Happy sequester! Our U-shaped week started out with political worries (in Italy) sending risk on markets plummeting on Monday, while risk off markets (especially the Yen) suddenly spiked. And now we’re capping off the week with sequester drama while the Dow skirts ever closer to a new all-time high. So much for politically-driven “uncertainty” putting a damper on the market. Higher volatility stuck around for the second week in a row after a long absence, but the month-end whipsaw was not what managed futures were hoping to see. As we kick off the new month – and hopefully get a little bit of that Irish luck coming our way – here’s what we’re reading headed into the weekend:

• The relationship between a country’s debt and its credit rating is far from an exact science (Economist)
• A man walking 10 miles to a job interview gets a job offer… from someone he asked for directions (Buzzfeed)
• Will new SEC Mary Jo White be too deferential to Wall Street? (Bloomberg)
• Smog in China makes a skyscraper disappear  from view (Quartz)
• The gambler and the quant – meet one of the top basketball betting teams in the world (ESPN)
• The hockey goaltender who allowed 60 goals… and was still the MVP for his team (Yahoo Sports)
• To round out the sports theme this week: a high school basketball play to warm your heart (Viddler)