By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Down in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a four-year-old boy managed to grab a beer, walk out his front door and break into a neighboring house to steal Christmas gifts.

True story. But it gets better.

Quantum Fund co-founder George Soros had it right on Monday, when he said the U.S. recovery would be held back by “basically bankrupt” banks and companies.

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.

Kenneth D. Lewis There are many ways to view Kenneth Lewis’ eight-year reign as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) chief executive, but two seem to hold the most landscape.

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.

It was more than a year ago – Sept. 14, 2008 – that Lehman Bros. Holding Co. (OTC: LEHMQ) finally collapsed under the weight of its own bad investments.

The dark cloud of commercial real estate loan defaults is inching closer, threatening to shutter more banks, even as the U.S. Federal Reserve declares the recession to be over.

Hey, the economy is not only recovering…it’s becoming better than ever before!

The U.S. government is starting to see profits from the $750 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), started last year to thwart the financial crisis.