Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
House Leaders Scramble for Votes for a Plan With New Inducements - NY Times
Wells Fargo acquiring Wachovia for $15.1 billion - AP
Gold rush as investors pile into bars - Financial Times($)
Paulson-Bernanke Steps Created `Big Ripples,' Leading to Rescue - Bloomberg
Bailouts Don't Address the Real Problem - Voice of San Diego
Agency’s ’04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk - NY Times

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil Heads for Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2004 - Bloomberg
Gold recoups as dollar rally pauses, eyes on U.S. - Reuters
How does recent stock market volatility stack up historically? - MarketWatch
Retirement savings: Regroup or ride it out? - USA Today

ECONOMY
U.S. Payrolls Fell by 159,000; Jobless Rate at 6.1% - Bloomberg
Colleges scramble as investment fund freezes - AP
Tighter credit begins to hit manufacturing, jobs - AP

HOUSING
Manhattan apartment sales drop further - AP
Good-Credit Borrowers A Growing Problem for Servicers - HousingWire
AIG subsidiary parties in style in OC, two weeks after bailout - O.C. Register
Majority of Renters Have No Plans to Purchase Home - HousingWire

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Fed's Bullard Says Rate Cut Now May Not Be `Right' - Bloomberg
As Economy Weakens, Federal Reserve Officials Consider Lowering Rates - NY Times
The Fed to the rescue? Don't bank on it - Globe & Mail
Paulson's Reasons for Delaying Day of Reckoning - Bloomberg

INTERNATIONAL
Greece joins bailout stampede as Germany vows no blank cheques - Telegraph
Canada is not the U.S. - Globe & Mail
China Could Be Dragged Down by Wall Street Crash - Bloomberg
Bank deposit guarantee raised to £50,000 after Brown bows to pressure - Times Online
Europe's inflation fighters turn gaze to rate cuts - Globe & Mail

INTERESTING
Animal Instincts: Main Street Seeks Revenge on Wall Street - LiveScience
What a show: Cigarette sets off fireworks in car - AP