Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
Chinese inflation hits 16-month high - BBC
Financial Crisis Panel to Grill Greenspan - WSJ
U.S. bailout watchdog criticizes Treasury over GMAC - Reuters
'Volcker rule' may not hit Goldman stock, analyst says - MarketWatch
Economists see wasted crisis, urge reform financial reform - USA Today
U.S. budget deficit hit record $221 billion in February - LA Times
The Speech For Which We Have Been Waiting - HuffPost
Can California Declare Bankruptcy? - Slate

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MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil firm above $82; China inflation spikes - Reuters
Gold steadies as lower price boosts buying - NineMSN
Why WaMu Stock Has Soared: It's a 'Cheap Lottery Ticket' - CNBC
China wants to lord over gold and forex markets - Commodity Online
Goldman Deal-Maker Now Advocates Regulation - NY Times
10 Years of Boom and Bust - Tech Ticker

ECONOMY
Jobless Claims Declined to 462,000 - Bloomberg
State unemployment picture brightens - CNN/Money
Senate passes $149 bln for jobless aid, tax breaks - Reuters
Job market creates reluctant retirees - MSN Money
Eleven quirky budget cuts - CNN/Money

INTERNATIONAL
New Strike Paralyzes Greece - NY Times
Real estate prices rise at record pace - China Daily
Brown Tries to Turn Double-Dip U.K. Threat to Benefit - Bloomberg
Japan growth revised downward, with deflation deeper - MarketWatch
Mexico's Carlos Slim wrests world's richest man title from Bill Gates - Telegraph
Europe moves to ban trading in credit default swaps - Washington Post
China tightens rules on land sales, payment ratios - MarketWatch
This time probably isn't different - Economist

REAL ESTATE
The Subprime Lending Business Survives, Even Thrives - Time
Foreclosures drop for 2nd month in February: RealtyTrac - Reuters
Principal Writedowns and the Fake Stress Test - New Deal 2.0
Geithner urges reform on housing finance market - Reuters
Big Unfinished House Is in Foreclosure - Voice of San Diego

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
Inside Alan Greenspan's nightmare - Guardian
The big fees that banks charged to help Build America - LA Times
More Calls for Fed Governors Who Actually Saw Crisis Coming - Naked Capitalism
Why Geithner went on background - Salmon, Reuters

INTERESTING
The Census Goes Postal - HuffPost
Canada dignitaries feast on seal meat - Big Pond
The Value of Content SeekingAlpha Has Received For Free - World Beta
13 Crazy Earthquake Facts - LiveScience

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