NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The federal government shutdown has cost the U.S. economy at least $24 billion, and probably more than that, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Wednesday.
In a release, the ratings agency said the shutdown, which began two weeks ago, "has shaved at least 0.6% off of annualized fourth-quarter 2013 GDP growth, or taken $24 billion out of the economy. However, the closer we get to breaching the debt ceiling, the higher we expect the economic impact to be."