Mobile App Index: 65.74 (3.41)% WE 5/11/12

One could argue at this point that the Mobile Application Index has gone sideways since the end of October 2011.  Will the other major indices follow?  It would appear so -- as their downward trend began at the beginning of April.  With news about another chapter in the book of financial gambling failures to the tune of $1B then $2B and possibly $3B (sound familiar?) -- including the 9.3% loss of market cap this is ultimately a $17B decline -- from the likes of JPMorgan Chase combined with the Merkozi "divorce," :-) the unrest in European countries like Greece, it appears that progress remains somewhat inconsistent. The decline of the index did slow this week, but not as much as expected.  Since we are so close, my prediction is that we will set a new low for the Mobile Application Index next week.

Forbes on the JP Morgan blunder (this links to the article) emphasis added:
"In any case, by late March, people started getting antsy about the economy and the index jumped — making the hedge funds happy. According to the Times, JPMorgan’s first quarter losses were not big enough to make the bank acknowledge the criticism but thanks to media coverage, the index spiked — and so did JPMorgan’s potential insurance claims if the companies in the index went bankrupt.

This matters because JPMorgan has been fighting the sort of regulation that would block such reckless gambles. Ultimately, people who deposit money in a bank want the money kept safe. And as long as the government has enough money to cover all the losses from a collapsed banking system, FDIC insurance protects depositors in the event that bets like JPMorgan’s send a bank down the tubes.

But what caused JPMorgan to lose money was its highly speculative trade against hedge funds that was being made artificially profitable by using JPMorgan’s capital — your deposits — to push down the price of insurance below the so-called free market rate.

Given the $23.7 trillion in cash and guarantees used to bail out financial institutions in 2008, depositors and taxpayers have good reason to question the kind of “free market” that Wall Street’s $5 billion in Washington campaign contributions and lobbying fees has bought."

This past week P did not announce earnings -- that will be on 5.23. AUGT did announce earnings, which were received negatively. VELT is coming up next ...

Winners: EPOC 6.27%, GLUU 5.97%, P 5.83%, VOCS 5.19%

Losers: VELT (20.11)%, AUGT (7.73)%, COBR (4.44)%, COOL (3.54)%, NCTY (2.36)%, ROVI (2.01)%

Comparison: DJI (1.67)%, Nasdaq (0.76)%, S&P 500 (1.14)%, EEM (3.35)%, FONE (1.75)%

Earnings: VELT 5/15 4:30pm ET, P 5/23 5pm ET