The latest greatest explanation comes from This American Life from NPR Radio in Chicago. In a show aptly entitled, "Another Frightening Show About the Economy," Ira Glass and guests explain the latest Wall Street Freak Out (in the form of the commercial paper market) in easy to understand terminology that gets to the core of how economics in the U.S. work and why said economics in the U.S. is collapsing into hell.

I haven't listened to the entire thing yet--the part I'm looking forward to hearing:

Act Four. What's Next?

Ira and Adam answer the question: Was the $700 billion bailout bill signed into law today a good idea or a bad one? (10 minutes)

Some how, I think I already know the answer to this--and it's not one I will be happy with.

Calderon's predictions would put Mexico in 5th place after China, the U.S., India and Brasil.

The current ranking has Mexico ranked as number 15; the current number 1 is the U.S., followed by Japan, Germany, China and the U.K.

Via / Milenio

In the past month, taxicab companies have seen an increase in business by as much as 30 percent — a direct result, owners say, of a new law enforcement initiative targeting immigration violations.

The initiative, a local-federal partnership known as 287(g), was implemented in April by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. It allows detention officers to begin deportation proceedings for any arrestee who is brought to the county jail and determined to be in the country illegally.

Sheriff Steve Cronic has said that the initiative has already cut down on the number of arrests for common traffic offenses such as driving without a license.

Via / Gainesville Times

But for Mexico, Friday's announcement – which has been heralded as the largest manufacturing investment in the country's history – is a decisive feat.

President Felipe Calderón called the $3 billion deal a "turning point."

While the US automaking industry sags – undergoing massive restructuring and downsizing – Mexico's production has expanded, especially for small, low-cost vehicles. Last year, Mexico produced a record number – over 2 million – and analysts forecast that by the year 2015 production could at least double.

Via / Christian Science Monitor

With the affirmation of "We are going to make history," Shakira and Miguel Bosé announced on Thursday that the ALAS Foundation will receive a donation of 200 million dollars from businessmen Carlos Slim and Howard Buffett, as well as from wealthy families all over Latin America.

Slim alone is donating 110 million dollars to the cause. The Mexican businessman said he feels a social responsibility towards the less fortunate and said that as a member of ALAS he is using his business experience to help solve social problems.

American Buffett will contribute 85 million dollars. "Poverty has devastating consequences. Those who prefer to live with their eyes closed will see the consequences. ALAS will not allow it" said Miguel Bosé in a press conferenece two days before the massive free concerts that will be held for the cause, which will happen simultaneously in Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

I'm sure the 110 million is no skin off of Slim's nose, but it's nice to see this happen. I've always found it to be an offensive contradiction that one of the world's top 5 richest men would be from a country where half the population lives in poverty and one-fifth in extreme poverty.

Via / El Universal (Venezuela)

Image via AP/Yahoo News

Venezuela's Ambassador to Britain, who arrived shortly after the ruling, answered with just one word when he heard the result: "Excellento".Excellento? Um Reuters, check your translations.

Via / Reuters

Exxon gets (or got) about 5% of its crude oil from Venezuela.

Via / BBC y CNN

And although there is no Century 21 here, there is a bustling underground market in homes and apartments, which has given rise to agents (illegal ones), speculators (they are illegal, too) and scams (which range from praising a dive as a dream house to backing out of a deal at the closing and pocketing the cash).

The whole enterprise is quintessentially Cuban, socialist on its face but really a black market involving equal parts drama and dinero, sometimes as much as $50,000 or more. These days, insiders say, prices are on the rise as people try to get their hands on historic homes in anticipation of a time when private property may return to Cuba.

Officially, buying or selling property is forbidden. But the island has a dire housing shortage, despite government-sponsored new construction. And that has led many Cubans to subdivide their often decaying dwellings or to upgrade their surroundings through a decades-old bartering scheme known in Cuban slang as "permuta."

As part of the National Campaign in Defense of Food Sovereignty and the revitalization of Mexican farmland project Sin Maíz no hay País ["Without Corn There is No Country"], 300 farmer, environmental and human rights organizations participating in said campaigns will create a human wall on the first day of January on the 5 border bridges of Ciudad Juárez, where truckloads of grain enter from the United States...

...this protest is part of the campaign, which started on July 25th with the goal of ending the free entry into the market of [U.S.] corn, beans, powdered milk and sugar cane, and to urge Congress and the [Mexican] federal government to begin a renegotiation process of the farming section of the NAFTA documents.

Via / La Jornada

Image via ElPais.com

As rumored last week, Carlos Slim Helu's U.S. electronics chain CompUSA Management Co. will close after the holiday. Liquidator and restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group LLC agreed to purchase the assets of the troubled Dallas-based retailer, which closed half of its stores in February. No financial details were given, but Boston-based Gordon Brothers is expected to find a buyer for CompUSA's 103 store locations, e-commerce unit and its tech support business.

Via / Dealscape

Image via Tyler Durden's Imaginary Friend's Flickr page

He also dismisses arguments that he could attract workers by raising wages, saying Americans do not take the sweaty, seasonal field jobs. “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I did that I would raise my costs and I would not have a legal work force,” Mr. Scaroni said.

Image Via / NYT (Registration required)

The five-time-Oscar winning director arrived this week in Florianopolis, on the Atlantic coast some 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of here, in search of real estate for his business venture, said the website without further details.

Coppola, 68, already has several investments including a couple of wineries in the US state of California and resorts in Guatemala and Belize.

In June, the director of "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" was in Buenos Aires where he bought a hotel boutique and where he also plans to set up a film production facility and shoot a movie in 2008, G1 said.

Via / Yahoo! Entertainment - AFP