United States

President Trump has confirmed that he is officially reviewing the United States’ participation in the “corrupt” U.N. Human Rights Council.  The Trump administration warned on Wednesday that it would look seriously at whether it is in the interests of the United States to continue dealing with an international body who seems to be “obsessed with Israel.” Erin Barlacy, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, blasted the Council in Switzerland earlier this week, saying that the U.S. was reconsidering its relationship with the organization.

Earlier today, the world's biggest fast food retailer spooked its investors when it briefly halted trading in its stock ahead of its annual investor day. However, instead of some dramatic M&A deal revelation, McDonalds had a far less exciting announcement: it had decided to go back to basis in an attempt to recover some 500 million U.S. orders it had lost over the past five years to competition as a result of failed attempts to widen its customer base.

An internal White House strategy review on North Korean options includes the possibility of both military force and regime change to counter the country’s nuclear-weapons threat, the WSJ reports, a prospect that has some U.S. allies in the region on edge. The review comes amid recent events have strained regional stability including last month's launch by North Korea of a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, and the assassination of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Malaysia.

 The following article by David Haggith was published first on The Great Recession Blog:

Trump is market magic. The Donald spoke, offering nothing he hasn’t said hundreds of times before in his campaign speeches, and the Dow parted its way through the 21,000 barrier without hesitation. The stock market’s rise from 20k to 21k also tied a record for the quickest 1,000-point gain. How long will this rampaging bull market last?  Is 22,000 now an easy reach?

Russian and Syrian jets nearly hit U.S. forces in northern Syria on Tuesday when they attacked positions held by Syrian Democratic Forces, a US ally in the ongoing effort to expel the Islamic State from Syria, the top U.S. commander in Iraq and Syria said Wednesday.