Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
Banks 'Too Big to Fail' Have Grown Even Bigger - Wash. Post
Leverage Rising on Wall Street at Fastest Pace Since ‘07 Freeze - Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs: A "huddle" is not a forum for sharing stock "tips" - DealBreaker
"We Spent $13T And These Banks Are STILL IN THE CRAPPER!" - Business Insider
The Rhyming of History – Bloomberg and the RFC? (.pdf) - Kasriel, Northern Trust
Barney Frank Says The House Will Pass HR 1207 In October - Zero Hedge
The very model of a modern central banker - Economist
FDIC Dissembling Again - Market Ticker

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MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil prices edge above $73 as stocks recover - AP
Gold inches up to around $950/oz, lifted by oil - Reuters
Rally since March has been extraordinarily speculative - MarketWatch
A Stock Market Rally Engineered by our Government - Global Research
Investing: Thinking through a recovery - CNN/Money
A.I.G. Rises, and Many Ask Why - NY Times

ECONOMY
Consumer spending lifted by "cash-for-clunkers" - Reuters
Construction That Fueled Growth in the Sun Belt Slows - NY Times
California wants to turn junk, trunks into cash at garage sale - MarketWatch
State taxes going up because of deflation - SF Gate
Budget forecasts: Pangloss revisited - Economist

INTERNATIONAL
Toyota to end California plant production - Reuters
Banking bonuses in France: Ça fait malus - Economist
European Confidence Jumps More Than Forecast - Bloomberg
Record deflation in Japan may put pressure on BOJ - Reuters
Japan's unemployment rate hits record high in July - AP
Norway’s Oil Fund Names New Management Team - Bloomberg
Tengzhong may finalize Hummer deal next week - Reuters
China's stockmarket: Another great leap - Economist

REAL ESTATE
Case Shiller Confirms False Bottom in Housing - Mark Hanson
CHART OF THE DAY: New Foreclosures Dwarf New Home Sales - Economist
Were Fannie, Freddie Affordable Housing Goals Effective? - WSJ Developments
Act fast! Homebuyer tax credit ends soon - CNN/Money

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
The Federal Reserve: Right man, rough job - Economist
Did Ben Bernanke really save America's financial system? - Washington Monthly
Federal Reserve Says Disclosing Loans Will Hurt Banks - Bloomberg
Lacker: US may not need all planned stimulus - CNN/Money

INTERESTING
NYC's 'skinniest' house has fat price tag: $2.7M - AP
Bernanke personal bank account struck by ID theft - Bloomberg
Emigration from California: Go east or north, young man - Economist
Internet Addicts Get First U.S. Treatment Clinic - LiveScience

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