As Belgium Waffles....

As I am writing this at the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial average has dropped over 500 points (over 4 % of value) today. The talk is not a lot about what is going on in the U.S. (although the July Unemployment numbers come out tomorrow) but rather what is going on in Europe. Why should our markets be so nervous? Why should we care that the Wall Street Journal reported today U.K. regulators' interest in Belgian debt, in addition to the known problems of Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Italy. I ask you, when was the last time you had a thought about Belgium one way or another (and I don't count Belgian waffles)?

This is why you should care.