A Daily Glimpse

Should plastic bags be banned?  I think this is a pretty controversial law, but I do like it.  How are we going to get people to change their habits?  But, does the government really need to get its hands in this.

The mortgage deal is a bust.

The mortgage settlement:  no political solutions to a math problem.

Gotta love the Onion!

Barclay’s skyscraper index points to Chinese bubble.

The Brazilian government has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for not closing the accounts of users who have been providing information on drunk driving checkpoints and speedtraps.  An interesting conflict!

Let’s hope so!  An interesting article on the shrinking house size in the United States.  Is it because people don’t have the money?  Or are people starting to realize size isn’t everything?

Colombia resumes Dollar buying to devalue Peso.  So does everyone else… a race to the bottom.  Now Argentina announces it will control wage growth.

Is anyone not corrupt in the Brazilian government?  The head of the Brazilian mint (Casa da Moeda) was supposedly taking kickbacks!

Brazil to lower interest rates.  Risky business says Economonitor, but they should turn out to be ok.

Japanese firms to enter lithium industry in Chile.  I think specific companies in this area will do well in the next decade.

Is Rio ready for the World Cup and the Olympics?  Some of the infrastructure problems leave observers uneasy.

Can Hugo Chavez lose?

Brazil getting China wary?

Mexico’s presidential election and the cartel war.

So I am not going to take any opinions here because I understand both sides.

Buffett’s praise of stocks.

An interesting rebuttal many seem to be starting to agree with from the always controversial Sovereign Man.  WTF Warren Buffett?

I am kind of sick of the media as well as politicians beating on the war drum.  Why does it seem like the beginning of another endless war?  Glen Greenwald always seems to express exactly what I would like to in his opinion articles.  This well-spoken article expresses my opinion completely.

Fun article from the Onion, that has a lot of truth.  The whole Iran thing is way over the top.

Increasing tourists visas to bring more foreign consumers to the US.  This should have been done a long time ago!

Is the Aussie dollar on a record course?  I would say that I think that it isn’t a bad currency to be holding on to for the time being.

Brazilian government “privatizes” some airports.  Privatized might be a bit too strong of a word, but they did give various companies a large share of three different airports in Sao Paulo and Brasilia.   Hopefully this will help with the current state of the airports and make the improvements necessary for the World Cup and beyond.  (Businessweek)

So, Syria is a mess.  This article blames the recent massacres on China and Russia.  This would be hard not to agree with, however, I do not agree that it would be a good idea to arm the rebels…  I am fine with sanctions on the Syrian regime, but arming anybody always ends up different from what we thought, doesn’t it?   (NYTimes)

Who took my easy button?  A good essay by Mr. Mauldin.   The USA faces so many challenges and yet everyone wants to just press the easy button.  Our last couple decades of coasting are over and politicians need to get it together.  I like how every economist has put the unemployment numbers in perspective.  (John Mauldin)

Niall Ferguson:  ”Greece will default, maybe as soon as March.”  (Bloomberg)

When should we stop grieving?   Great article.  Really enjoyed reading this and I have similar feelings on death.  (Quora)

A great graph from CNN on the European debt crisis.  (CNN)

The mortgage settlement is just a stealth bank bailout.  (Naked Capitalism)

Why US infrastructure resembles the ‘third world.’  (Governing.com)

United States democracy being bought and sold.   (Aljazeera)

A tiny detail from Switzerland.  (via Naked Capitalism)

US moving toward distant endgame in Afghanistan?  Let’s hope so…   (Stratfor)

Gloom and Doom for China.  (Creditwritedowns)

Top U.S. official:  Drone critics want Al-Qaeda to succeed.  (Salon)

We are making our children crazy, China has an upper hand in education.  (Asia Times)

Can you tell which art was made by an elephant?  I always have a difficult time walking through some modern art museums and appreciating some art.  I really don’t know why people would spend so much on a few scribbles on a canvas.  (Dailymail)

The Davos failure.  A nice description of the WEF.

Mali besieged by Libyan soldiers.

India’s strategic challenges.  An interesting analysis on India-US relations.  I think it will be one of our most important alliance in the 21st century.  (India Express)

Who is Anonymous?  A great article on the hacking group Anonymous.  If you don’t know much about them. worth a read.

The Prado has found one of the oldest copies of the Mona Lisa.  Really interesting stuff.  (Financial Times)

McDonald’s stops using ‘pink slime‘ in hamburgers.  (Yahoo)

On the verge of a European credit crunch?  (NYTimes)