economic

The shutdown has also prevented the release of most government economic data, creating more uncertainty for investors.

Investors will be paying attention to what management teams say about how consumers have reacted to the latest economic challenges, and how that could affect holiday spending.

“As goes the consumer, so goes the cycle,” Jared Bernstein, a former White House economic advisor, wrote in a recent analysis, referencing the fact that nearly 70% of U.S.

The Federal Reserve’s latest so-called beige book report, which compiles economic anecdotes from the 12 regional Fed banks, said that some businesses were “anxious about the upcoming holiday season.”

It could also help address a scarcity of dollars, a major economic challenge that has for decades fueled catastrophic runs on the country’s currency, the peso.