This time, next year on Wall Street. Things look grim at the moment, but where will we be a year from now? That depends on who’s president. What will New York look like a year from now? The answer: bad and probably worse, and perhaps downright catastrophic. The critical issue will be presidential leadership. Obama is a recession. McCain is a depression. – New York Magazine

Metaphors of the mind: Why loneliness feels cold and sins feel dirty. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Zhong about his latest research, how abstract concepts can create physical feelings. — Scientific American

Behind the bluster, Russia Is collapsing. The bear is back. That’s what all too many Russia-watchers have been saying since Russian troops steamrolled Georgia in August. Not so fast. Predictions that Russia will again become powerful, rich and influential ignore some simply devastating problems at home that block any march to power. — The Washington Post

Who won the Nobel for Physics – and some famous Nobel snubs. An American and two Japanese physicists on Tuesday won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work exploring the hidden symmetries among elementary particles that are the deepest constituents of nature, reports the New York Times. Meanwhile, Scientific American details the Top 10 Nobel Snubs. [via 3QuarksDaily]