links for 2011-09-09

"Bank of America Corp. officials have discussed eliminating roughly 40,000 positions during the first wave of a restructuring that Chief Executive Brian Moynihan is expected to discuss Monday, said people familiar with the plans."

"Third Point LLC, a New York investment firm that has accumulated a 5.2 percent stake in Yahoo, urged Bostock and his fellow directors to resign yesterday, citing their responsibility for the company’s poor performance. The letter added to a drumbeat of investor criticism leveled at the board for spurning Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s takeover bid in 2008 and failing to pick leaders who could restore the fortunes of a company that helped pioneer the World Wide Web."

"Get ready for monetary easing 3.0. That was the takeaway from Fed chair Ben Bernanke's speech in Minneapolis today. Bernanke didn't indicate what form easing might take. But any of the options on offer are bound to tick off countries like Brazil and Switzerland, which are struggling to hold down the values of their currencies against the backdrop of easy Fed policy. The question is whether those aggravations will lead to so-called "currency wars" and drag down the global economy."

"Why keeping the dollar as the world's reserve currency is a massive drag on the struggling U.S. economy."

hat tip Dave "When the price of a gallon of gas or a pound of hamburger rises, consumers can anticipate how the increase will affect what they have left to spend on other goods. It is far less obvious to consumers how increases in health care costs hit their pocket- books."