Friday morning links

EU Steers Greece to IMF, Pledges Loans as Last Resort - Bloomberg
Obama To Order Lenders To Cut mortgage Payments For Unemployed - HuffPo
JPMorgan, Lehman, UBS Named as Conspirators in Muni Bid-Rigging - Bloomberg
Whistleblower Speaks Out On Silver Market Manipulation, Reports to CFTC - Jesse's Cafe
Government Authorities are Looking Out for Themselves, As Should Everyone - Aucontrarian
Lower Home Prices Can Fix What Government Can’t - Baum, Bloomberg
Economics focus: Tricky Dick and the dollar - Economist
The US default-risk meme - Salmon, Reuters

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MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil Rises on Weaker Dollar, Asia Demand - Bloomberg
Gold rises as euro bounces; physicals active - Reuters
Thursday's session amounted to a 'key reversal day' - MarketWatch
Christian: CFTC Position Limits For Metals A ‘Bad Idea' - Hard Assets Investor
The Value of Gold Is as Artificial as Paper Money - Alternet
The history of commodity booms and busts - VoxEU

ECONOMY
GDP Up Less Than Thought as Corporate Profits Dip - CNBC
What computer science can teach economics - MIT News
130,000 in Calif. due to lose jobless benefits - O.C. Register
Don’t Be Shocked by Jobs Boom Next Week - WSJ
Not a textbook rebound - EconBrowser

INTERNATIONAL
Currency controls and Gresham's law - Economist
Europe agrees IMF-EU rescue for Greece - Telegraph
China CEOs Join Obama in Supporting Yuan Appreciation - Bloomberg
Greece is likely to need far more financial aid than seems to be on offer - Economist
Europe puts the loaded gun on the table but no bailout - Credit Writedowns
Japan consumer-price data show deflation continues - MarketWatch
Chinese Yuan Will Quadruple Over Time: Rogers - CNBC
Crisis, What Crisis? - Economist

REAL ESTATE
More Foreclosures, Please . . . - The Big Picture
Gov. signs new homebuyer tax credit - O.C. Register
Declining Mortgage Performance in Q409 Means More Foreclosures Ahead - Housing Wire
Cash Dwindling For No-Money Down Home Loan Program - WSJ
Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again - Bloomberg

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Countdown: Fed MBS Purchase Program - Calculated Risk
Bernanke: Fed Likely to Sell Some of Its Mortgages Eventually - WSJ
Alan Greenspan's Financial History for Lobotomy Victims - HuffPo
Fed's balance sheet rises to record in latest week - Reuters

INTERESTING
Bank of China executive salaries halved - MarketWatch
Bono And Prince's Financial Woes Revealed - Stop the Presses!
DNA identifies new ancient human dubbed 'X-woman' - BBC
Docs Remove Boy's 11 Extra Toes And Fingers - Sky News