The big news impacting markets this week is the shutdown of the US government. While lawmakers were trying to find a funding solution, Democratic and Republican lawmakers were at loggerheads over maintaining funding for Medicaid programs. It marks the first time in seven years that the government has been shut down — the last time came during negotiations over the disputed US-Mexico border wall in December 2018. President Donald Trump has resolved to use the closure to push through the firing of thousands of federal government employees and cut funding to projects promised by Democrats. Additionally, the jobs report, scheduled for release on Friday (October 3), was delayed, causing greater uncertainty for analysts and investors who were trying to gauge the strength of the economy in September. Despite the lack of official government data, payroll processor ADP reported a loss of 32,000 jobs in September. The decline represents a significant…
