Alex Wroblewski | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Demonstrators rally against a partial government shutdown at a protest hosted by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
Others have longer-term concerns. Here is Macquarie on the shutdown and what it mean for infrastructure projects:
"The US government shutdown and debate over a border wall with Mexico has forced metal market participants to re-evaluate their expectations of whether a long- anticipated infrastructure spending bill will come to pass over the next two years."
Even longer-term, Stifel writes that the shutdown may influence the willingness of cybersecurity and IT talent to work for the government:
"Concerns Increase that Shutdown Will Impact Federal Cybersecurity - Fifth Domain writes that the federal shutdown may have another unintended consequence: scaring away badly needed IT talent. As mentioned by Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL), relative to commercial businesses, the shutdown highlights the political risk of working for the government and not receiving a paycheck. According the Fifth Domain, the partial shutdown has resulted in 85% reduction in the National Institute of Standards and Technology's workforce, a 60% reduction in the Director of National Intelligence's analysis and operations staff, and 45% reduction in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency workforce. The issue also affects contractors, who, unlike their federal customers, will not receive back pay for not working during the shutdown. Stifel's take: We concur that the shutdown will likely have a negative impact on recruiting and retaining qualified IT talent for the federal government, likely pushing such talent toward more commercial work."
This is not just theoretical — some damage has already been done. J.P. Morgan has already lowered first-quarter GDP estimate to 2 percent from 2.25 percent. "The primary reason for the downward revision is the economic impact of the ongoing shutdown of the federal government."