TOPWRAP 7-Obama hails US stimulus; Goldman results cheer

(For full financial crisis coverage click on [nCRISIS])

* Obama: infrastructure stimulus "ahead of schedule"

* Goldman Sachs posts better-than-expected Q1 earnings

* U.S. to host G7 and G20 meetings this month

* China stronger than expected, deflation looms in Japan

* U.S. shares rebound, focus on banks (Recasts with Goldman results; adds U.S. market close)

By John O'Callaghan

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to stimulate the economy with infrastructure projects are "ahead of schedule and under budget," President Barack Obama said on Monday, while Goldman Sachs' earnings offered hope of a recovery in banking.

"The market is cheering, not so much that the banks are on the mend but that they are not going to die," said Les Satlow, portfolio manager of Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts. "My view is that a key crisis phase of this economic downturn is behind us."

Obama will give a "major" speech on the economy on Tuesday, the White House said. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also due to speak about the financial crisis on Tuesday.

After the closing bell, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) beat forecasts by posting first-quarter earnings of $1.66 billion, helped by strong trading revenue.

Goldman said it planned to raise $5 billion of common shares and use the proceeds, plus additional funds, to repay the $10 billion of capital it got from the U.S. government under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. [nN13387020]

Despite the encouraging U.S. developments, data from China, Japan and India offered mixed signals as investors and analysts remained concerned about how quickly the global economy can bounce back.

Further evidence of the state of the U.S. economy will come this week with retail sales, housing and industrial production data. But some analysts see little hope of a meaningful rebound.

"I'm still very pessimistic about the prospects of any enduring recovery," said T.J. Marta, chief market strategist at Marta on the Markets, in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

MORE G7 MEETINGS