Politics

The Council on Foreign Relations yesterday released its annual Preventive Priorities Survey, which evaluates ongoing and potential conflict flashpoints based on their likelihood of occurring in the coming year and their impact on U.S. interests.

A NATO-Russia confrontation has been deemed a top risk by by the CFR survey, conducted by foreign policy experts. This placed it alongside the risk of a nuclear crisis with North Korea, a highly disruptive cyberattack, and a severe terrorist attack on the US among the events with the highest impact on the US.

With the market certain the Fed will hike at 2pm today, there is little room for surprise. Furthermore, as Deutsche Bank previewed yesterday, no matter the Yellen spin, whether it is a "hawkish", "neutral", or "dovish" hike the market reaction is expected to be bullish...

... and as a result the market is already turning its attention to what the Fed will way about 2017, furthermore, with bond traders near record short positions, there is potential for a squeeze in rates after the announcement should Yellen err on the dovish side.

Submited by Alice Salles via TheAntiMedia.org,

The scapegoating of Russia is now so widespread, Dirty Wars author and investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill took to The Intercept to call the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on its bluff.

In the article, “Obama Must Declassify Evidence Of Russian Hacking,” Scahill and Jon Schwartz called out U.S. intelligence agencies for their record of deceit, asserting that the American people are not going to simply “take their word for it.”

Drone footage has revealed extreme devastation in eastern Aleppo, once Syria's largest city and thriving economic center with its renowned ancient sites, with crumbling homes and deserted streets replacing a once-lively area of the city.

Vladimir Putin has said he is ready and willing to meet with President-elect Donald Trump to help him make America great again.  The Russian President recently answered questions from journalists who wanted to know whether he would be meeting with Trump any time soon. “We are ready at any moment. There are no problems from our side,” Putin responded, according to part of an interview transcript released by the Kremlin.