Bashar al-Assad

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has shown his readiness to initiate talks with the incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. What Happened: In his annual televised press conference held in Moscow, Putin stated his readiness to engage in dialogue with Trump,  Bloomberg on Thursday. “I...

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum by Russia, as revealed by a source from the Kremlin, according to Russia’s State-Owned News Agency TASS on Sunday. What Happened: Assad and his family have now arrived in Moscow. The Kremlin source stated that the...

A Russian fighter jet struck a U.S. drone with a flare over Syria, marking the latest in a series of encounters between Russian jets and U.S. drones in the region, Al Jazeera reports. Incident Details: The Russian aircraft flew dangerously close to the U.S. MQ-9 drone, deployed on a mission against...

Russia warned that it might fire on American aircraft in Syria after a U.S. Air Force F-18 Super Hornet shot down a Russian-built government fighter that allegedly bombed troops from the U.S.-led rebel coalition. The clash on Sunday was reminiscent of the proxy wars the two superpowers engaged in...

Shares of the Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) rose Friday on news that the United States fired 59 of the defense contractor’s Tomahawk cruise missiles at forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, retaliation for the dictator’s use of chemical weapons on U.S.-backed rebel forces....

Data from China confirmed that the nation was experiencing a slowdown and disappointed those who were hoping that the world’s second largest economy was picking up steam. However, the figures were higher than expected, which helped calm worries about a steep downturn and took some pressure off...

This week European emerging markets were pulled into the massive selloff that has taken hold elsewhere. On Thursday, the Hungarian Forint lost nearly one percent against the dollar and Polish zloty and Czech koruna were not far behind. The dip showed that investors’ fear of overseas...

Brent crude oil settled below $108 on Friday morning after slipping on Thursday due to worse than expected Chinese PMI data. The commodity traded at $107.56 at 7:30 GMT as investors looked to Switzerland for details about the ongoing peace talks about Syria. Data from China showed that the nation...

The much anticipated Syrian peace conference got off to a rocky start on Wednesday in Montreux, Switzerland. US Secretary of State John Kerry started the talks off by calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's removal from power. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem countered by saying...

As investors wait to hear from the US Federal Reserve about whether or not the bank is going to cut its $85 billion per month stimulus plan, economists warn that the US debt ceiling will step into the spotlight. Months of anticipation about the Fed cutting its stimulus spending by $10 to $15...

Charles Campbell, executive director at MKM Partners, gave his insight into Tuesday night's speech by President Obama to CNBC's Squawk Box by phone on Wednesday, covering plausible market reactions and refocusing towards the question of accommodation reductions as fears over Syria subsides. Obama...

Brent crude oil tumbled on Tuesday after Russia's proposal about the situation in Syria was well received and put US military strikes on pause. The commodity traded at $112.90 at 6:50 GMT on Tuesday morning as the possibility of a US military strike in Syria became less likely. Russia has...

Brent crude oil started the week off just below $116 as fears about military intervention in Syria continued to boost its price. The commodity traded at $115.90 at 6:45 GMT on Monday morning as tension heightened ahead of the Senate's vote, scheduled for Wednesday. Reuters reported that some...

Brent crude oil was poised for another weekly rise as the looming US military strike in Syria kept prices elevated. The commodity traded at $115.18 at 7:24 GMT on Friday morning as investors waited for key US data due out later in the day. Although US President Barack Obama was able to find...

Brent crude oil was steady on Thursday as concerns about supply interruptions due to military strikes in Syria eased. The commodity traded at $115.09 at 6:45 GMT on Thursday morning. Despite authorization to use military force in Syria being passed through the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee...