Fed Banks See Widespread Signs of Slowdown

Daryl Montgomery submits: The Fed just released its Beige Book summarizing U.S. economic conditions up to the end of August and the takeaway was "widespread signs of a deceleration compared with preceding periods". In general though the report was a mastery of double-speak and attempted obfuscation.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy posted a moderate pace of growth between late February and early April, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, supported by rising home prices and stronger factory activity. The account by the Fed’s 12 regional banks was a bit more upbeat than the previous Beige Book survey, with Dallas and New York noting a slight acceleration in the pace of expansion, while five saw growth as moderate, and the other five as modest.

Fed's Beige Book: Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity generally continued to expand since the last report, though a few Districts indicated some deceleration. Some slowing in the pace of growth was noted in the New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago Districts. In contrast, Dallas characterized that region's economy as accelerating. Other Districts indicated that growth continued at a steady pace....

WASHINGTON — U.S. economic growth continued to improve gradually in January and early February as consumer spending picked up and the country’s battered housing market maintained a broad-based recovery, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. In a cautiously optimistic report from its 12 regional branches, the U.S. central bank also drew attention to stronger demand in the auto sector and for technology and logistics services, while emphasizing that price pressures remained mute.

The real star of today's Federal Reserve Beige Book report was the shale oil and gas activity reported by the Cleveland Fed. 

In its somewhat typical fashion, the Beige Book was dominated by the four 'M' words 'mixed', 'moderate', 'measured', and 'modest' as any weakness was blamed on fiscal cliff uncertainty (even though macro data and the market itself seems to have shrugged all of that silliness off rather dismissively). Employment conditions were little changed, Real Estate prices rose in 11 districts,and energy sector activity was mixed:

Richard Suttmeier submits: The Fed’s Beige Books are the gossip columns from the 12 Fed Districts, and the anecdotal evidence shows that despite some economic improvements, the housing market continues to be a drag, and that community banks are still reluctant to lend. The FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile is the balance sheet of the U.S.