Worst Jim Cramer Predictions

As 2007 gave way to 2008, bombastic Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer peered into his crystal ball and offered some predictions for the financial markets in 2008.

Co-founder of TheStreet.com and star of Mad Money on CNBC, Cramer is never shy with an opinion. That doesn’t mean he is always right. Of the 10 prognostications he offered for the current year, a few have proved to be somewhat off the mark.

For instance:

1. Goldman Sachs makes more money than every other brokerage firm in New York combined and finishes the year at $300 a share. (On Sept. 21, Goldman and Morgan Stanley, the last major American investment banks, asked the Federal Reserve to change their status to bank holding companies. By early November, Goldman’s stock had slumped to about $70 per share.)

2. Oil goes much higher, maybe as much as $125 a barrel. (Yes and no. In July, oil peaked at about $147 per barrel. The subsequent economic downturn cut that price in half.)

6. (Google) stock roars to $1,000. I like Google enough to put this one at 7 to 1. If you use an $800 target, make it 5 to 2. (Google stock dropped nearly $400 a share between Jan. 2 and Nov. 11, struggling to stay above the $300 mark.)

7. European companies, eyeing the weak dollar, snap up New York real estate, and offer to buy Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan. ( Bank of America bought a failing Merrill Lynch, while JPMorgan snatched up Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual at fire sale prices.)

9. The New York Times…stock drops to $10. To save the world’s greatest newspaper, the company accepts a buyout offer from Mayor Michael Bloomberg at $20 a share. (No sale just yet, but Times stock dipped below $9 a share in the first part of November. Then again, picking against a newspaper these days isn’t much of a gamble.)