Two broad themes dominated last week’s economic and market developments: mounting pressure on previously impressive US economic growth and new bouts of investor anxiety over stock market valuations. Both were set against the backdrop of a continued blackout of official US data. The US economic picture was mixed. As the government shutdown approached 40 days (the longest ever), the likelihood of a full economic rebound diminished. The impact was stark in the travel sector, where a government-directed 10% cut in traffic at 40 airports fueled traveler uncertainty and led to mounting cancellations by both airlines and ... (full story)