Tuesday morning links

TOP STORIES
Lloyds and RBS cut down to size - BBC
India buys 200 tonnes of IMF gold - Mineweb
Government Statistics and Lies - Texas Straight Talk
Berkshire Buys Burlington in Buffett’s Biggest Deal - Bloomberg
He earned $53 million opening doors to CalPERS money - LA Times
The Real Pending Crisis: Public Pensions - TownHall
The story so far, in one picture - Krugman, NY Times
Thinking the Unthinkable - Kunstler, CFN
How Big Banks Fleece You - Daily Beast

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MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil down to near $77 as stocks fall, dollar gains - AP
Gold returns to near record high as dollar drops - Reuters
Einhorn up almost 4% in October - MarketWatch
Schwab rolls out free-trade ETFs - CNN/Money
Dow Theory Sell Signal? - Saut, Raymond James
I Thought I Wanted An ETF? - Safe Haven
Boom and Gloom - NewsWeek

ECONOMY
Three strong economic reports lift recovery hopes - USA Today
The Austrians versus the Mainstream Potter and His Wheel - Mises
Obama urges bold action to create jobs as economy gains strength - LA Times
Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Rise 6.1% - Bloomberg
Why stimulus jobs aren't built to last - CNN/Money
Nobody Said "Stimulus 2" - Reason.com

INTERNATIONAL
E.U. Lifts Growth Forecast for 2010 - NY Times
China's economic growth to exceed 10% in Q4 - CHINADaily
How and why China will flood the gold market - StockHouse
China property sales may get boost before year end - MarketWatch
Australian central bank hikes policy rate for second month - MarketWatch
Spain’s Jobless Claims Extend Climb - WSJ Economics
Carmakers keen on auto finance arms - CHINADaily
BOJ: Recovery to moderate into 2010 - MarketWatch

REAL ESTATE
More walk away from homes, mortgages - USA Today
30 mortgage modification companies being forced to close their doors - KTNV
How That $8,000 Tax Credit Subsidizes Housing Deterioration - Seeking Alpha
Five Reasons the U.S. Doesn't Need More Home-Buyer Perks - WSJ
Boise And Provo Are The New Foreclosure Hot Spots - The Money Game
Foreclosures just 4% of homes for sale - O.C. Register

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Why Keep Geithner? - The Big Picture
No hints, winks, nods from Fed about rate hikes - MarketWatch
Bank of America Joins China as Buyer of Treasuries - Bloomberg
IMF chief: Banks haven't learned - USA Today

INTERESTING
Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart - New Scientist
Republican adviser faces health care's costly bite - Washington Post
Yankees World Series Victories Boost Economic Growth - WSJ Economics
Palinoia - Taiblog

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