Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
• U.S. Targets Excessive Pay for Top Executives - Wash. Post
• Emails show Fed pressed BofA to do Merrill deal - Reuters
• Data Shows China Relies More on Growth at Home - NY Times
• The Frame of Mind of American Economic Policymakers - Faber, DR
• California nears financial "meltdown" as revs tumble - Reuters
• Fed releases details of liquidity programs - MarketWatch
• U.S. Pushes a Troubled Citigroup to Heal Itself - NY Times
• Nikkei tops 10,000 to 8-month high - Reuters

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil near $72 on economic recovery hopes - AP
• Weddings over, India's gold demand falls - Commodity Online
• Dollar edges up vs yen after retail sales data - Reuters
• Slump in 2009 global oil demand seen moderating - AP
• 10 reasons the worst of the crisis is over - MarketWatch
• China’s Commodity Buying Spree - NY Times

ECONOMY
• Gasoline boosts U.S. retail sales - Reuters
• U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Decreased Last Week - Bloomberg
• What the latest data show: Recession likely to end in Sept. - USA Today
• Budget deficit nears $1 trillion for year - MarketWatch
• True or False: U.S. Economic Stats Lie - SmartMoney

INTERNATIONAL
• Pound hits 2009 high against euro - BBC
• China's foreign trade down for 7th month - CHINADaily
• New mortgage approvals rise 16% in April - Guardian
• China lays road to global role with economic cement - Reuters
• Japan revises first-quarter GDP data to show smaller drop - MarketWatch
• Anxious Japanese Are Working Themselves to Death - BusinessWeek
• Recovery on as property sales surge - CHINADaily
• Brazil to make $10bn loan to IMF - BBC

HOUSING
• Option ARMs Threaten Housing Rebound in 2011 - Bloomberg
• Foreclosure rate dips in May, but remains high - USA Today
• Senators Want Homebuyer Tax Credit to Rise to $15,000 - Bloomberg
• First-time buyers help unjam housing market - Baltimore Sun

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed sees signs recession is easing - AP
• Republican Staff Say E-mails Show Fed Overstepped on Merrill - Bloomberg
• Fed can't drag its feet to hike rates, says Richmond Fed chief - MarketWatch
• Banks Trade TARP for Bonuses, Debauchery, Jets - Bloomberg

INTERESTING
• When mad moms blog, stores listen - MSN Money
• Planet Could Hit Earth in Distant Future - LiveScience
• U.S. college grads shun Wall Street for Washington - Reuters
• Israeli woman mistakenly junks $1 million mattress - AP

###