Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Banks Ordered to Stay Mum on ‘Stress Test’ Results - Bloomberg
• The G20 and the IMF: Banking on the fund - Economist
• Goldman mulling stock offering - report - CNN/Money
• Special Drawing Rights: Held in reserve - Economist
• Is the bull market in gold over? - Commodity Online
• GM: The good, the bad and the ugly - CNN/Money
• In uncertain times, all that glisters is a gold standard - FT
• Wells Fargo's record profit: Good omen or anomaly? - AP

MARKETS/INVESTING
• IEA Cuts Oil Demand Forecast to Lowest in Five Years - Bloomberg
• Gold May Rise on Speculation of Investor Demand - Bloomberg
• Tough to settle on broad-gauge commodities tracker - MarketWatch
• Financial markets: Whistling in the dark - Economist
• The Incredible Shrinking Public Pension Funds - The Atlantic
• Many individual investors can't fend for selves - MarketWatch

ECONOMY
• Many of the jobless get no unemployment benefits - USA Today
• Retailers post sales declines; upscale stores falter - LA Times
• Author who predicted crisis sees inflation ahead - Reuters
• Exports Fall, and It’s Felt on the Farm - NY Times
• Job market is especially cruel for older workers - LA Times

INTERNATIONAL
• China’s Exports Fall for Fifth Month - Bloomberg
• Nikkei ends shy of 9,000, as Asian markets gain - MarketWatch
• Timeline: The Eastern European Domino Effect - CNBC
• Bank of Japan likely to cut economic outlook - MarketWatch
• ‘Lehman Shock’ Fuels New Wave of Homeless in Osaka - Bloomberg
• China becomes the great wall of stimulus - Globe & Mail
• Tax havens must end culture of secrecy or face sanctions - Guardian
• It’s Do or Die Time for No. 2 Economy: William Pesek - Bloomberg

HOUSING
• Open house, anyone? 1 in 9 homes sit empty - USA Today
• Time to refinance? You have to run the numbers - MarketWatch
• Wall Street Continues to Misunderstand Housing - Seeking Alpha
• Obama welcomes new wave of lending - LA Times

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• The Federal Reserve: Sacred territory - Economist
• Banks, investment firms trim Fed borrowing in past week - AP
• The Beatification of Ben Bernanke - Baker, Beat the Press
• Still Few Buyers in Fed's Effort to Restart Lending - Time

INTERESTING
• Benefits widen public, private workers' pay gap - USA Today
• In a Downturn, More Act as Their Own Lawyers - NY Times
• Post Reporter Not Responsible for the Accuracy of People He’s Quoting - Yglesias

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