Government Shutdown Begins | Seeking Alpha

Good morning! Check out the latest trending headlines:

Big discounts: The White House unveiled TrumpRx, a website that will offer discounted prescription drugs. Pfizer (PFE) will also offer its drugs to Medicaid at lower prices.

Mega deal: Berkshire (BRK.B) is nearing a $10B deal to buy Occidental’s (OXY) petrochemical unit, which would be Warren Buffett’s second big bet on chemicals.

BLS uncertainty: The White House has withdrawn its nomination of economist E.J. Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A new candidate will be nominated soon.

The U.S. government shutdown has begun, after federal funding for FY 2025 ended at midnight. The Senate failed to pass a stop-gap funding bill before the deadline, after a 55-to-45 vote on the measure fell short of the required 60 votes.

What’s at stake: The partial closure of the government is expected to result in the furloughs or layoffs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 750,000 employees could be furloughed each day, although this could vary as some agencies might furlough more staffers the longer a shutdown persists. Some job losses could become permanent, with President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) signaling mass firings.

Shutdown length: While OMB’s head Russell Vought said it’s difficult to predict the duration of the shutdown, bets are being placed on the possible outcome. On Kalshi, the odds are stacked heavily on the shutdown lasting more than five days, while Polymarket odds point to 10-29 days. Recall that the most recent shutdown lasted from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019 – the longest in U.S. history.

Market check: Stock index futures pointed to a lower open Wednesday, but Treasury yields were steady. Safe-haven demand was evident, with gold (XAUUSD:CUR) notching a fresh record high. The U.S. dollar slipped to its lowest level in a week. “Markets historically have taken shutdowns in their stride,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said. “In fact, the S&P 500 (SP500) rose in the last six shutdowns, and 10Y Treasury yields came down in the last five.”

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What else is happening…

U.S. government set to take 5% stake in Lithium Americas (LAC).

DOE names Oklo (OKLO), three others for nuclear fuel line projects.

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Nike (NKE) flags early wins in turnaround, notes more work ahead.

Spirit (OTC:FLYYQ) negotiates $475M funding, AerCap (AER) deal.

Nvidia (NVDA) becomes the first company to top $4.5T market cap.

Taiwan rejects demand for manufacturing 50% of its chips in U.S.

UBS: Lumber tariffs could add $8,900 to cost of building a home.

Fed cuts Morgan Stanley’s (MS) stress capital buffer requirement.

Larger-than-expected stockpiles drag wheat, corn futures lower.

Today’s Markets

In Asia, Japan -0.9%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India +0.9%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.7%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.6%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -0.7%. Crude -0.3% to $62.21. Gold +1.1% to $3,915.40. Bitcoin +2.9% to $116,303.
Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.15%.

On The Calendar

Companies reporting today include Conagra Brands (CAG) and Red Cat Holdings (RCAT).

See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today’s economic calendar.