Note:    During the two week period, 8/11-8/22, Jim Cramer's 6pm show has been replaced by Olympic games' coverage. Therefore, CNBC is airing special abbreviated half hour segments, called "Mad Money At The Half"... as well as the normal Mad Money, full-hour shows, at 11pm.

Given this later schedule of only an 11pm showing (vs. the normal 6pm showing), all full show recaps will be posted as soon as possible on the following business mornings.

Beginning of the 1:30pm show comments...

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'Pulse of the Market'...

Jim:   Again, we can see the industrials, the big heavy guys going up... Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF), iron company... It looks like the steels are trying to make a comeback... I don't want to bank that... I think it's a contrary rally... Mining companies making a comeback... again, contrary... Gap Inc. (GPS), retailers can't get out of their way... they already had a gigantic move off of the bottom... Goldman Sachs (GS*), what can I say?... trying to stay here... obviously the quarter is just a horror show... Freddie Mac (FRE), can you give me a break, Freddie Mac?... Can you disappear already?... You're driving me crazy... Tenaris SA (TS), boy the oil, oil service... Even Hess Corporation (HES), lowly worm HES is up... Progress is not this market's most important product, clearly...

So, we're smack in the middle of no-mans land waiting for Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) to be confiscated by the US government... and I'm watching Lehman (LEH) twist slowly in the wind...

It's hard to think there's anything positive at all, isn't it?... spike in oil, proverbial expired feline bounce, shutting off the oxygen to tech... that tenuous thread won't break... Ridiculous airline rally, obviously stopped it right in its track... never recommended an airline ever on Mad Money, not going to start now...

The oils go up just enough to want to go out of them and retail is giving back those gasoline gains... Hey look, I think that it is important to recognize one, how thin this market is... man everybody got in in like 17 seconds today... and people got seats on the train... nobody is around... so every move is exaggerated... and second, the market is responding only to binary commodity action... Commodities up, send everything else down... commodities down, send everything else up, except for, of course, Fannie and Freddie, which are disasters... We've got no leadership... no leadership whatsoever...

I think there could be leadership lurking around the fall corner, though... And again, it's tech, I'm no Pollyanna... Think of the litany... Cisco (CSCO) says things are better, Dell Inc. (DELL) says things are better... Apple (AAPL) says things are better... Intel (INTC) says things are better... Research In Motion (RIMM) says it... QualComm Inc. (QCOM*) says it... Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) says it... Amazon.com (AMZN) says it... EMC (EMC) says it... Hey, what's not to like, right?... This is the group to watch... It is the group that can break the tie between commodities and non-commodities... But I come back again, careful, thin market... motivated bears... free fire zone financials... laissez faire academics at the SEC... thanks a lot... Toxic combo... The NASDAQ is sure not in agreement with me, at least in this momentary analysis... That's why I'm going to Scott Wapner at the NASDAQ...

Jim's comments AFTER the conversation with Scott Wapner:     Scott Wapner, thank you for not making up a thesis about why the action is occurring... there are so many days where that is the case... very good to be candid... Got the hair cut today, got them all cut... you think I can resist these kinds of jokes?... The talk of the barber shop was entirely how bad the market is... Same as the coffee stand... the coffee didn't even taste good... Even construction workers... as my friend buddy pal trying to get you into the nighttime Mad Money would say, I'm talking about Bob Dylan... You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows... To me, it remains business as usual... a little cash, a little diversification, a little ingenuity, and you're going to survive this period... That's all we're going to do... This is capital preservation period, not appreciation period...

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Jim's comments BEFORE the interview:
I am still reiterating... We bottomed July 15th... One of the reasons why we did is because of our first guest... Hey we got a star studded show today... It's just a cliché... Anyway during this daytime show we had a company that reported a monster good quarter, helping to turn the bank stocks around, which in turn, then, helped by a peak in oil, put a bottom in most of the stocks I follow... That's why I am thrilled to welcome the one bank guy that seems to have anything positive to say... It's John Stumpf, Wells Fargo (WFC)'s President and CEO, welcome back to the show John, good to see you..

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Jim's comments AFTER the interview:
Excellent... after the break we're going to have John Stumpf stay with us because he is the most important man of the hour, I believe... John Stumpf, WFC's President and CEO, on Mad Money at the Half... thank you for sticking around...

Jim continued after the break...  Regular viewers of the regular Mad Money know that we've been saying that WFC is one of the fortress four, one of the banks that is actually worth investing in in a sector that we cannot stand... Which is why we're thrilled to be live with John Stumpf, WFC's President and CEO...

Jim's final comments AFTER the interview:
John Stumpf, thank you for telling it the way it is... I think you've answered the bears... You are why I think you are the best bank in America... Thank you for joining us, John Stumpf, President and CEO of Wells Fargo (WFC)... good man... These are tough questions... He answered them all... He didn't duck Whitney... He didn't duck Davis... He gave the answers... You be the judge... I think this one is inexpensive, even though it's twice book (value).

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No "Outrage of the Day" today...

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Jim's comments BEFORE the interview:
I think Strahan (referring to now-retired Defensive End, Michael Strahan, of the NFL New York Giants) now wishes he played for the network that broadcasts the Olympics... not those other guys... We keep hearing that the American consumer is tapped out... Really high end, luxury consumer, can they ever go out?... Can they keep the economy moving?... Are affluent consumers tightening their purse strings?

I've got one guy who knows this pulse of this part of the market better than anybody in the country... Jonathan Tisch, Chairman and CEO of Loews Corp. (L), 25 year friend to talk about the high end consumer... Mr. Tisch, how have you been?...

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Jim's comments AFTER the interview:
Okay, Jonathan Tisch, and a great book, by the way... Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough... had you on for that... Great to see you, thank you for your explanation.

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[ End of 1:30 "Mad Money: At The Half" Show Comments ]