Thursday Morning Links

MUST READS
Beijing on edge amid coup rumours($) - Financial Times
Chinese factories slump, euro zone business wilts - Globe & Mail
China Manufacturing Contraction May Worsen, Data Show - Bloomberg
Geithner: debt ceiling need so big “it would make you uncomfortable” - AVN
Insight:The Wall Street gold rush in foreclosed homes - Reuters
Housing Start Numbers May Soon Look Poor - Norris, NY Times
Colleges slashing tuition, offering 3-year degrees - CNN/Money
College Parents Can Only Watch as Dorm-Room Door Slams - Bloomberg
Moody’s downgrades Detroit bond ratings, cites ‘weakened financial position’ - Washington Post
Masters of the Universe Start to Challenge Ben Bernanke - Bloomberg
Bernanke Says Banks Are Fine, Continuing Stint As Jedi Master - HuffPost
Ben Bernanke: Inflationist Jackass, Devoid of Common Sense - Mish
Why the Fed deserves props - Washington Post

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil falls to near $106 amid China growth concerns - AP
Gold at lowest since mid Jan, investors back away - Reuters
Markets fall as manufacturing contracts in China and Germany - Telegraph
Why do gasoline prices differ across U.S. states? - Econbrowser
Saudi Arabia can’t save us from high oil prices - Fortune
LBMA: Investors lose interest in gold, turn to silver - Commodity Online
Gold smuggling in India, the dollar carry trade and Central Bank buying - Mineweb
Finance Council Should Speed Up Speculation Curbs, Chilton Says - Bloomberg
Catching The “Silver Crusher” Algorithm In The Act - Zero Hedge
Paper Trading & Manipulation in Precious Metals - Resource Investor
Gold from Thailand, China flood Indian markets - Mineweb
Everybody Hates Gold - BullionVault

ECONOMY/WORLD/HOUSING/BANKING
Jobless claims fall 5,000 to 348,000 - MarketWatch
More Deflation Pressures Seen - Daily Capitalist
ROSENBERG: ‘Over 40% Of Job Growth Was Weather-Related’ - BI
‘Worst Still to Come’ for Europe: Citi Economist - CNBC
Republic of Ireland falls back into recession - BBC
Britain’s post-war tragedy in graphics - Telegraph
How the German Economy Became a Model - Spiegel
Portugal Strike Against Labor Reform Halts Metro, Ferries - Bloomberg
Economists Temper Expectations for Home Price Improvement - ZillowBlog
Housing is still ‘shadowed’ by supply - MarketWatch
Ben Bernanke tells the EU to clean up its banks - Telegraph
Too big to fail banks? Break ‘em up, Fisher says - Reuters
Bernanke 101 - NY Sun