Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
U.S. Recession May Have Begun in Last Quarter of 2007 - Bloomberg
GM to cut 15 pct of US, Canadian salaried workers - AP
Oil man Pickens seeks "army" to back energy plan - Reuters
A Hidden Toll on Employment: Cut to Part Time - NY Times
Deutsche Bank writedowns swell beyond $11 billion - Reuters

MARKETS
Gold bounces after slide, softer dollar supports - Reuters
Oil Drops on Speculation U.S. Fuel Demand Will Weaken Further - Bloomberg
'Mountains' of gold & oil deposits in China - Commodity Online

ECONOMY
U.S. jobless claims jump, special factors blamed - Reuters
U.S. Economy Grew Less Than Forecast Last Quarter - Bloomberg
U.S. GDP fell in Q4 2007, first drop since 2001 - Reuters

HOUSING
Mad Men of Washington Cheat Voters on Housing Law - Bloomberg
Mortgage professionals flooding temp agencies - AZ Central
The Homeownership Obsession - Newsweek

FED/TREASURY
Fed Loans to Failed Banks Made Easier by Fannie-Freddie Rescue - Bloomberg
US Federal Reserve and ECB in joint action on emergency bank lending - Times Online
Too little, too late - Asia Times

INTERNATIONAL
Fresh record for euro inflation - BBC
House prices drop 8.1pc, says Nationwide - Telegraph UK
Australian Retail Sales Fall Most in Six Years as Lending Cools - Bloomberg
Spain's Inflated Home Values Infect Mortgage Bonds - Bloomberg
Alistair Darling must not tamper with inflation target, Tim Besley warns - Telegraph UK
U.S. economy to underperform through mid-2009: IMF - Reuters

INTERESTING
Website comment boards bring out the inner vulgarian - LA Times
U.S. beer industry charts stormy economic seas - Reuters