Every month, typically on the second Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau releases its advanced retail sales report. Except for this month, of course. This month, if you try to retrieve the report, you’ll receive the following message: “Due to the lapse in government funding, census.gov sites, services, and all online survey collection requests will be unavailable until further notice.” As of today, the shutdown has gone on for 11 days, sidelining the government reporting that helps to track and define the...