Wednesday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Foreclosure Filings Hit Record for Second Month - Bloomberg
• U.S. credit rating at risk: former agency chief - Reuters
• Investors Turn Bullish for First Time Since 2007 - Bloomberg
• Freddie reports quarterly net loss of $9.9 billion - MarketWatch
• Social Security and Medicare finances worsen - AP
• Chrysler bankruptcy may take up to two years - Reuters
• For Uncle Sam, a rare April deficit - CNN/Money
• The public pension bomb - Fortune

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil Falls as OPEC Cuts Demand Forecast - Bloomberg
• Gold reaches five week high as dollar weakens - Reuters
• GFMS: Extremely negative fundamentals for gold, silver - Mineweb
• Cargo Ships Treading Water Off Singapore, Waiting for Work - NY Times
• It doesn't matter what we call the rally since March 9 - MarketWatch
• Commodities climb on weaker US dollar - FT

ECONOMY
• Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fell in April - Bloomberg
• Recession Hits Social Security Projections - BusinessWeek
• ‘Good Bad’ Economy Inspires Americans to Splurge - Bloomberg
• Memorial Day travel to rebound - CNN/Money
• Pessimists find reasons to be cheerful - FT

INTERNATIONAL
• China's mixed data stir recovery worries - MarketWatch
• European March Industrial Production Falls by Record - Bloomberg
• Unemployment rises to 2.2m as earnings drop for first time - Telegraph
• Global Confidence Gains as Bernanke Sees Start of Recovery - Bloomberg
• Bank of England lowers U.K. growth view - MarketWatch
• IMF urges stress tests on European banks - FT
• Euro zone: 'No green shoots here' - CNN/Money
• Germany approves bad bank plan - MarketWatch

HOUSING
• RealtyTrac: April foreclosures rise 32 percent - AP
• Median home prices fell nationwide in 1Q - AP
• US foreclosure programme may be insufficient - FT
• Immigrant Homeownership Proves Resilient - Wash. Post

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Greenspan: 'Seeds of a Bottoming' in Housing - Bloomberg
• Sour commercial real estate loans threaten banks - LA Times
• Taylor: Fed May Need to Raise Rates Soon - Bloomberg
• Open Letter To FDIC - Zero Hedge

INTERESTING
• Golf courses hit a rough patch - LA Times
• Japanese Housewives Increase Wagers on Falling Yen - Bloomberg
• Freaks Survive Because They Are Strange - LiveScience
• Rotten office fridge cleanup sends 7 to hospital - AP

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