Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Manhattan home prices plunge - Fortune
• As deficit grows, Calif. prepares to issue IOUs - AP
• Staffer at SEC Had Warned Of Madoff - Wash. Post
• As oil rallies, passive investors increase their holdings - MarketWatch
• GM Plans ‘Garage Sale’ for Toxic Plants, NJ Golf Course - Bloomberg
• Clock Ticking on Accord to Sell Good G.M. Assets - NY Times
• Madoff customers get $231 million so far - Reuters
• Feds could seize Calif. parks if closed by budget - AP

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil slips to $68 a barrel ahead of US jobs report - AP
• Gold slips ahead of data; dollar strengthens - Reuters
• Asia stocks end mostly down before U.S. jobs data - MarketWatch
• Newsletter Insights: Elliott Wave of Mutilation - MarketWatch
• Oil market oversupplied, demand weak -Kuwait - Maktoob
• Case Shiller Housing Market ETFs Start Trading - Altos Research

ECONOMY
• 467K jobs cut in June; jobless rate at 9.5 percent - AP
• Initial Jobless Claims Fell 16,000 to 614,000 Last Week - Bloomberg
• Pimco: Consumer "greed" hibernating, fear rules - Reuters
• June Sales at Ford Fall Less Than G.M. or Chrysler - NY Times
• Meltdown 101: Shuttered stores' sites still sell - AP

INTERNATIONAL
• ECB keeps interest rate at 1 pct - AP
• Swedish Central Bank Cuts Rate to Record - Bloomberg
• Australia's trade deficit almost doubles in May - MarketWatch
• Dollar Gains . China ‘Not Aware’ of Reserve Currency Talk - Bloomberg
• China reportedly to concede on iron-ore pricing - MarketWatch
• China Renews Call for ‘Stable’ Dollar, Diversification - Bloomberg
• Banking system like South Sea bubble - Guardian
• Moody's cuts Ireland's Aaa credit rating - MarketWatch

HOUSING
• Foreclosure help will reach more homeowners - USA Today
• Fannie, Freddie ease terms for mortgage refinance - Reuters
• Home Sales Perk Up, but Expensive Houses Languish - Time
• Gov't foreclosure help will reach more homeowners - AP

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Treasury to name up to 9 managers for toxic-asset plan - Reuters
• Bank Fees Rise as Lenders Try to Offset Losses - NY Times
• Chicago Fed President sees U.S. growth in H2 - Reuters
• Some Thoughts on the Fractional Reserve Banking System - Elliot Wave

INTERESTING
• Sears Tower unveils 103rd floor glass balconies - AP
• Palin story sparks GOP family feud - Politico
• light diverted after passenger undresses in seat - AP
• New class of black hole could explain cosmic leviathans - AP

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