The Fed's Beige Book summarizes economic activity compiled from data obtained from the 12 Federal Reserve districts.

Here are some notes from the Beige Book:

• Most districts reported that consumer spending was up a bit during the recent holiday season, but still below the 2007 level.
• Retailers in Philadelphia and San Francisco noted small gains, but they didn't amount
• to much.

Continue reading Fed's Beige Book Cites Some Economic Improvement

Fed's Beige Book Cites Some Economic Improvement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Low Rates and Easy Finance Policy to Stay for Stocks (KFT, JPM, GOOG, BIDU, EK, LLTC, NBG, MRNA, NBG)

Closing Bell: Low Rates and Easy Finance Policy to Stay for Stocks (KFT, JPM, GOOG, BIDU, EK, LLTC, NBG, MRNA, NBG) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Fed's Beige Book is a report card on the status of the US economy.

This month's report says that our economy is still weak, but improving modestly. There is little upward pressure on wages and finished goods. Eight of the 12 regions reported some improvement. Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond and Atlanta showed little change.

Continue reading Fed's Beige Book reports a modest improvement in the economy

Fed's Beige Book reports a modest improvement in the economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What is the Beige Book and what does it contain? The US Federal Reserve keeps anecdotal reports on the economy in what is called the "Beige Book." Here are some notes on the key topics:

• There was some improvement in two of the hardest hit areas -- residential real estate and manufacturing.
• Gains in economic activity generally outnumbered declines.
• "Grim" was how the Fed described commercial real estate, "with conditions described as either weak or deteriorating across all districts." Regional banks said they did not see improvement in commercial real estate going forward into 2010.

Continue reading Beige Book: US economic conditions have stabilized or improved modestly

Beige Book: US economic conditions have stabilized or improved modestly originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: Investors cautious amid earnings bonanza

Before the bell: Investors cautious amid earnings bonanza originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: The never ending rally (ABX, GE, PALM, VVUS)

Closing Bell: The never ending rally (ABX, GE, PALM, VVUS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve released its latest beige book report detailing economic conditions across the country based upon observed evidence and conversations. The 12 Fed district banks "indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilize, albeit at a low level."

It indicates that retail activity is weak with essentially no wage pressure. This may be good news on the inflation front but is negative for the employment situation. There was some improvement in healthcare and technology.

Continue reading The Fed Beige Book: Maybe a bottom but where's the bounce?

The Fed Beige Book: Maybe a bottom but where's the bounce? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading According to the Federal Reserve, the worst has yet to come

According to the Federal Reserve, the worst has yet to come originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released its Beige Book Report detailing economic activity among the twelve Federal Reserve Districts across the country. The pace of economic activity was quite sluggish throughout much of the country. At the same time, there have been hawkish comments recently by several Fed governors. This leads us to the question of the possibility of a Fed rate increase on the horizon.

However, one must remember that hawkish talk is quite different from hawkish action. As I have said in my book, Follow the Fed to Investment Success, "watch what the Fed does not what it says."

The Fed has given no indication that an imminent raise in interest rates is forthcoming. There have simply been hawkish comments, which are an incredibly inexpensive means of maintaining its inflation-fighting credentials. However, every time market turmoil arises, the Fed adopts a more conciliatory tone.

Continue reading The Fed Beige Book Report: Hawkish talk, but no action

The Fed Beige Book Report: Hawkish talk, but no action originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose today by 187 points, a 1.41% rise. The NASDAQ rose by 32 points, or 1.28% and the vaunted S&P 500 Index by 22 points or 1.52%. The markets were relatively benign until the details emerged from the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

The Beige Book is released eight times per year, and is the collective wisdom of the 12 different Fed Governors. The news was better than expected, and the 10-year treasury note, which was topping out at 5.25%, began to sink and investors re-focused on the equities market.

The details from the Beige Book report was just the music the equity investor wanted -- needed -- to hear. Capital goods orders were picking up and the job market was, indeed, stabilizing. To boot, the real symphony continued when the Fed indicated there was no upward pressure on wage prices, thus stemming one of the legs of inflation. Consumer spending appears to remain in a healthy pattern, with general retail sales up a surprising 1.6%, versus the expectations of 0.8%. The consumer is still in a position to sustain economic growth.

The indicators from the Federal Reserve basically put the "R -word": Recession, back into the closet.

Continue reading Market sees biggest upswing in almost a year: Recession back in closet

Market sees biggest upswing in almost a year: Recession back in closet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.