Jim Cramer says he remains confident in US economy despite rising Covid delta

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Wednesday that he remains confident in the U.S. economy in the coming months despite the significant increase in Covid delta infections recently.

As Wall Street seeks to understand the strength of the recovery, the host of “Mad Money” said he was focusing on the quarterly results of real estate investment trusts and the executives of those companies. Other areas, such as housing and the auto market, are currently too distorted, Cramer said.

“[REITS] have a lot at stake. They and their tenants need to make not short term commitments based on Covid … but longer term commitments based on everything, and these companies tell us they are going to pedal to metal in right now in terms of registrations, ”Cramer said.

“It’s one of the best environments in history for commercial real estate. From Kimco for malls, Tangier for outlet stores, Simon Property for malls, Federal Realty for malls, eh well, everything is fine, ”Cramer said, noting Federal Realty just raised its 2021 profit forecast on Wednesday night when releasing second quarter results.

Cramer also pointed to comments earlier this week from Simon Property Group CEO David Simon, who told analysts that retail sales at his properties in June were on par with June 2019 levels.

“When Tangier, the outlet company, announced yesterday that it felt pressured to significantly increase its forecast. Again, you don’t exceed the forecast for the full year unless you are confident, ”Cramer said.

The aforementioned REITs all deal with different types of tenants, Cramer said, saying it is “encouraging” for investors that management is positive for next year, even at a time when others are uncertain about the economic outlook. . Consumer spending represents a large portion of US economic activity.

“When so many different types of retailers predict a healthy consumer environment that grows stronger, not day by day, week, month and year, who are we to say they’re wrong? Cramer said. “I know these Covid numbers are scary… but people who take the virus seriously are already immune and people who don’t take it seriously will not change their behavior even in the midst of a severe outbreak, which means that the economy should end up doing well, if not stronger than we think. ”