Surprise! Grades Come Early for Banks.

Gulp, the banks will be getting their grades sooner than expected, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times report today, leading off their business coverage. By announcing the details early, the Obama administration could give the markets a much-needed indication that would sort out the strong banks from the weak. The WSJ says that with the move we're heading into a new phase in the banking crisis, one with clear winners and losers. "Within weeks, the stronger banks could emerge free of government shackles and flush with new funds, with weaker ones still reliant on federal largesse. That would transform how investors and the government view the financial sector," the newspaper writes.

The NYT sees it in much the same way. It notes that all 19 major banks subjected to the test are expected to pass but with different marks. But the idea of spoon-feeding the results to the market becomes a moot point now that Goldman Sachs successfully raised $5 billion in new shares to pay off its $10 billion TARP loan. "Goldman’s action has put pressure on other financial institutions to do the same or risk being judged in far worse shape by investors. The administration feared that details on healthier banks would inevitably leak out, leaving weaker banks exposed to speculation and damaging market rumors, possibly making any further bailouts more costly," the newspaper writes.

The WSJ today analyzes Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's latest public address, at Morehouse College in Atlanta yesterday. The newspaper notes that earlier in the day the government had reported worse-than-expected March retail-sales data, and yet Bernanke was upbeat, optimistic even. (It didn't do much good. As the Associated Press reported, the Dow still fell 1.7 percent after three days of gains, with poor retail data acting as the weight.) Bernanke took questions from undergrad students later, all with the cameras rolling. It's not what Bernanke had in mind when he took the job. With an economic crisis steadily worsening, though, the economist has gone on "a public-relations offensive that casts him in the starring role" in an effort to reassure the country the economy is back on track. So far, the Obama administration publicly gives him high marks, but the newspaper wonders whether it will be enough to extend his tenure at the Fed beyond January 2010.

Speaking of uncertain partnerships, eBay has found a solution to its Skype problem. According to BusinessWeek, eBay will cut ties with Skype, spinning off the net telephony provider for an anticipated 2010 IPO. "On its face, the announcement represents a sensible way to unlock the value of a company that's growing rapidly, but has never lived up to the expectations outlined by eBay executives, who shelled out $2.6 billion for Skype in 2005 and later paid an additional $500 million in bonuses," the magazine writes. Or, it could just be a big negotiating ploy as founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis apparently want to buy Skype back from eBay. One area everybody seems to agree on is that a divorce is a good idea. "The only problem with Skype is it’s part of EBay," an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. told Bloomberg. "It’s a marriage made in hell. They will make more money from spinning it out than they ever could by keeping it."

Staying in tech, new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is "preparing a significant round of job cuts" on top of the 2,400 already slated to go, the WSJ reports this morning, citing people in the know. It may come as little surprise. The Web media company has been rocked by the downturn in advertising and had hinted in December that the cuts it was announcing then might not be the last. And now for somewhat more optimistic tech news, Intel yesterday called a bottom on the eroding PC market. Intel CEO Paul Ortellini says the industry is finally "returning to normal seasonal patterns," BusinessWeek writes.

And, finally, there's a sign today that at least some of Bernie Madoff's investments are paying off. Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee selling off Madoff assets to pay back his duped clients, scored $7,500 for a pair of Madoff's tickets to the New York Mets season opener at Citi Field on Monday

—well above the face value. According to the WSJ, a judge will allow Picard to auction off the whole season's worth of tickets, which could bring in another $80,000.