Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Congress readies final vote on $790B stimulus bill - AP
Subsidies For Loan Workouts Weighed - Washington Post
China’s Economy Shows Signs of Recovery on Stimulus - Bloomberg
Japan economy seen shrinking at 10 pct pace in 4Q - Washington Post
Saving the banks: The Obama rescue - Economist
Toyota cutting North American production - MarketWatch
Obama Team May Not Be Friendly to Gold(.pdf) - Embry, Sprott Asset Mgmt.
Looting Social Security - The Nation

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil price falls on Opec warning - BBC
Gold slips as financial fear recedes - Reuters
World markets rise after Wall Street bounceback - AP
Stampede for investment into Gold ETFs - Commodity Online
What’s in the Bill for You - NY Times
ButtonWood: A lament for savers - Economist

ECONOMY
Fed Calls Gain in Family Wealth a Mirage - NY Times
Fighting recession has become a new kind of warfare - CSM
To save or to spend? Americans ponder their duty - Reuters
Ex-G.M. Workers Try to Reboot Their Lives - NY Times
Seven years of wealth gains gone - MarketWatch
"Great Recession" seen lasting 3 years, experts say - Reuters

INTERNATIONAL
Euro-zone economy posts record contraction - MarketWatch
Japan sees U.S. repeating its mistakes on bank plan - IHT
Roach’s ‘You Guys Are in Trouble’ Unsettles Asia - Bloomberg
Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down - NY Times
Australian Stimulus Deal May Help Defy Global Recession - Bloomberg
Global economic crisis poses top threat to U.S., spy chief warns - IHT
The new middle classes: Burgeoning bourgeoisie - Economist
Mortgage lending hits lowest level since 1974 - TimesOnline

HOUSING
Cash buyers scent rich pickings in property - TimesOnline
Home Prices in Record Plunge - CNN/Money
A Better Bank Fix: Cut Every Mortgage's Principal - Time
4th Quarter Home Prices Down, Buyers Purchase Distressed Property - NAR
Housing prices plunge 12.4% - Investment News

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Greenspan Says He Was Mystified by Subprime Market - DealBook
Geithner Hampered by Staff Deficit as Wall St. Demands Speed - Bloomberg
America's banking crisis: Worse than Japan? - Economist
Large U.S. banks on the edge of insolvency, experts say - IHT
America's bank bail-out: Dashed expectations - Economist

INTERESTING
Zimbabwe Doctors Leave as Health System Fails, Cholera Spreads - Bloomberg
Homeless taking over foreclosed houses for Valentine’s Day - Minn. Independent
Teen smokers pick Marlboro as favorite cigarettes - AP