Links: 2008-12-12

It’s Friday and the madness must come to an end. I don’t have a lot on the table so I’ll leave you with just the usual links. I would say the Madoff stuff is pretty unbelievable. See the first four articles to see what I mean. Other news stories can be found at our newsfeed. The newsfeed is also available via RSS.

Have a good weekend.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – Barrons.com (This one is from 2001)

NakedShorts: If it sounds too good to be true… (this is a good one on the $50 billion hedge fund fraud – hat tip Barry Ritholtz)

Calculated Risk: The Madoff Complaint

Cassandra Does Tokyo: Bernie Comes Out of the Closet

EU giant isolated as Merkel puts Germany first | World news | The Guardian

Jim Rogers: Most Big U.S. Banks Are Bankrupt – DealBook – New York Times

8 really, really scary predictions – FORTUNE (these are some pretty scary predictions. Read them and see what I mean)

FT.com Josepph Stiglitz – Chapter 11 is the right road for U.S. carmakers

Bloomberg.com: Dollar Slumps Below 90 Yen as U.S. Auto Bailout Fails in Senate (If you forgot about currencies, the dollar is tanking against the Yen and the Euro, just s you know)

Bloomberg.com: Dollar Heads for Biggest Weekly Decline in 8 Years on Auto Bill

Bloomberg.com: Pound Sinks to Record Versus Euro as HBOS Says Economy Worsens (The Pound is tanking too)

Fury Builds Over Crisis at Banks – DealBook – New York Times

HBOS takes $11.9 billion hit as UK economy worsens | Reuters (Get ready for more of the same – massive writedowns coming to a theater near you)

Spain’s property crash | Builders’ nightmare | The Economist

Bloomberg.com: Household Net Worth in U.S. Declines Most on Record