Brazil

European and Asian stocks slumped on Thursday following the worst one-day drop in US stocks in 8 months, while S&P futures tumbled to session lows, down 0.3% to 2,350 after initially posting a modest rebound, following a new Reuters report alleging that Trump campaign members communication with Russians on at least 18 occasions, and which prompted today's risk off mood sending the USDJPY crashing by 100 pips from overnight highs of 111.40.

The presidency of Brazil's Michel Temer, who replaced disgraced and impeached predecessor Dilma Rouseff last summer, lasted about one year without a major corruption scandal.

Less than a year after former president Dilma Rouseff was impeached and ousted for corruption, Brazil's economy continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace, and on Friday Brazilian police tear-gassed demonstrators and rioters burned buses in the violent conclusion of a general strike - the first in 21 years - that shut down transport, schools and banks in protest against the government's austerity reforms.

Brazilian President Michel Temer has announced a major crackdown on the freedom of the press in Brazil – forcing two of the nations largest newspapers to delete articles deemed embarrassing to the government.  Brazilian newspapers Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo were forced to delete a news article about President Michel Temer, his wife, Marcela, and a Brazilian judge over a story about he attempted blackmail of the first lady and president by a hacker who cloned her iPhone last April.

Authorities in Brazil are on the verge of declaring a state of emergency as anarchists have taken to the streets amid an ongoing police strike.  Over 100 people have been killed in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, as hundreds of military patrol the streets in order to try and keep order amongst the millions of citizens. Yahoo News reports: “We cannot establish definite motives for these killings at this time as the crisis is still ongoing,” said Gustavo Tenorio, a spokesman for the police union.