Last Friday, Congress had a chance to keep the government open and operating. The House passed the bill and sent it to the Senate to do the same. Late Friday night, the Senate did not pass the bill. So the Government has shut down. ABCNews has a good write up on what happens with the U.S. Government shuts down.
The U.S. Government has shut down 12 times since 1981. The longest was 21 days long, December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996, during the Clinton Administration. This week many will be looking to see the length and the sense of uncertainty caused by the shutdown.
Global Spotlight
Where Will the White House Swing on Trade? In the days leading up to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Jan. 30 State of the Union address, we are watching for the president to make a big splash on trade policy.
Russia Clears the Way for Turkey in Syria. Turkey has kicked off an offensive against Kurdish militants in northwest Syria and is telling both Russia and the United States to get out of the way.
Can Europe Get Iran to Bend? U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in Europe this week to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and to pay visits to France, the United Kingdom and Poland.
Putin Braces for Protests and Sanctions. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is launching a series of protests this week to undermine President Vladimir Putin and get voters to boycott the March presidential election.
Da Silva Goes to Trial (Again). Brazil’s leading presidential candidate, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will face trial on corruption charges Jan. 24. Look for EWZ to react and present an opportunity.
Catching up to Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies took a tumble last week as China and South Korea have been discussing banning exchanges for cryptocurrency trading.
Stratfor.com
Economic Calendar
Here is a list of the U.S. economic events happening this week. Investors look at a normal calendar this week. The Government Shutdown might force some reports to be released later than normal. The last report from Bloomberg 7:27 p.m. Congress is still at a stalemate. I do not expect the government to be open tomorrow.
A key takeaway from the last Durable Orders Report is that it will still compute as a positive input for Q4 GDP forecasts since shipments of nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft increased 0.3% on top of a 1.3% increase in October.
A key takeaway from the last Leading Indicators report is that the leading economic index increased at a faster pace (3.0%) for the six-month period ending November 2017 than it did for the previous six months (+2.4%), as strengths among the leading indicators have remained widespread.
The most important releases will be earnings. Listen to the conference calls to catch discussions of outlook.
briefing.com
Last Weeks Numbers
Review Last weeks numbers here.
