Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Retailers' holiday sales plummet: Spending Pulse - Reuters
Japan factory output has biggest fall on record - AP
Treasuries Walk, Talk Like an Old-Time Bubble - Bloomberg
Dollar Shift: Chinese Pockets Filled as Americans’ Emptied - NY Times
Fry's exec dropped millions on gambling - SF Gate
Merry Xmas from IEHI: Free Hyperinflation Book - Implode-O-Meter
California Bond Yields Rise to Four-Year High on Budget Impasse - Bloomberg

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil Gains 4% as U.A.E. Reduces Output to Comply With OPEC Cut - Bloomberg
Gold mostly steady, supported on weak dollar - Reuters
Rebuild retirement savings with 401(k) and smart use of stocks - USA Today
U.S. retail gasoline resume fall, hitting $1.64 a gallon - MarketWatch

ECONOMY
Obama's toughest job: Keeping workers working - MarketWatch
Economic bright spot: energy prices - Christian Science Monitor
An ugly, unrecognizable recession - MSN Money
Save the economy: bail out our kids - Christian Science Monitor
Retailers slash prices to entice holiday shoppers - AP

INTERNATIONAL
Ruble Falls to Record Low Versus Euro as Russia Weakens Defense - Bloomberg
Gloomy prediction for UK economy - BBC
Japan’s Recession Deepens as Factory Output Plummets - Bloomberg
China's financial industry recruits abroad - IHT
China's Industrial-Company Profit Growth Slumps - Bloomberg
S.Korea says economy faces unprecedented crisis - Washington Post
Thailand Plans $8.6 Billion Spending to Counter Slump - Bloomberg

HOUSING
Housing market in state is OK - Watertown Daily Times
Market Will Improve with Lower Prices, not Lower Interest Rates - Seeking Alpha
As Property Values Plunge, Tax Bills Might Not Follow - Washington Post
Economist Sees Ray of Hope for Home Prices - Housing Wire

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
With Fed's Help, AIG Unloads $16 Billion in Credit Default Swaps - Washington Post
Fed makes GMAC a bank holding company - AP
As banks struggled, executives pulled it in - Globe & Mail
A Question Worth Considering for the New Year... - Jessie's Cafe

INTERESTING
World keeps humor in 2008 despite economic woes - Reuters
Slow Starvation of Brain Triggers Alzheimer's - LiveScience