Government inspector general pegs maximum bailout bill… almost double annual U.S. GDP… Marc Faber on the future of the U.S. economy and an outlook for the S&P… A 30-second roundup of the Investment Symposium’s first day… buys, sells and trends you can’t miss… Pension funds in peril… America’s two largest announce $100 billion loss, more to come… Frank Holmes on the three most important value drivers of a gold mining stock…

CIT dodges bullet, others report super-sized earnings… are banks really on the mend? Greg Guenther with a safe way to play the volatile biotech sector… California finally plugs its budget gap… with taxes, debt and accounting fraud… Chris Mayer on a rising dilemma for miners of the world… Plus, even the dead can’t dodge the recession… backyard burials booming…

Idiocracy in action: Congress blocks bill to audit the Fed… No surprise: American loan defaults hit record… Surprise: Could Canadians be next? China takes another “World’s No. 1” from U.S. … Dan Denning, Byron King on recent triumph and tragedy in the oil patch…

It will be a tragic event when US Dollar finally cracks – an event that will affect citizens across the world. But it will be especially dreadful for long-spoiled and unaware Americans. Your financial future is at stake. Do not be complacent.

Ten More to Be Charged in Madoff Case; British GDP Suffers Highest Drop in Half a Century; Housing Price Drops Slowing; GM Attempts to Emerge From Bankruptcy; Corn & Soybean Planting Up; AIG Gets Government-Backed Board; Japanese Memory Maker Gets Bailout

The biggest financial reform of our generation… The 5 dives headfirst into Obama’s new plan… Stock market sell-off pauses… Wayne Burritt with the next short-term technical target… Dollar dips on new government reform… Chris Mayer on the near certainty of inflation… Paul Van Eden packs some sober advice on gold… Plus, feeling frustrated by the Fed’s free reign? A cause worth supporting, below…

Stocks are stalling. So says today’s Financial Times… “Major equity markets came under pressure yesterday and initial gains for commodities eroded as investors cast doubt over the global economic outlook.”

A total of 10 U.S. banks have now repaid the preference share investments in them made by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), thus demonstrating that the government thinks they are sound. A number of others have yet to pay back that federal infusion. For investors, the question is this: Where do we go from here?

One way to hedge against inflation is to buy gold and silver. This is what hedge fund legends John Paulson and David Einhorn are doing. As Justice Litle pointed out last week in Taipan Daily , Paulson and Einhorn “have gold and gold stock positions running well into the multi-billions for their respective funds.”

Washington’s latest bailout scheme will rob you blind for years to come.  I object! Sometimes the stuff we talk about here is pretty academic. This country is up… that sector is down. Sometimes it’s all about a specific stock idea that you might care to invest in.