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POLICE in Belgium are probing the death of a high ranking NATO official after his body was discovered in his car with a gunshot wound to the head

When, and if, it comes time to look for a running mate, Barack Obama will be looking for "somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not an expert on.'' This was the senator's word at a closed-door fundraiser last night in San Francisco, the Huffington Post reports. Obama fielded a question on what he's looking for in a running mate, HuffPo''s Mayhill Flower writes. "I would like somebody who knows about a bunch of stuff that I'm not as expert on," the senator is quoted as saying. "I think a lot of people assume that might be...

There are two events occurring today: 1) The finanical services industry is systematically unwinding. Firms that are involved in financial execution are getting hammered midday: Interactive Brokers down 25 percent, ETrade down 12 percent, TradeStation down 12 percent. What's going on? The brokerage system is not the banking system...a stock and a bond are not the same thing, and a trading account is not an FDIC account. Simply put, customer accounts that are non-FDIC insured are now shown to be potentially at risk. There's clearly concern that some may be liquidating their trading accounts, either from fear or margin calls....

On the other hand, there's an upside to all the fact, opinion and speculation to which we are subjected. It helps us get ready for any eventuality, and I say "any" because absolutely all of them are out there, each put forward by one pundit or another with equal self-assurance. And me? Because I'm something of a moron on a wide variety of subjects, I believe them all. And I'm preparing accordingly.

Contrary to popular belief, the housing market hasn't cooled off that much. In fact, residential real estate prices continue to soar in a number of key metropolitan areas, according to a new study released this week. That's a good thing, right? Actually, no–because the froth building in housing prices raises the distinct possibility of significant corrections to come in many of those regions. In the first quarter, home prices nationwide rose an additional 7.3 percent, according to a joint study by the financial services firm National City Corp. and the research firm Global Insight. As a result, there are now...

"There are those worthless souls who ignore the power of 666; who believe Tuesday- June 6, 2006 - is nothing more than another ordinary mark on the ordinary calendar. They will go about their lives, blind to the blood-curdling evil all around. Soon, the streets will fill with death and decay. Soon, scalped chickens will fall from the sky.

NEW YORK - Alan Greenspan, that Matador of the Money Supply, the esteemed Impresario of Interest Rates, has suffered precious few slings or arrows over his many years as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Even the White House has had to offer its critiques off the record for fear of roiling the markets or upsetting the chairman's Elvis-in-Vegas-like following. So when the chief economist of one of the world's most prestigious banks calls Greenspan a bum, that's a big deal. And yesterday it happened. Stephen Roach, the chief economist for Morgan Stanley & Co. (nyse: MWD - news - people...