The flow of funds out of U.S. equities and bonds and into Europe isn't just about the U.S. government's shutdown; improvements in Europe and structural issues in the U.S. are also at play.
Prime Minister Abe got a sign of how his blueprint to revive Japan's economy was working when two of his country's biggest car makers unveiled investments to boost production.
The Friday jobs report is seen by some traders as make or break for the Fed's decision later this month on whether to taper back its $85 billion monthly bond purchases.
Funds betting on commodity price moves have lost money every month since January, raising doubts about their profitability at a time when the commodity "supercycle" may be over.
Though Sony is best known for consumer electronics and a few say it needs to revive that business, some analysts argue that it would just be throwing good money after bad.