The Beige Book describes economic activity as stabilizing and an uptick from the July report that called ‘economic weakness moderating.’ With respect to overall activity, 5 districts saw signs of improvement, Dallas said activity has ‘firmed’, while 5 said things are stable or showing signs of stabilization. St. Louis said the pace of decline appeared to be moderating. Most said that their ‘business contacts remained cautiously positive.’ Most said retail sales were flat but CFC helped auto’s. ‘Most districts reported some improvement in residential RE markets but home price pressures remained. CRE demand ‘remained weak’ and commercial construction ‘continued to decline.’ ‘Most districts reported improvements in manufacturing.’ ‘Labor market conditions remained weak across all districts’ but 8 districts said staffing co’s had ‘slight uptick in the demand for temp workers.’ Consumer prices were steady in most districts.
