Wednesday morning links

TOP STORIES
GMAC loosens credit to make vehicles easier to buy - AP
Fed to start buying mortgage securities next month - MarketWatch
Chinese shares end 2008 down 65 percent - AP
Madoff Will File List of Assets Today, Lawyer Says - Bloomberg
Creative borrowing catches up with California cities - LA Times
James K. Galbraith Says Predator State Hit Wall - Bloomberg

THE YEAR IN REVIEW, THE YEAR AHEAD
World markets close 2008 bruised and confused - AP
The Year in Pictures - Globe & Mail
Britain to Go Broke, Stocks to Rebound in 2009 - Bloomberg
Top ten predictions for the 2009 global economy - Credit Writedowns
In 2009, Economy Will Depend on Unlocking Credit - NY Times
Journal of a Plague Year: Faith in Markets Cracks Under Losses - Bloomberg
2008 by the numbers: Stocks' year-to-year returns largely random - MarketWatch
2009: Nowhere to go but up - CNN/Money
2008: The Year in Photos - Speigel Online
2009 looks like another Bear year - Hutchinson, Prudent Bear
The Year in Pictures - BBC

MARKETS/INVESTING
Gold Heads for Record Eighth Annual Gain on Dollar, Recession - Bloomberg
Oil falls below $38 in light New Year's Eve trade - AP
Saudi Arabia eyes more cuts to stop oil slide - Financial Post

ECONOMY
U.S. Jobless Claims Fell Last Week, Skewed by Holiday - Bloomberg
New Year's resolutions take an outward turn in tough times - USA Today
Bailout legacy will be inflation, some economists warn - MSNBC
Consumers want their SUVs; they just don't want to pay for the gasoline - Michigan Live
Speculation about Microsoft cutbacks surfaces - MarketWatch

INTERNATIONAL
Stockmarkets around world suffer worst year on record - Guardian
China Central Bank Says Extra Crisis Tools Are Needed - Bloomberg
Insolvencies to hit record level in 2009, warns KPMG - Telegraph
FTSE 100 suffers worst ever year - Telegraph
The collapse of financial globalization … - Setser, CFR
Venezuela to seize gold concessions as oil falls - CNBC

HOUSING
Mortgage application volumes held steady last week - MarketWatch
October home prices fall across USA: 14 metro areas set records - USA Today
Big drop in October home prices - SF Gate
Mortgages: What You Need to Know in 2009 - BusinessWeek
The Scariest Housing-Related Chart Ever - Mr. Mortgage, M-L Implode

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Treasury's Bailout Promises Runneth Over - Washington Post
Paulson rues shortage of firepower as battle raged - Financial Times
Bernanke, Shirakawa Won’t Be Big Stars in 2009 - Pesek, Bloomberg
Fed Selects Four Firms to Manage MBS Purchase Plan - Bloomberg
Fed's Balance Sheet Is Ballooning Fast - SmartMoney
Fed’s Commercial Paper, Federal Agency Debt Holdings Rise - Bloomberg

INTERESTING
Wikipedia's plea pulls in flood of user-generated cash - Globe & Mail
Even astrology supports gold to the core - Commodity Online
Madoff’s Latest Victims: Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick - New York Magazine
Wall Street's Collapse, Told in Rhymes - WSJ
Crowd directs its attention to sign spinning contest - LA Times