Terror Trading

Lots of controversy over a Defense Department plan to set up an online futures trading market to help forecast terrorist attacks.

Smart money is that the Pentagon messes this up if it ever does get off the ground, but it beats a certain other DARPA initiative.

"Research indicates that markets are extremely efficient, effective and timely aggregators of dispersed and even hidden information," said the Pentagon statement. "Futures markets have proven themselves to be good at predicting such things as elections results; they are often better than expert opinions."

That's a concept experts in Washington aren't likely to appreciate.