A month into US govt shutdown, the economy blinks first

After four weeks, the partial shutdown of the US government has begun to rattle the world's largest economy, particularly hitting consumer sentiment, a mainstay of growth. A closely-watched monthly consumer survey on Friday touched its lowest level since President Donald Trump's election in 2016, suffering its biggest one-month drop in more than six years, according to University of Michigan economists. Americans have less confidence in the economy's strength in 2019, while 800,000 government workers are furloughed or work without pay as Trump battles on Democratic lawmakers over funding for a wall on the Mexican border.