Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Credit expenses lead to $2.3 billion loss for Fannie - MarketWatch
2 Banks Buying Back $17 billion in Securities - NY Times
Governments cause the credit crisis, but capitalism gets the blame - Telegraph
8 who saw the crisis coming and 8 who didn't - Fortune
Financial Cowboys Need to Be Lassoed, Corralled - Bloomberg

MARKETS
Oil dips on stronger dollar - AP
Euro Falls the Most in 4 Years on Reduced Bets for Higher Rate - Bloomberg
Gold falls 1 pct to eight-week low on firm dollar - Reuters
Go for Gold: Invest now to make money - Commodity Online
Takeover targets: Ten miners to watch - Globe & Mail

ECONOMY
U.S. Productivity Increases 2.2%, Labor Costs Cool - Bloomberg
Who Can Fix the American Economy? - ABC News
Consumer credit jumps at fastest rate in 7 months - MarketWatch

HOUSING
Foreclosure refugees skipping apartments - O.C. Register
Closing Costs Rise 14 Percent This Year - Housing Wire
Home Equity Freeze Could Back Fire on Trigger Happy Lenders - LoanSafe
Home values propped up by wishful thinking - MarketWatch

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Timeline: Global credit crunch - BBC
Money Market `Plagued' by Libor That Fed Can't Reduce - Bloomberg
Is the Fed's do-nothing way a good thing, or a bad one? - Post Dispatch

INTERNATIONAL
Italy's Economy Unexpectedly Shrinks; Nears Recession - Bloomberg
UK repossessions soar 50pc to 12-year high - Telegraph
Venezuela's inflation hits 33.7 percent in July - AP
Canada posts biggest job loss in 17 years - Globe & Mail
Euro bank's hawks take a pounding - Telegraph
Value of pound hits 17-month low against dollar - Guardian
Mexico's annual inflation hits 3-year high in July - AP

INTERESTING
Are cell phones the next cigarettes? - MSN Money
Pop Goes Mr. Bubble - NY Times Dealbook