lifestyle leader

- Health care bill: check. For some, it is a landmark in reform that aims to provide to millions of Americas health coverage of the kind the rest of the rich world takes for granted; for others, it is “one of the most offensive pieces of social engineering legislation in the history of the United States.” Potato, potahto.

- Last week, political uncertainty grew in Latvia after a member of the ruling coalition pulled out of government. This leaves the current government in a minority position while it attempts to impose reform measures to comply with EU/IMF assistance. The good news: the IMF says it intends to carry on working with the current government and talks are set to begin for another party to join the government, returning it to majority status. Given the small Baltic country's serious economic woes (and the fact that 90% of their debt is denominated in foreign currency), maintaining EU/IMF assistance is going to be essential in containing the damage.

- Facing rising inflation, India is beginning to raise rates again. The markets dropped a bit, perhaps surprised at timing but not the outcome of the decision. Update: FT Alphaville ponders whether this is a "dry run" for China's expected monetary tightening (but concludes probably not).

- According to El Nacional, purchasing power in Chavez' Venezuela has fallen 162%. That's a lot. Some perspective: "So if, pre-Chavez, you could buy 100 potatoes, you can now only afford 62 anti-potatoes."
Wait, disregard: "Math" suggests that it has only fallen by 22%.

The political economy of professional sports has reared its ugly head this week, with politics winning a decisive victory over economy (and common sense). Case in point: the messy debate over the future of Phoenix's NHL franchise. Somehow it makes more sense to the NHL brass to keep a team that is dying from financial dehydration in what is both literally and figuratively a hockey desert than to move it to a region with several million hockey fans.

Along a similar vein, the boardroom maneuverings over the ownership of the Arsenal football club are once again taking on a xenophobic flavour. Isn't sport fun?