Kevin Kroskey's Money & Mind

(Government Shutdown, Debt Ceilings, and the End of Quantitative Easing…Oh My!) Perhaps the most interesting thing to notice about America's 20+% stock market returns so far this year--extraordinary by any measure--is that they were accomplished at a time when investors seemed to be constantly skittish.   Just a few weeks ago, everybody seemed to be worried that the Federal Reserve would end its QE3 program and let interest rates find their natural balance in the economy.   One might wonder why this would be such a scary event, since it is the Fed's economists way of telling us that the U.S. economy is finally getting back on its feet. All eyes are still on Washington, but now they've moved from the Fed to the Capitol Building.   The question everybody has been asking in the final days of the quarter is: what would be the investment and economic impact of a government shutdown?   This question might be one to consider going forward, since the two parties see