The! Biggest! News! of! the! Day! - Not Housing Permits, Applied Materials, or Greenspan

Here are some of the contenders for today's biggest...news...of...the...day...

• Mixed data from the housing market..."builders pulled back on filing for permits to build homes in April, but started construction on more houses than they did in March"...
• An earnings report from Applied Materials (AMAT) that has the stock indicated to open lower...
• Word that Edward Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings (SHLD), bought into Citigroup (C)...
• A report that says bond powerhouse Pimco has hired Alan Greenspan...
• A look in what Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is buying and selling...
• A look in what George Soros is buying and selling...
• Word that Bausch & Lomb (BOL) is being taken private...
• Speculation about what the Thomson acquisition of Reuters (RTRSY) could mean to Bloomberg...

While those are all stories worth watching, I think it is obviously clear that the biggest story is this - Soccer fan Sofia Loren to strip if team moves up...according to the article, "72-year-old actress Sofia Loren" has offered a "striptease " to help spur on favorite soccer team...

Uhmmm...not really sure what I can say about this (other than it might offer yet another explanation for the creepy smirk we see on "old Nick" below) so perhaps it is best to just leave as is...