Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Citigroup eyes options, including merger - Reuters
Treasuries Fall, Eroding Biggest Weekly Gain Since 1987 Crash - Bloomberg
Why oil rich Sheiks are turning to Gold - Commodity Online
How deep a recession? - Christian Science Monitor
US global dominance 'set to wane' - BBC
No Prince Bounce for Citigroup - DeakBook
Help for mounting 401(k) losses - CNN/Money

MARKETS/INVESTING
Gold Rises a Second Day in London as Dollar Falls, Oil Gains - Bloomberg
Hedge fund investors pull out record $40bn - Financial Times
The case for buying oil stocks - Forbes
Bear market swipes at more than just stocks - USA Today
How the Mighty Have Fallen: Buffett, Other Legends Feel Bear Market Bite - Yahoo! Finance
Buffett's huge derivatives bet proves costly - MSN Money

ECONOMY
Bush signs bill providing extra jobless benefits - AP
Goldman Slashes U.S. Growth Forecasts, Says Recession Deepens - Bloomberg
Falling Prices Raise a New Fear: Deflation - Washington Post
California Budget deal would include steeper car fees - LA Times
Financial Job Losses May Double to 350,000 by 2009 - Bloomberg
Weak economy's getting weaker, Conference Board says - MarketWatch

HOUSING
California's median home price falls 34% - LA Times
Happy holidays: Freddie, Fannie halt foreclosures till 2009 - OC Register
Sacramento's median home price falls below $200,000 - Sacramento Bee
Housing more affordable? Sure, compared with the bubble years - LA Land
O.C. starter-home requires $85,800 salary — half 2005’s level - OC Register

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Downey Financial could be next bank casualty - LA Times
Hank Didn't Start the Fire - Washington Post
Fed's Bullard: U.S. deflation an issue Fed must face - AP
The Simple Arithmetic of Hank Paulson's Financial Disaster - Huffington Post

INTERNATIONAL
Survey shows euro-zone economy shrinking in Nov - AP
Brazil and China emerge as models of stability while UK looks risky bet - Telegraph
Inflation in Canada drops to 2.6 per cent - Globe & Mail
Singapore falls into recession, cuts 2009 outlook - MarketWatch
World Is Turning Korean First, Then Japanese - Bloomberg
Argentina to Nationalize Pension Funds - Washington Post
BOJ holds interest rate at 0.3% - MarketWatch
China fears grow over job losses - BBC

INTERESTING
e=mc2: 103 years later, Einstein's proven right - AP
Kenya: Somali pirates make $150M in a year - AP