Wednesday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Bank of America May Need About $34 Billion of Capital - Bloomberg
• IMF calls for Asia to 'flood' banking system, cut rates - MarketWatch
• Bernanke's Outlook a Bit Brighter - Washington Post
• GM details plans to wipe out current shareholders - Reuters
• Freddie Pressured Over Accounting Disclosure - Wash. Post
• When Government Plays Doctor - Ron Paul
• Of Fingers And Dikes - Contrary Investor
• Monsters, Inc. - The New Yorker

MARKETS/INVESTING
• World could be moving to crude at 70$ barrel - Commodity Online
• Gold Rises as Investors Increase Commodity Holdings - Bloomberg
• Silver bullish, while a natural gas reversal looms - StockHouse
• Shiller: Investors Should Buy Stocks, Real Estate - Bloomberg
• Gold may plunge on banks’ stress-test results - Commodity Online
• Happy days - Breaking Views

ECONOMY
• Private-sector employment falls by 491,000 in April - MarketWatch
• Retail sales likely to improve, but can gains last? - MarketWatch
• U.S. Economy: Services Shrank at Slower Pace in April - Bloomberg
• As Unemployment Growth Slows, a Recovery Could Stir - NY Times
• Kraft’s macaroni cheese sales soaring - FT

INTERNATIONAL
• Europe Retail Sales Drop by Record as Recession Bites - Bloomberg
• Britons face working until 70 to help bring public debt under control - Telegraph
• PetroChina Needs as Much as $22 Billion in Financing - Bloomberg
• Buy-to-let mortgage schemes down 95pc - Telegraph
• Spain Output Falls by Record; Bankruptcies Quadruple - Bloomberg
• In Portugal, as in America, a 'Third Way' Is Reemerging - Wash. Post
• MONETARISM ENTERS BANKRUPTCY: The burden of elitism - Asia Times
• China Construction Falls as Bank of America May Sell - Bloomberg

HOUSING
• Almost One-Quarter of U.S. Homeowners Underwater - Bloomberg
• More homes get multiple offers; downturn may be nearing end - USA Today
• New Menlo Park idea to cut foreclosures - SF Gate
• Homeowners pay to sell - Star Bulletin

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed's Yellen predicts U.S. recovery to be slow - Reuters
• Bank Tests Yield Early Progress - Washington Post
• Fed's Stern: U.S. must tackle too-big-to-fail firms - Reuters
• Bernanke Warns of Danger of Credit Market ‘Relapse’ - Bloomberg

INTERESTING
• The Shire is in escrow - Bend Bulletin
• Bankruptcy Sleuths Find Cash in Receipts for Lap Dancers - Bloomberg
• Supreme Court sends back ruling on Janet Jackson - USA Today
• Birthmarks Explained - Divine Caroline

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