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.

There’s a lot of anger towards President Obama. Most of it is misplaced. Obama is a slick young politician with high approval ratings. He replaced a president who had 90% approval ratings at one point – the highest of any president in history. Both have sacrificed the free-market principles America was founded on. Partisan politics mean nothing when both parties insist on spending the country into oblivion.

Now that the results of the U.S. bank stress tests are finally in the books, the extent of the capital shortfalls are known and – in many cases – are actually being addressed.

China’s economy expanded by 6.1% in the first quarter, its slowest pace in at least a decade. But many economists believe this will be the low point for the world’s third-largest economy, as signs of recovery are already starting to emerge.

Finance officials from Beijing in Moscow on Thursday held a videoconference to discuss the creation of a “supra-national reserve currency,” the latest evidence of the support China is getting from developing countries as it seeks to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s main reserve currency.

MasterCard Posts 4Q Profit; Buffet’s Berkshire Investing in Swiss Re; Rogers Staying Out of Russia; Ford in Volvo Talks with Geely Auto; Louis Vuitton Misses on Earnings; Brown Refuses to Ban Bonuses; Mortgage Rates Jump; Retail Trade Group Wants Tax Holidays

President Barack Obama’s $825 billion stimulus plan heads to the floor of the House of Representatives this week, with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, saying many in his party will vote against the package unless significant changes are made.

Yen continues to kick!  Jim Rogers disses sterling…  China’s 4th QTR GDP…  Singapore announces stimulus… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

With the U.S. credit markets in lockdown mode, a whipsaw stock market that keeps anyone from getting too comfortable, a banking sector in chaos and a recession that clearly won’t be ending any time soon, U.S. dealmakers are looking at a market for mergers and acquisitions that’s in a virtual deep freeze.

Currencies in a tight trading range… Bank of Canada follows the Fed…  Look who’s Talking Gold…  Adding up the spending… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!