The full global political reaction to last night’s U.S. airstrikes on a Syrian air base remains to be seen, but the impact on Russia’s economic ties to Syria will only heighten tense relations. Russia, as President Bashar Assad’s staunchest ally, has boosted the Syrian government’s military might in its civil war and in turn profited from billions of dollars in arms and equipment sales. Let’s face it, there’s no easy transition to our next story, where we meet Mark Wagner, the New York-based collage artist who deconstructs dollar bills to make portraits of presidents and re-create famous paintings. And, as always, we’ll wrap up the week in business and economic news.
