim Cramer | Risk Management | Stocks

More from Basic Materials

This Highly Enriched Options Play Is Anything But Radioactive

Timothy Collins
Apr 13, 2021 1:51 PM EDT

This uranium stock has continually bounced off its 50-day SMA since February.

Remember Palladium? A Close Look at the Other Precious Metal

Bruce Kamich
Apr 8, 2021 11:19 AM EDT

Sometimes the most rewarding trading strategies are found away from all the shouting.

Can Cemex Break Out of its Long Base Pattern?

Bruce Kamich
Mar 25, 2021 2:35 PM EDT

Wait for a consolidation pattern before probing the long side.

Shares of Trex Could Fall Further in the Weeks Ahead

Bruce Kamich
Mar 8, 2021 9:50 AM EST

Let's review the charts and indicators.

With Lithium Americas, We're Seeing a 'Trifecta of Triggers'

Timothy Collins
Feb 8, 2021 1:30 PM EST

It's hard to call a stock that doubled over the past six months oversold, but that is indeed what we see.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 04:17 PM EDT REAL MONEY

    Wednesday on Real Money Pro

    Get-rich quick schemes offer little more than pipe...
  • 11:09 AM EDT GARY BERMAN

    S&P Futures

    FIBOCALL: The S&P futures was off 1.5 %... ...
  • 07:47 AM EDT CHRIS VERSACE

    Positive News for a Cannabis Play

    Good news for this name in the Stocks Under $10 po...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login