It’s been in the news the last couple of days. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) bankers are headed for record bonuses. The Financial Times reports that bankers’ pay in the London market is already right back to 2007 levels and going higher. Banks are poaching each others’ best staff, and are offering huge pay packages to staffers willing to make the leap.

Plenty of punters and commentators thought things were getting better in 1929, too. And to prove it, one diligent blogger has started summarizing the news from the Wall Street Journal form the corresponding day in 1930 (one year after the crash – get it?).

We have no shame here at Notes. When legendary underground investor Jim Rogers makes a call we listen. And we listen good.  Rogers correctly predicted the commodities rally in 1999. And between 1970 and 1980, when he partnered with George Soros at the Quantum Fund, his portfolio made gains of 4,200% when the S&P 500 rose by 47%. To say he’s a legend is an understatement.

Euro trades past 1.42…  Geithner make a promise to China…  Central Bank meetings this week…  Canada’s Fin Min, speaks… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Currencies consolidate…  Brazil posts a surplus!  Dr. Marc Faber speaks…  High yielders rule! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Why invest in commodities? Two and a half billion people are going to live like Americans in the next 20 years and prices go up over time, that’s the nature of inflation.

For millennia, gold has been a barometer of financial health and the ultimate store of value. It’s long been considered the ultimate safe haven investment when all else fails, or when economic conditions seem too good to be true.

Hundreds of economic and stock-market indicators exist, but many won’t be relevant – even if you could decipher them.  Here are a few stock market indicators that are both reliable and readable to everyday investors.

U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as investors bet the U.S. economic downturn may be easing following reports on fourth-quarter economic growth and weekly jobless claims that landed roughly in line with expectations.

Despite lower industry profits in the quarter, this leading petroleum product refiners’ margin increased 51%. Katherine Schildt of Investment U says that, “Tesoro represents a great way to keep your portfolio diversified with exposure to the energy sector.”