Wednesday morning links

TOP STORIES
• 11th-hour votes on state budget fail - LA Times
• California Misses Deadline to Avoid the Need for IOUs - Bloomberg
• Ten or more face possible Madoff charges - Reuters
• Program saves 60 percent of homes from foreclosure - Reuters
• Mr. Sunshine? Ron Paul Wins Support to Audit Fed Reserve - Fox News
• Treasury OKs 3 firms for mortgage relief program - AP
• GM CEO makes case for bankruptcy asset sale - Reuters
• Retired From G.M. at 54. Pensionless at 74? - NY Times

MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil rises above $71 as US crude inventories drop - AP
• Gold firms a day after sell-off, dollar in focus - Forex Pros
• No major Iraq oil output increase in next 5 years - Reuters
• Boom in scrap gold sales in India, Middle East - Commodity Online
• Banks Falling 23% Since May Foreshadow S&P 500 Slump - Bloomberg
• Stock Fund Inflow Continued In May - AP

ECONOMY
• Private sector sheds 473,000 jobs in June - Reuters
• A Forecast With Hope Built In - New York Times
• Small businesses vital to economic recovery go bankrupt - USA Today
• Consumer confidence falls on gloomier jobs view - MarketWatch
• Consumers hit again as some banks raise credit rates, fees - USA Today

INTERNATIONAL
• Chinese Want To Purchase Another $80B Of Gold! - Numismaster
• China Manufacturing Expands a Fourth Month - Bloomberg
• Fiat CEO says Chrysler cash burn slows - Reuters
• Japan’s Tankan Confidence Rebounds Less Than Expected - Bloomberg
• China's Huawei needs makeover to win big markets - Reuters
• Iraq Fails to Award Most Oil Contracts in Bid Round - Bloomberg
• Bank Woes Deepening in Europe - NY Times
• Australia’s Retail Sales Climb 1% - Bloomberg

HOUSING
• Next Housing Segment To Crash: $1+ Million McMansions - ClusterStock
• McMansions Another Black Eye For Housing Market - The Atlantic
• Phoenix Housing Market Finally Feels Uptick - HousingWire
• Home price decline slows in many places - USA Today

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed's Yellen: rates could be near zero for years - Reuters
• FED to Monetize Another $1.75 Trillion in 2009 - Liberty Maven
• Banks Balk at Agency Meant to Aid Consumers - NY Times
• Bernanke still a speed demon - Asia Times

INTERESTING
• What Supersonic Looks Like - LiveScience
• Michael Jackson's death sparks bus brawl - AP
• Lion prides form to win turf wars - BBC
• Man nabbed 3 times in week for skipping on tab - AP

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