United States

• Futures flat as geopolitical risks weigh; earnings eyed (Reuters)
• Brent oil rises for 8th day on possible extension to supply cut (Reuters)
• U.S. accuses Russia of Syria gas attack 'cover up' (Reuters)
• Xi Tells Trump China Wants Peaceful North Korea Solution (WSJ)
• Tillerson, Lavrov Hold Talks in Moscow Amid Rising Tensions Over Syria (WSJ)
• Russian diplomat says U.S. stance on Syria 'a mystery' (Reuters)
• Trump's message to bankers: Wall Street reform rules may be eliminated (Reuters)

Trust between Russia and the US has collapsed under the Trump administration, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday, as Moscow delivered an unusually frigid if not hostile reception to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a face-off over Syria, shortly after Putin said the recent chemical attack was a staged "false flag" and predicted that more are coming, while at the same time the US accused Russia of a gas attack "cover up."

S&P futures are unchanged and Asian stocks closed mixed, however European stocks rebounded for first time this week, led by auto stocks after Daimler’s quarterly profit, as a break in alarming political news prompted traders to "swoop" - as Reuters puts it - on equities, cooling a safe-haven rally that saw the yen and gold at five-month highs and global government bond yields to drop their lowest this year.

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

Submitted by Stock Board Asset Management