Thursday morning links

TOP STORIES
• Just how did Goldman Sachs manage that? - Telegraph
• CIT Group Closer to Bankruptcy as U.S. Denies Aid - Wash. Post
• Treasury Bets Financial System Can Weather CIT Collapse - Bloomberg
• Foreclosures up: 1 in 84 homes affected in first half of year - USAToday
• JPMorgan Earnings Soar as It Finds Profit in Slump - NY Times
• Chinese growth rebounds in second quarter - Telegraph
• What's most likely to bankrupt you - MSN Money
• Paulson admits bank merger threat - BBC

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MARKETS/INVESTING
• Verleger Sees $20 Oil This Year on ‘Devastating’ Glut - Bloomberg
• Gold a better inflation hedge: World Gold Council - Commodity Online
• Despite the Economy's Struggles, Stock Market Soars - Time
• U.S. Mint coin sales 'temporarily suspended' - again - Mineweb
• Should you still be holding stocks? - MSN Money
• The Game Changer? - Butler, Investment Rarities

ECONOMY
• New unemployment claims drop, skewed by autos - USAToday
• Nine Reasons the Economy is Not Getting Better - U.S. News
• Why Do We Worry About Inflation Right Now? - SafeHaven
• Fed Sees Heightened Joblessness Drawing Out Recovery - Wash. Post
• Geithner: U.S. Can’t Afford to Apply Brakes Too Soon - Bloomberg

INTERNATIONAL
• China’s Market Value Overtakes Japan - Bloomberg
• Chinese boost for base metals to cool: GFMS - Mineweb
• Mexico GDP May Shrink 7% This Year - Bloomberg
• China GDP grows 7.1% in first half '09 - CHINADaily
• Nigerian Peace Remains Elusive After Oil Region Truce - Bloomberg
• Beijing's office building suffers rising vacancy rate - CHINADaily
• China’s PBOC Sells Bills at Highest Yields This Year - Bloomberg
• World Bank warns of deflation spiral - Telegraph

HOUSING
• Foreclosures up despite moratorium - MarketWatch
• Southern California median home sales price surges in June - Times
• 1.9 Million Foreclosure Filings Reported in First Half - RealtyTrac
• Brooklyn "Luxury" Real Estate Tanks - ClusterStock

FED/TREASURY/BANKING
• Freedom for the Fed! - Breaking Views
• Geithner sees 'durable' signs of stability - AP
• Call for Fed transparency grows louder - FT
• What If? - McCulley, Pimco

INTERESTING
• Talks fail to break California budget impasse - Reuters
• Goldman Sachs caves in to critical blogger - Telegraph
• 40 Years After Moon Landing: Why Can't We Cure Cancer? - LiveScience
• Bruce Jenner & Family On His Plastic Surgery - Yahoo! TV

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