A rumble from the ceiling, self-harm watch: The markets have spoken and they are ambivalent says Dan: fine, you want to shut the government down, see if we care. Government shutdown: the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: Who is John Galt? Is he Walt? Izzy explains why she sees parallels between Randian heroes and TV's Walter White from the show Breaking Bad. The difference being that at least Heisenberg knows he's dangerous. Letta appeals for support from Italy's MPs: Italian prime minister Enrico Letta on Wednesday made a strong appeal to the country's parliament to continue supporting his government, warning that its collapse could be a "fatal risk" for Italy. Financial Times. Tesco profits hit by Europe earnings and weakness in Asia: A collapse in European earnings and weakness in Asia led Tesco to report half-year profits fell by a third. Gold steadies after steep sell-off: Gold steadied on Wednesday but remained below the $1,300 an ounce level as traders paused for reflection following the bullion's hefty sell-off the previous day. Americans flock to health exchanges: More than 1m Americans visited new healthcare exchanges before 7am on Tuesday, a level of consumer demand that Barack Obama said far exceeded expectations for the rollout of the most significant policy under his controversial healthcare law. Albemarle & Bond's fundraising efforts to stave off debt falter: The UK pawnbroker said on Wednesday that it had been unable to finalise a rights issue that would ease its financial worries. Banks turn uneasy on Help to Buy: Some of Britain's leading mortgage lenders have expressed misgivings about the government's latest "Help to Buy" initiative, leaving the state-backed banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds as the only pair to have endorsed the scheme. Markets: European stocks and US equity futures are in retreat, while Japan had a particularly tough session, as investors struggle to navigate a muddle of political, fiscal and monetary factors from the US, Japan, and Europe.