Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
• BOE cuts rates, announces plans to print money - Telegraph
• Euro area interest rates hit record low of 1.5% - BBC
• Auditors raise doubts about GM's viability - IHT
• NY AG to question 7 Merrill execs about bonuses - AP
• U.S. Launches Plan to Steady Housing Market - Washington Post
• Goldman Cuts Global GDP Forecast to 0.6% Decline - Bloomberg
• China says 8 percent growth possible in 2009 - AP
• Bair: FDIC Could Be Insolvent This Year - Bloomberg

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Gold ticks up on safe-haven buying - Globe & Mail
• Oil falls to near $44 on continuing demand worries - AP
• Treasuries Rise on Bets Central Banks Will Buy More Assets - Bloomberg
• Wall Street begins to hear 'buy stocks' rumblings - USA Today
• Economic crisis scrambles retirement math - Time
• Rush for gold reserves as countries dump dollar - Commodity Online

ECONOMY
• Jobless claims slip back to 639,000 - MarketWatch
• Productivity Declines, Labor Costs Jump - Bloomberg
• Recession Deepening Across Regions, Industries, Fed Says - Wash. Post
• More companies turn to furloughs to save money, jobs - USA Today
• Tentacles of recession still growing, Fed says - MarketWatch

INTERNATIONAL
• What on earth does the BOE do now rates are near zero? - Telegraph
• China pledges to keep real estate market stable - Xinhuanet
• Wall Street on the Tundra - Vanity Fair
• Chavez Orders Expropriation of Cargill Plant - Bloomberg
• Premier vows to promote employment, exports - CHINADaily
• The Bank of England's printing presses are ready to roll - Telegraph
• China Exporters Blame Yuan in ‘Life and Death’ Crisis - Bloomberg
• Europe’s banks face a $2 trillion dollar shortage - Telegraph

HOUSING
• Details of plan to rescue housing Ways to keep people afloat - SF Gate
• Radar Logic Reports Rising Home Sales Amid Falling Prices - Radar Logic
• Housing: Pennies where there was once dollars - Today's Financial News
• Mortgage Plan Targets Up to Four Million Homeowners - NY Times

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed Refuses to Release Bank Lending Data - Bloomberg
• At the Federal Reserve, nothing succeeds quite like failure - Taipai Times
• Congress wants answers to questions about AIG - CNN/Money
• Fed Approves Intercontinental Credit-Default Swap Clearing Plan - Bloomberg

INTERESTING
• Darth Wall Street and Credit-Default Swaps - Bloomberg
• America's Ski Resorts: Saved by the Snow - Time
• India Failing to Control Open Defecation Blunts Growth - Bloomberg

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