ByBrandon Kochkodin,
Forbes Staff.
T
he government shutdown is now in its 14th day. There’s still no sign of a deal and prediction markets are betting it will ultimately last 30 or more days. That also means there’s no clear read on how the economy is holding up at a time when it’s shifting from tight monetary policy toward something less restrictive.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed. Many others are still on the job but not getting paid. Agencies like the Small Business Administration have stopped guaranteeing loans, cutting off a vital source of financing for small firms. For financial markets, though, one of the most important casualties is the stoppage of government data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has halted its reports, including the monthly jobs numbers, and delayed the September Consumer Price Index report until Oct. 24, more than a week later than normal. What arrives then may be a patchwork version.
