Friday morning links

TOP STORIES
• CIT rushes to secure lending, bankruptcy feared - Reuters
• Two Giants Emerge From Wall Street Ruins - NY Times
• Google and IBM record second-quarter profit rises - Telegraph
• Congrats Goldman Sachs! You're the New Symbol of Banker Greed - Gawker
• California Budget Talks Falter, Treasurer Warns of Junk Debt - Bloomberg
• The real price of Goldman’s giganto-profits - Taibblog
• Would a CIT failure derail the economy? - CSM
• Keeping up with the Goldmans - Economist

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MARKETS/INVESTING
• Oil slips below $62 as traders eye company results - AP
• Gold falls on stronger dollar, higher equities - MarketWatch
• Financial struggles of lender CIT to 'test capital markets' - USA Today
• Gold/silver ratio soars but bearish signal unclear - Globe Investor
• Jim Cramer Generates 134.79% Return! - Falkenblog

ECONOMY
• Housing Starts Climb to Highest Level in Seven Months - Bloomberg
• Recession Lesson: Share and Swap Replaces Grab and Buy - Wash. Post
• Obama’s Tax-and-Spend Tastes Seduce Democrats - Bloomberg
• U.S. may need another stimulus - Roubini - CNN/Money
• What went wrong with economics - Economist

INTERNATIONAL
• Bernanke Is Said to Plan Assuring China at Summit - Bloomberg
• China still buying U.S. assets despite rhetoric - MarketWatch
• China Debt Auction Falls Short for Third Time - Bloomberg
• China’s 7.9% Triumph Tarnished by Rio Tinto Mess - Bloomberg
• Locke presses China to speed up yuan float - MarketWatch
• IMF warns pound could be at risk from uncertainty - Telegraph
• Iceland's parliament backs applying for EU membership - AFP
• The Big Mac index: Cheesed off - Economist

HOUSING
• Buttonwood: Dropping a brick - Economist
• July NAHB Housing Index Rises Two Points to 17 - Forbes
• Mortgage rates drop for 3rd week: Freddie Mac - Reuters
• Median home price up in June - Signs on San Diego

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Fed balance sheet rises back above $2 trillion - Reuters
• Paulson endures tough day on Hill on BofA, Merrill deal - USA Today
• Bank Earnings: Beauty Is Skin-Deep - Forbes
• Banks and bonuses: Going overboard - Economist

INTERESTING
• Starbucks unveils a new drink: Booze - CNN/Money
• Harley-Davidson Headed the Way of Indian? - MarketWatch
• How The Huffington Post Can Pay Its Bloggers - Huffington Post
• The search for dark matter: Ethereal yet weighty - Economist

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