I have bee off for a couple of days but plan on returned to full force later today.  Here are the links from the past few days minus tech and blog-related items.  If I have a lot more links, I will post them this evening.

• El Banco de Espana exige que se liquiden los bancos o cajas zombies – Finanzas

  Bank of Spain says the government must liquidate the zombie banks (cajas) in Spain

• Rents fall at fastest rate on record – Telegraph

  This will put more downward pressure on prices. "The rental value of UK homes is falling at the fastest pace for at least a decade, according to a new report."

• Why pensions apartheid is here to stay – Telegraph

  "No prizes for guessing why neither of the major political parties has any stomach for clearing up this mess. MPs are among the biggest beneficiaries of final salary (also known as defined benefit) schemes, which effectively transfer all the investment risk of long-term saving to the employer: in this case, the good old taxpayer."

• U.S. Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Jumped in May – Bloomberg

  "Orders for American-made durable goods unexpectedly jumped in May."

• Obama Fires a Watchdog – WSJ.com

  Is Obama protecting one of his political allies?

• Reform of regulation has to start by altering incentives – Martin Wolf, FT

  "President Barack Obama’s administration last week put forward a comprehensive, albeit timid, set of ideas. But will such proposals make the system less crisis-prone? My answer is, no"

• Citigroup revamps pay structure – FT

  Raising salary 50% is why they need to be nationalized

• Russian market sell-off breaks 20% level – FT

  "Shares in Russia dropped further on Tuesday, extending losses this month to more than 20 per cent in a sell-off that has underscored the country’s record as one of the world’s most volatile markets."

• China accused over unfair trade – BBC News

  China is the new whipping boy. Can you say protectionism?

• MySpace slashes overseas staff numbers – FT

  Cutting two-thirds of the overseas staff. This is a catastrophe for engagement.. The brand is ruined.

• Hypo Real Estate warns of heavy losses – FT

  "HRE said its profits would be burdened by at least a “high three-digit million”-euro hit in the second quarter, caused by further risk provisions on real estate loans."

• How to Get The Fed Out Of Its ‘Box’ – WSJ.com

  This was exactly my point in a post last week: "How can the Obama administration and Congress help the Fed do its job and help the fiscal stimulus package work? It needs to address exploding spending on entitlements — Social Security and particularly Medicare — which are causing future deficit projections to be so bleak."

• Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase – WSJ.com

  "Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging "to end welfare as we know it" more than a decade ago."

• Regulators Look Closer at Merck-Schering Deal – Deal Book

  Here’s an area where more regulatory scrutiny is needed: mega-mergers.

• World Bank says recession worse than thought – Financial Post

  "The World Bank said the global recession this year will be deeper than it predicted in March and warned that a flight of capital from developing nations will swell the ranks of the poor and the unemployed."

• Grey hair may be protecting us from cancer – New Scientist

  "Grey hair may be unwelcome, but the processes that produce it are now better understood and could be protecting us from cancer."

• Email patterns can predict impending doom – New Scientist

  "Email logs can provide advance warning of an organisation reaching crisis point. That’s the tantalising suggestion to emerge from the pattern of messages exchanged by Enron employees."

• Vintage Coke Cans – The Dieline

  I remember some of these. Pretty cool art.

• It’;s all about Speed: My first weekend with the new iPhone 3G S. – The Next web

  The new iPhone is wicked fast. Makes a HUGE difference.

• Building Collapses in New York: Google Street View Shows a Crack – Mashable

  Crazy stuff.

• Debt woes hit Independent shares – BBC

  A major newspaper bankruptcy in the UK coming?

• Japan Airlines to receive bailout – BBC News
• Derivatives Get Second Look From U.S. Congress That Didn’t Act – Bloomberg.com

  "Congress will take a second shot at the derivatives industry after its decision nine years ago to forgo regulations led to a $592 trillion market that brought financial firms to their knees."

• Credit-Default Swap Overhaul in Europe Signals Central Clearing – Bloomberg.com

  "Credit-default swap dealers and investors in Europe move a step closer to meeting regulators’ demands for a central clearinghouse today by adopting changes to the way the derivatives are traded."

• France’s budget deficit to exceed 7% – FT.com

  The Maastricht Treaty’s 3% is pretty much shredded

• RBS boss set for 9.6m pay deal – BBC News

  It’s business as usual in the UK too.

Distraction of the day: Apple crushes analyst estimates and sells 1 million iPhones. Wow!