![]() ![]() A funding crisis creates a partial shutdown of non-essential government services – with the potential for about 800,000 employees to be furloughed. As such, even if the current budget debate were to take a similar course to that of 2011, there is no guarantee that investors’ response would be similar.īefore we get to 2011, it is important to note the difference between a a government funding crisis and a debt ceiling breach. However, it’s important to note that economic and financial conditions in 2011 were very different than they are today. Looking back at the summer of 2011 can be instructive for investors in terms of how different markets reacted at the time. So, if the budget debate in Washington comes down to the wire, what should investors expect? While there have been several government shutdowns over the past few decades including in 1995-96, 2013, and 2018-19, only during the summer of 2011 did the possibility of default come to the fore. government securities as well as in equities, gold and other assets. Regardless, Q3 2023 could be fraught with challenges for investors in U.S. ![]() The amount of tax revenues received in April could bring the date forward or push it back within the three-month range. The Congressional Budget Office suggested in mid-February that the government could run out of cash between July and September. The House of Representatives and the White House appear to be locking horns over the Federal budget and on raising the debt limit that could potentially delay coupon and principal payments on U.S. ![]()
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![]() ![]() HBO’s “The Outsider” offers a better balance, if not a perfect one. Perhaps the Master of Horror has been writing about ghosts and demons for so long that he no longer feels the need to convince anyone that believing in the boogeyman is a reasonable, rational choice, but the book tries to combine two, diametrically opposed genres - speculative fiction and true crime - without respecting the foundation of both. King asks the same from his readers, to believe in the unbelievable, except the novel falls spectacularly short is in justifying its own request. Stephen King’s 2018 novel focuses on a small town detective whose job requires him to find concrete answers to real-world mysteries, and then hands him an impossible case he can’t explain - not without considering supernatural possibilities. At its core, “ The Outsider” is a story about belief. ![]() ![]() ![]() Predictably, Sophie’s ability to move past her jealousy and reach out is what ultimately enables her to solve the conflict at the corner, as well. Another follows Sophie as she meets more neighborhood witches, and learns about a city corner that seems to be cursed–at least, everyone who goes by seems to meet with bad luck. One thread follows Sophie’s anger at her friend for paying more attention to the new girl than to her. ![]() What the Hex?! attempts to intertwine two parallel stories, with only partial success. What the Hex?! is a pleasant read, but not the type of story that invites rereading. Sophie, however, does not experience any real struggles with her magic in this installment, thereby lessening much of the drama and keeping the focus on her jealousy towards her friend’s infatuation with the new girl at school. Like many middle-grade graphic novels, it focuses on the drama of changing friend groups, though with the added twist of making the protagonist a witch. The sequel to Witches of Brooklyn is an engaging, if not particularly memorable read. ![]() |