How Bad Would a Government Shut Down Be? Plus 6 More Things You Want to Know Today

Here's a quick rundown from the world of business and economics this morning: the things you need to know, and some you'll just want to know.

• House Republicans are still threatening a government shutdown if President Obama doesn't gut his signature health care reform law, which we all know is never going to happen. So how bad would a shutdown be? Depends on how long it lasts.

• In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democrats rolled to a strong electoral victory, putting her back in power for a third term. Why this matters to us? Germany is the biggest economic power on the Continent, and its No. 1 banker. Question is, will she ease off the austerity stance that has pushed painful budget cuts in Europe's big debtor nations since the economic crisis?

• Apple sold 9 million iPhones this weekend, nearly doubling its previous best debut weekend record. The iPhone 5s sold out and is on back-order into October. Apple stock is up 6 percent in premarket trading. But Apple shouldn't feel too cocky this morning: Hackers have already cracked that super-cool fingerprint reader security system.

• There's something for almost everyone on Pinterest, the image-oriented social media site where people "pin" pictures of whatever cool stuff strikes their fancy. Well, now advertisers are going to be pinning stuff too, with "promoted pins." But the CEO promises that the ads will be "tasteful," with "no flashy banners or pop-up ads," and, equally important, that it will always be clear what's an ad.

• Has LinkedIn been accessing users accounts and hijacking their emails? So says a lawsuit filed Friday. Naturally, LinkedIn denies the allegations.

• Last week, we wrote about the collectors' market for currency with "fancy" serial numbers. Well, keep your eyes peeled when the new $100s hit the street. Some will be worth 10 times their face value to the right hobbyist.

• And finally, here's a variation on the old "a watched pot never boils" theme. Turns out, the more financial analysts there are "covering" a company, the worse it gets at innovating.