The new year is upon us, and with the fiscal cliff behind us, we can finally… start counting down to the fiscal cliff again. This time it’s the delayed sequestration and a (potential) rerun of 2011’s debt-ceiling showdown that we’ll face in less than two months’ time. It’s like a bad soap opera – the same characters rerunning the same petty dramas, season after season, with little hope of a satisfying conclusion. Until the next episode airs, however, here’s what we’re reading headed into the weekend:

• Google escapes an FTC investigation relatively unscathed (Politico)
• The potential showdown of the trillion dollar coin vs. the debt ceiling (Bloomberg)
• Rethinking the “alternatives” label in your portfolio (Financial Advisor Magazine)
• Remembering those who passed away in 2012 as only Wikipedia can (Visual.ly)
• AIG sends out a big thank-you for the bailout. Umm… you’re welcome? (Politico)

And just for fun…

• In celebration of Asimov and Tolkien’s birthdays, some science fiction word soup (Wordnik)