Thursday, March 4, 2010
U.S. Fed reports “modest” improvement to U.S. economy
The U.S. economy improved in nine of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regions in January and February while being hampered by snowstorms in the eastern U.S., the central bank said today.
“In most cases the increases were modest,” the Fed said in its Beige Book business survey, published two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee meets to set monetary policy. Consumer spending increased in many regions, while commercial real estate and loan demand were “weak” and labor markets “soft,” the Fed said.
The report informs Fed policy makers ahead of their next meeting on March 16. While Chairman Ben S. Bernanke reiterated the Fed would leave rates very low for an “extended period” in congressional testimony last week, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, the longest-serving policy maker, wants to eliminate the phrase because the financial crisis is fading.
-Business Week
For the full story: www.businessweek.com/news
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