All clear

All clear; that is what it looks like for at least a while.  The crisis in Congress is over for a few months and probably for much longer. The protagonists do not want to inflict even more reputational damage upon themselves.  Earnings for stocks are for the most part good with some revenue growth to drive higher earnings.  This is an environment where strong performers continue to do well and weak ones slip-up.  Economic growth, although positive, is not strong enough to benefit all.  However, with good selection, investment returns have been fabulous.

Economic reports will be seen as meaningless for some time until the effects of the government shutdown are washed out.  So only corporate news will drive investor actions.  The bias is to the upside since interest rates are still low and do not offer much competition for investment dollars.  Also, many investment professionals have been way too cautious and have missed the excellent returns this year. They need to try to catch-up.  They have to buy stocks!