It was a terrific third quarter for Wall Street as the stock market hit record high after record high. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 7.8% and 11.2%, respectively, from the June 30 close to Tuesday's close, the session before the start of the fourth quarter, which began on a sour note after the government shut down early Wednesday morning. The final quarter of the year is historically the strongest for stocks. We will have to see if that holds true in an already stellar 2025, which has seen the S & P 500 ...