Audax Investments

Apple shuts down Palms access to its Itunes shop and that renders Palm less attractive (what will the EU do about that?) .  Steve Jobs mentions that 1.5 billion applications have already been downloaded on the Iphone.  1.5 billion of anything is a large number, and it further augments  Apples’  hold on that market. Even Steve Jobs is surprised by the magnitude of downloads, and tells us openly. I would not discount that lightly and moreover would infer that  Apple should have a very good quarter.  Forecasting is a perilous endeavor, and here we could all use the help of a wise Latina.

 Goldman Sachs numbers are so way superior to JP Morgan’s numbers reported today,  that it makes you appreciate them even further. I would use any weakness in Goldman as a buying opportunity.  The normal negative credit cycle, beyond sub prime,  that comes along with a recession and unemployment is now impacting the banks and explains the weakness in JP Morgan’s performance.

 Of the firms that have reported so far, only Abbot Labs (ABT) and Goldman have had any sales growth whatsoever. The rest are still reporting slower sales, and at best exceed low earnings expectations.  It is still early in the reporting cycle, though I have not heard yet of any positive guidance with the exception of Intel. The market is projecting improvement, and given huge liquidity on the sidelines, on any confirming positive sign it takes off aggressively.  To a certain extend we are asked to invest blindly, before the economy actually turns around, and that requires a suspension of disbelief.