Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Carmakers to get $17.4 bln - MarketWatch
BOJ cuts rates and pumps funds to fight credit crunch - Reuters
Goldman, UBS, Deutsche, Morgan Stanley Lowered by S&P - Bloomberg
Texas Braces for an Oil Bust - Time
S&P says GE triple-A could be at risk - Reuters
Hedge fund graveyard: 693 and counting - CNN/Money
Banks lent billions to Madoff ‘feeder funds’ - Financial Times
The biggest Ponzi scheme: Bernard Madoff's or the British Government's? - Telegraph

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil drops below $34 to lowest level in almost 5 years - AP
Gold drops nearly 3 pct as euro falls - Reuters
Dollar Rises Versus Euro as Losses Judged Too Big to Sustain - Bloomberg
British PM says oil price volatility could cost global economy trillions - Chicago Tribune
Meltdown hits Dubai as gold sales plunge by 60% - Commodity Online
How a tiny chip crippled TSX - Globe & Mail

ECONOMY
Obama Team Assembling $850 Billion Stimulus - Washington Post
The Rise of the Four-Day Work Week? - AP
Recession Forecast Blown Up by Subprime Meltdown - Bloomberg
Big advertising companies cutting thousands of jobs - Reuters

INTERNATIONAL
Japan approves $489 billion stimulus plan - MarketWatch
UK public finances slump to worst state in 15 years as borrowing soars - Telegraph
Denmark Unexpectedly Cuts Key Interest Rate to 3.75% - Bloomberg
Canada set for zero growth in 2009: RBC - The Canadian Press
Japan forecasts no growth in 2009 - BBC
Lenders fail to pass on cheaper borrowing - Times Online

HOUSING
California home prices dive 38% - LA Times
Owners find themselves trapped underwater - USA Today
Tax Break May Have Helped Cause Housing Bubble - NY Times
Bay Area home values hit 8-year low in November - SF Gate

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Federal Reserve is damned either way as it battles debt and deflation - Telegraph
Why such drastic action? The Fed is utterly petrified - Guardian
Banks need more capital - Greenspan, Economist
Mortgage rates at 37-year low: average 5.19% for 30 years - USA Today
What's Next for the Fed? - Counterpunch

INTERESTING
Giants Lose to Lehman in $300 Million Swaps as They Romp in NFL - Bloomberg
Banks Try New Ways to Handle Bonuses - NY Times