Some of the more interesting and important items for March 15th :

• Sunday (Not So) Fun: Tracking The Latest News On Japan’s Earthquake : The Disciplined Investor – Obviously, when they are saying that his is the worst disaster since WW2, we need to keep on top of what is going on. Here are some of the places that I have found to be providing excellent and continuing coverage of the Japan Earthquake. If you have any, comment and we will add to the list.
• U.S. Passes France as World’s Biggest Wine-Consuming Nation – Bloomberg – The U.S. passed France as the world’s largest wine-consuming nation for the first time, lifted by its larger population and an interest in wine-and-cheese culture among young Americans.
• CIA – The World Factbook — Country Comparison :: Public debt – This entry records the cumulative total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country's home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.
• Newspaper ads sag to a 25-year low in 2010 – Yahoo! Finance – Newspaper advertising in the U.S. has sunk to a 25-year low as marketing budgets followed readers to the Internet, where advertising is far cheaper than what publishers have been able to command in print.<br />
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  Advertisers spent $25.8 billion on newspapers' print and digital editions last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Newspaper Association of America. That's the lowest amount since 1985 when total newspaper advertising stood at $25.2 billion.
• A Change in Trend – S&P 500 Levels to Watch : The Disciplined Investor – The S&P 500 looks to be finally breaking down below key support levels. Yes, this has been on the verge of occurring for some time, but now closing this far below the 50-day MA will be an awakening to the bear camp.
• Germany to shut down pre-1980 nuclear plants | Reuters – (Reuters) – Germany will shut down all seven of its nuclear power plants that began operating before 1980 at least till June, the government said on Tuesday, leaving open whether they will ever start up again after Japan's crisis.
• U.S. Economy: Import Prices Jumped in February on Oil, Food – Bloomberg – The cost of goods imported into the U.S. rose more than forecast in February, led by further gains in commodities that companies are struggling to pass along to their customers.<br />
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  The 1.4 percent increase in the import-price index exceeded the 0.9 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey and followed a 1.3 percent rise in January, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.
• Japan crisis now worse than Three Mile Island – World news – Asia-Pacific – msnbc.com – SOMA, Japan — The catastrophe at Japan's stricken nuclear complex is now worse than Three Mile Island, experts said Tuesday, after the crisis escalated again with a new explosion — this one opening holes in the structure housing a pool with radioactive rods of spent nuclear fuel — and fears that the vessel containing one reactor had been compromised.
• Japan Nuclear Plant’s Troubles Deepen – WSJ.com – TOKYO—Japan's nuclear crisis showed signs of spinning out of control Tuesday, after officials reported a third explosion and warned of possible damage to a critical part of the cooling system at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex.