The Fed’s “Beige Book” is a compilation of economic activity by each of twelve Federal Reserve districts.
CNBC reports Fed’s Beige Book: US economy, inflation growing at modest-to-moderate pace.
Bloomberg reports Fed Says Almost All Districts Saw Modest to Moderate Growth.
MarketWatch reports Fed’s Beige Book finds muted reaction to Republican tax plan.
Only MarketWatch bothered to link to the actual Beige Book report.
The “book” is produced roughly two weeks before the FOMC meets to discuss interest rate policy. The next rate-setting meeting is January 31.
The book is largely a compilation of all the most recent Fed regional reports (Empire State, Philly Fed, Dallas Fed, etc.)
The regional reports, which come out monthly, consist largely of anecdotal diffusion indexes that have not matched actual industrial production numbers for years on end.
In short, there is little in the Beige Book that’s of practical news. Here is the overall synopsis from the actual report.
Overall Economic Activity
Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts indicated that the economy continued to expand from late November through the end of the year, with 11 Districts reporting modest to moderate gains and Dallas recording a robust increase.
The outlook for 2018 remains optimistic for a majority of contacts across the country. Most Districts reported that non-auto retail sales expanded since the last report and that auto sales were mixed. Some retailers highlighted that holiday sales were higher than expected. Residential real estate activity remained constrained across the country.
Most Districts reported little growth in home sales due to limited housing inventory. Nonresidential activity continued to experience slight growth. Most manufacturers reported modest growth in overall business conditions. Reports indicated that some manufacturers increased capital expenditures over the reporting period. Most reporting Districts noted continued growth in transportation activity. Loan volumes in many Districts were steady. Among reporting Districts, agricultural conditions were mixed and energy contacts described a slight uptick in activity.
