So much for the "crisis" predicted by doomsayers. The purported catastrophe that the partial federal government "shutdown" would cause on Wall Street has failed to develop. Marketwatch reports, "U.S. stocks on Tuesday climbed for the first session in three, bouncing back from multi-week lows...." The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday rose 62.03 points, or 0.4%, to end at 15,191.70. Merck & Co. led blue-chip gains, up 2.4% after the pharmaceutical company said it cut 8,500 workers. Of course, the Wall Street professionals quoted by Marketwatch warn that if the "shutdown" goes on too long (and is compounded by not raising the debt limit), then financial markets could suffer. In the meantime, the public is learning that most of the federal government employees are not essential, and that we can get along fine with a smaller government.   (Read Full Post)