Record U.S. government shutdown is over-but Wall Street only has 10 weeks to relax before the next one could begin | Fortune

"Markets, rejoice! The U.S. government shutdown, the longest in history, has finally come to an end. An optimist might assume the funding deal will avert a similar crisis-perhaps until the next administration, or for a couple of years at least? Not so. The countdown is already on, and the clock is set to 78 days. Last night, President Donald Trump signed a funding bill to end the 43-day impasse on Capitol Hill."

"While Wall Street rarely misses a step because of Washington's fiscal fisticuffs, the longer the shutdown, the greater its potential to have an adverse effect on the economy. Some flights were grounded after Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) staff went unpaid during the shutdown, while furloughed workers more widely pulled back on spending as they wondered when they would next receive a paycheck."

"The issue investors may have focused on most was the void of data during the shutdown. The Bureau of Labor Statistics could not provide its hotly-anticipated jobs market reports, adding to fears that the employment market may be slowing at an increasingly faster rate. Similarly, inflation data went unreleased. This means that concerns over tariff-induced price rises (or retailers sneaking up their price tags in a data blackout) may have trickled through unnoticed, leading to a reckoning further down the line."

President Donald Trump signed a funding bill to end the 43-day U.S. government shutdown. The bill funds SNAP, the Department of Agriculture, Congress, and veterans affairs through September next year, while most federal departments received funding only until January 30. The longer shutdown risked economic harm despite limited Wall Street disruption. FAA staff went unpaid and some flights were grounded, and furloughed workers reduced spending. Key government data were not released: Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs reports and inflation figures went unreleased. The absence of labor and inflation data complicated Federal Reserve rate-setting and increased unease about the real economy.

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