Friday Morning Links

MUST READS
Your Bank of America - yourBofA.com
End the Fed: The video game - Washington Post
Fears Rise That Recovery May Falter this Spring - NY Times
Here Come’s The Economy’s 19th Nervous Breakdown - HuffPost
Spain Notes Extend Seventh Weekly Drop; G-20 Sees Stress - Bloomberg
Nine U.S. Banks to be Examined for $31 Billion n Overdraft Fees - Bloomberg
Feeling peaky: The economic impact of high oil prices - Economist
FT Caught Doctoring Headline To Provide Cover For Fed - ML Implode
Elmo Tries to Explain The National Debt (Again) - Across the Street
Mitt Romney’s economics: Work in progress - Economist
Get Ready for ‘Hot’ Inflation - Chris Martenson
CNN Poll: Mood of nation edging up - CNN
Searching for the First ‘Bubble’ - WSJ

MARKETS/INVESTING
Oil prices rise before weekend - AFP
Gold up above $1,645/oz as euro firms - Reuters
Monthly Returns During Presidential Election Years - CXO Advisory
Iran could cut oil exports to ‘entire Europe’ - Tehran Times
Oil market mulls Iran, infrastructure, politics - MarketWatch
A ban on speculation in oil markets? - Econbrowser
Obama oil margin plan could increase price swings - Reuters
Silver Seen Over $40/oz – Store of Value Remains Undervalued - GoldCore
Senior Westpac executive says gold’s bull run may have ended - Mineweb
Top analysts see record gold in Q4 as funds retreat - Bloomberg
Gold - aucontrarian

ECONOMY/WORLD/HOUSING/BANKING
Recovery Downshifts but Doesn’t Break Down - WSJ
Obama Administration to Kick-Off New Unemployment Program - WSJ
Consumer default rates almost back to pre-crisis levels - S&P
Britons Abandoning Pensions Amid ‘Outdated’ Rules - Bloomberg
German tempers boil over back-door euro rescues - Telegraph
Europe Urged to Fix Crisis as G-20 Warns of More Stress - Bloomberg
RealtyTrac: Growth spurt for short sales in 2012 - Housing Wire
Lack of Distressed Supply Pushes Home Sales Lower - CNBC
Bank of America Leads Banks in Short Sales of U.S. Homes - Bloomberg
The Housing Outlook Is Still Dismal - Comstock Funds
Fed Watch: Initial Claims Up - Time to Worry? - Fed Watch
Bernanke’s Flexibility Is Constraint For You and Me - RCM
Did Bernanke Prevent Another Depression? - Mises
Five reasons why the Fed would prefer to avoid QE3 - Reuters