News Links: Portugal to need Greek style debt haircut

Portugal’s borrowing costs have jumped to record highs and are tracking the moves seen in the culminating phase of Greece’s debt crisis, dashing hopes that the country will be able to stave off contagion by embracing drastic austerity.

In another non-surprising patent trolling move, Apple has made the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung their next target in German courts. In this latest trolling journey, the folks from Cupertino have decided that the unlock mechanism in the G-Nex infringes on their slide-to-unlock patent. [insert eye roll]

according to a new poll from RBC Capital, Amazon stands to earn about $136 in additional revenue from every customer who bought a Kindle Fire. So while the hardware might be a loss leader, overall the Kindle Fire is a win for Amazon’s bottom line.

Burke died at the age of 29 in hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, after tearing the artery that supplies blood to the brainstem during a training run in the superpipe at a personal sponsor event at the Park City Mountain resort.

I don’t think there is any overt conspiracy," Professor Lawless said. "But when you have a complex system, these biases can play out and the people within the system don’t see the pattern because nobody is in charge of looking at these big issues.

I continue to marvel at the armies of deficit vigilantes who take aim at Treasuries and JGBs, armed with Gold Standard thinking or even the latest Reinhart/Rogoff, only to retreat 2-3 year later.

Stop looking at infringers as pirates or criminals and instead look at them as potential customers. Find a way to make content worth obtaining legally so that artists, distributors and producers can all get paid.

Schrille Töne im US-Präsidentschaftswahlkampf: Die Republikaner sehen Europa als sozialistisches Gebilde und Präsident Obama mit im Boot. Außenminister Westerwelle hält bei seinem USA-Besuch dagegen.

"Fugitive methane" released during shale gas drilling could accelerate climate change

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is in the news these days because of comments made by some Republican presidential candidates. Below are five things you probably don’t know about the program.

Megaupload users who stored backups and personal data on the site protested the loss of their files, highlighting the risks of using a consumer file-sharing service for business purposes.

The by now globally famous shutdown of Megaupload by an FBI coordinated global operation, has raised questions about the ultimate security Cloud based services.

The professor of economics discusses the contributions made by the Austrian School. He introduces recent books by Austrians, explains what we can learn from Mises and Hayek, and argues that economics is the sexiest subject

many Republicans are willing to forgive his flaws and his past because he connects with a silent slice of their core convictions – their deep-seated, long-simmering issues with an "elite" media bias, minority "privilege" and Obama’s "otherness." Romney dares not go there. Not Newt. He’s the street fighter with a history of poisonous politics who not only goes there but dwells there. He makes his nest among the thorns of open animus and coded language.

The average American family of four throws out an estimated $130 to $175 in uneaten or spoiled food every month. Want to save more money and be less wasteful? Perhaps you just need an "eat me first box" in your fridge.

Americans’ satisfaction with the size and power of the federal government is at a record-low 29% and their satisfaction with the size and influence of major corporations remains near the all-time low at 30% — making both highly susceptible targets for politicians and presidential candidates in this election year.

When you have a broad community like ours, you expect to see dissenting voices. But we stand behind the idea that everyone has a right to learn what they want to learn. We will not cooperate with censorship. That is not controversial. In that situation, we are political. Don’t expect to see us becoming activists – it’s not who we are.

I started a new job a month ago and now realize it’s not really a good fit for me. Even after a month I’m still not comfortable and I dread going in every morning. Can I quit without looking like a total jerk?