Wednesday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Outcry Builds for Recovery of A.I.G. Bonuses - NY Times
• Why bailout money goes to banks, not us - SF Gate
• Caterpillar to lay off 2,454 workers in 3 states - AP
• Global gold craze ending; prices may plunge - Commodity Online
• Is Gold Really the Safest Investment? - Time
• Newspaper closings raise fears about industry - USA Today
• Alberta comes back to earth - Globe & Mail
• AIG Is Obligated To Pay Bonuses? Bull! - Your Mortgage or Your Life

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil retreats towards $48 after U.S. stock build - Reuters
• Gold Drops on Speculation Economies Will Improve - Bloomberg
• Investment Strategy: “Being There” - Saut, Raymond James
• Seinfeld Stock Rally Is Built on Empty Chatter: David Reilly - Bloomberg
• Say goodbye to the flow-through trap - Globe & Mail
• India, China to go for more gold reserves - Commodity Online

ECONOMY
• Higher gas, clothing prices push up CPI - Reuters
• US current account deficit falls sharply in 2008 - AP
• Economic Data Offers a Balm as Fed Meets - NY Times
• $3,000-$5,000 incentive for car buyers proposed - USA Today
• U.S. rural economy holds fast in recession - Reuters

INTERNATIONAL
• World Bank cuts China's GDP forecast to 6.5% - CHINADaily
• UK unemployment jumps at fastest pace on record - Telegraph
• UK faces worse recession than US and Europe, IMF warns - Guardian
• Crisis having "major" impact on central bank reserve management - Reuters
• Lord Turner calls for sweeping revolution in financial services industry - Telegraph
• Protectionism on Rise in 17 of the G20 — World Bank Report - WSJ Economics Blog
• IMF poised to print billions of dollars in 'global quantitative easing' - Telegraph
• Outlook for Swiss economy worsens - BBC

HOUSING
• Southland median home price holds to $250,000 in February - LA Times
• Blog Party! ‘Not sure anybody truly saw this coming’ - O.C. Register
• Foreclosure sales have home market feeling down - Las Vegas Sun
• Foreclosures account for 4 out of 10 O.C. home resales - O.C. Register

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed Debates Injecting Credit Into Economy - Bloomberg
• Fed scopes out options with key rate near zero - AP
• Fed Debates Buying Government Debt - Bloomberg
• Citigroup's top economist tapped for Treasury post - AP

INTERESTING
• Educators banking on penny drive - Miami Herals
• Ghosts of a Gilded Age Haunt 19th-Century Chinese Banking Hub - NY Times
• Five scams on the rise - CNN/Money

###