I just noticed that the account creation stuff was broken, and probably has been since Dec 3. It's fixed now, so if you have always wanted to create an account and log in but have been frustrated by bad technology, now's the time.

Lucien Bebchuk: Settling for Less. Regarding deal struck with Wall Street investment firms for misleading consumers: "It might be more accurate to regard the settlement, announced by federal, state and industry regulators, as a slap on the wrist. By any standard measure — its punitive value, its deterrence effect or the extent to which it will bring about structural change on Wall Street — the settlement is rather modest." We could and should have done more here.

Paul Krugman: Lumps of Coal. Reading this summary of the current economic situation, I'm not optimistic that this will all be over soon.