Billionaire investor George Soros said yesterday (Monday) that the U.S. recovery would be a slow one because of all the “basically bankrupt” financial companies impeding it.

Investment banks have gotten fat off the land since 1982, when the great U.S. bull market got its start. Their business has multiplied many-fold, and their earnings have soared into the stratosphere, to a level far higher than any other sector.

Pundits greeted Angela Merkel’s convincing election win in Germany Sunday with a collective yawn. Commentators think the German economy is sluggish and over-dependent on exports, and believe that a change in the German government from a grand coalition to a center-right coalition will make little policy difference.

In their official statement Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers said they “continue to anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the Federal Funds Rate for an extended period.”

The U.S. stock market has run up magnificently in the last six months. The U.S. economy has begun to recover, but its performance has fallen short of expectations.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said it was impossible to tell a bubble while you were in it. Well Alan, I’ve got news for you: We’re in one now.

Over the past year, Brazil has established itself as one of the most exciting markets in the world for investors. Its Bovespa stock index is up 55% this year. And the discovery of the huge new Tupi oil field off its east coast has led some investors to refer to Brazil as the “New Saudi Arabia.”

The stock market is up 51% from its March 9 lows. The leading economic indicators have turned sharply positive, showing gains for each of the last four months. Manufacturing is on the rebound. And banks are promising to pay record bonuses, as their earnings have rebounded.

When it comes to Japan, political change should translate into long-term profits for global investors.