United States

The "Russia hacked the US election" is getting its second wind.

One day after Reuters provided further details of the ongoing FBI probes - of which there are now reportedly three - into activities that are generally classified as the Kremlin's hacking of the US presidential election, the Senate Intelligence Committee has likewise escalated its probe into Russian interference, and is requesting that agencies preserve all materials that could tie into the committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

When asked which military power they’d want fighting on their side if attacked, citizens of four NATO nations said they would choose Russia. A Gallup poll has revealed that citizens of Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Slovenia would rather have Russia defending them than the US, reflecting changing perceptions of the United States role in global security. RT reports: Between October and December 2016, WIN/Gallup International asked around a thousand people in 66 countries who would be their go-to ally if attacked.

The Trump-Putin honeymoon continues to chill... that is if Trump's top foreign policy advisors speak for the president, which remains very much unclear.

In the latest surprising announcement to emerge from the Trump White House, the WSJ reports that the Trump administration is considering changing the way the U.S. trade deficit is calculated, a shift that would make America's trade gap appear even greater than it has been in recent years, potentially making future trade skirmishes and wars with America's export-heavy trade partners far more likely. 

By EconMatters