Bloomberg's iPhone app a window onto Wall Street

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The world of finance is sober, serious business, ever more so in a struggling through economy. Bloomberg's freeware application for the iPhone and iPod Touch gives information-seekers a clear view of the moment with financial headlines, a ticker finder, and a fleshed-out index of world markets.

An appealing dark-themed application, Bloomberg contains a read-only newsfeed and statistics on various exchanges in global markets. Highs, lows, and a graph of yearlong performance are displayed for each exchange--further charts and tables are available for industry and stock movers.

To discover individual stock performance, users simply enter the company name into the stock finder, which also keeps a short-term history of your past queries. Even better, entering stocks and your share holdings into the My Stocks folder creates a personalized portfolio you can watch for daily fluctuation.