The Beige Book

The Beige Book

The Beige Book was first publically released in 1983. It is compiled a little more than a week before it is published to make sure the information is the most current. The book is an overall summary of all 12 districts, prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotations basis and published eight times a year.

Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers information through reports from Bank and Branch Directors. They also use interviews with key business contacts, economists and market sources. The information is summarized by District and Sector.

I reviewed the last Beige Book publication on the Federal Reserve System web site under the monetary policy section. The Federal Reserve posts a disclaimer at the top stating that although the report was prepared at its Richmond office, it is not a commentary on the views of the Federal Reserve.

The report has a summary at the top and then is broken down into the following categories: Consumer Spending and Tourism, Nonfinancial Services, Manufacturing, Real Estate and Construction, Banking and Financial Services, Agriculture and Natural Resources and Employment, Wages and Prices. The next section lists each district and gives reports on different topics.

Reading through the report I noted a few important items; first is that the storm in the Northeast had an impact on the report, if that area had not been impacted by the storm it would have had the slow, steady growth that was seen across much of the country. Secondly that everyone is concerned about the “fiscal cliff” that will occur January 1st if Congress and Obama cannot spread out the tax increases and spending cuts. They are expressing concern as employment and housing conditions are improving. If there are changes, we will expect to see a downward slope in the economy and a rise in unemployment.