Tuesday morning links

TOP STORIES
Home prices post 18 percent annual drop in October - AP
GMAC To Get $6 Billion Lifeline - Washington Post
Lehman bankruptcy filing wiped out billions - Reuters
10 outrageous 2009 claims - CNBC
Black Swan Nation - Compliments of Alan Greenspan - OpEd News
Worst Predictions for 2008 - The Big Picture
Forecast for 2009 - CFN, Kunstler
A Crack in The System - Washington Post

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil dips below $40 over world economic concerns - AP
Gold futures edge lower in thin trading - MarketWatch
10 key trends for investors in '09 - MSNBC
“The Bezzle” - Saut, Raymond James
Gold and Silver in 2009 - Turk, Safehaven

ECONOMY
December consumer confidence drops to all-time low - AP
Disagreeing With Martin Feldstein On Defense Spending - Capital Gains and Games
Airlines 'shrinking by all measures' - report - CNN/Money
Gasoline prices fall in U.S. but edge up in California, raising concern - LA Times

INTERNATIONAL
Chinese workers leaving cities in droves - CNN/Money
Russia's pipeline politics with Ukraine and the West - IHT
Japan auto sales plunge as young lose interest - AP
Nikkei closes last session of worst-ever year - Financial Times
Definitive proof that the Bank of England saw the financial crisis coming - Telegraph
Gazprom, Once Mighty, Is Reeling - NY Times
Russian central bank allows ruble to fall once again - MarketWatch

HOUSING
Home prices off record 18% in past year, Case-Shiller says - MarketWatch
Seattle Housing - Microsoft Layoffs And Mortgage Walk Aways - Geldpress
Breaking Up Is Harder to Do After Housing Fall - NY Times
Developer: You can't force things on the market - SF Gate

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Fighting the Last Depression: The Fed's Policy Errors - Time
The undeniable shift to Keynes - Financial Times
Geithner’s 2009 Resolution May Be Alcohol Rule - Bloomberg
Bankers Don’t Need Politicians Meddling in Loans - Bloomberg
Paulson Steals Show From the Grinch - Bloomberg

INTERESTING
People Pulling Up to Pawnshops Today Are Driving Cadillacs and BMWs - WSJ
In San Francisco, 'congestion pricing' is something they're sneezing at - LA Times
Skaters Jump In as Foreclosures Drain the Pool - NY Times