Beige Book shows impact of housing market dip.During August and September, while much of the nation was focused on back-to-school shopping and the changing weather, the economy continued to grow modestly. Though national reports reflect strong tourism and vigorous consumer activity, we are only seeing mixed to moderate growth because of the cooling housing market. The new Beige Book Beige Book A commonly used name for the Fed report entitled "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District." It is published just before the FOMC meeting on interest rates and is used to inform the members on changes in the economy since the last Report, a regularly released anecdotal anecdotal /an·ec·do·tal/ (an?ek-do´t'l) based on case histories rather than on controlled clinical trials. anecdotal adjective Unsubstantiated; occurring as single or isolated event. report prepared by the Federal Reserve and named for the color of its cover, also revealed that the wage and price pressures were mixed. Here are some of the specifics findings from the Beige Book, district by district: District 1--Boston: New England's business was somewhat mixed, and factory costs are up from a year ago. The housing market continues to cool, as houses in Massachusetts are now on the market an average of 110 days, up from the same time last year. District 2--New York: Businesses are strengthening across the region, with a steady batch of new hiring. In Manhattan, robust tourism has reassured economists. Off the island, in Upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457. Were it an independent state, it would be ranked 13th by population. and New Jersey, housing markets have cooled, with a falloff fall·off n. A reduction or decrease: a falloff in car sales. Noun 1. falloff - a noticeable deterioration in performance or quality; "the team went into a slump"; "a gradual slack in in home renovation The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. . District 3--Philadelphia: Retail sales are up in the Atlantic states, though growth and manufacturing appears to have slowed. Some have expressed concern that the auto sector has lagged and mortgage lending has fallen. Still, wages have been rising at a faster rate than a year ago. District 4--Cleveland: Modest economic growth in the Fourth District has not curtailed some experts' unease about slowing auto and housing sectors. Commercial builders, however, feel that their business is strong. Trucking and shipping service demand has softened. District 5--Richmond: Expansion in the Fifth District is evident, but it is slow and careful. Retail and manufacturing is on the upturn, but the housing market is still struggling. A lack of skilled workers has caused a tightening of the labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience . District 6--Atlanta: Down South, activity has been mixed, as energy and raw material prices are the impetus for most firms' cost increases. Housing trended lower in certain areas, especially in Florida. A shortage in labor has caused wage pressures across the region. District 7--Chicago: Consumer spending Consumer demand or consumption is also known as personal consumption expenditure. It is the largest part of aggregate demand or effective demand at the macroeconomic level. rose modestly, but did not reach the stellar level retailers expected from the back-to-school season. The steady fall in gas prices gave a boost to the auto industry and other factories. Manufacturers have encountered a shortage of skilled workers. District 8--St. Louis: After a few stalled months, manufacturing is starting to expand in the Eighth District, with several new plant openings. The auto parts Auto parts are components of automobiles. They mainly are, in alphabetic order (only car specific articles or articles with car section):
District 9--Minneapolis: Apparently the pheasant-hunting season has caused an upsurge in tourism, which is up from a year ago. The job market is tightening, while moderate wage increases have been reported. The alternative energy industry has been expanding quite rapidly. District 10--Kansas City: Good news from the Tenth District is that the rate of hiring has outpaced the layoffs. Labor shortages A Labor shortage is an economic condition in which there are insufficient qualified candidates (employees) to fill the market-place demands for employment at any price. This condition is sometimes referred to by Economists as "an insufficiency in the labor force. for skilled and specialized workers have not had a negative effect on wage pressures, which have actually eased a bit. Consumer spending is gearing up, though there is weakening in the home furnishings sector. District 11--Dallas: In the Eleventh District, imported and fuel-efficient cars have outsold out·sold v. Past tense and past participle of outsell. domestic vehicles. Texans are hoping for rain, as drought conditions "Drought Conditions" is episode 126 of The West Wing. Plot Senator Rafferty, a new presidential candidate garnered much media attention with a ground-breaking speech about health care. persist, threatening a 35% decrease in 2006 cotton production. Industry gurus are also cautious about the drop in natural gas prices. District 12--San Francisco: Good news from District 12 is rapid wage increases for workers in health care, finance and construction. The pace of home sales and construction has slowed, with inflation remaining modest. The modest economic expansion is certainly welcome news, although we will watch the Fed for their response to looming inflation. Consumers continue to demonstrate a willingness to spend, which will propel us to the 2006 holiday season. BY FAITH HOPE CONSOLO, CHAIRMAN, RETAIL LEASING AND SALES DIVISION PRUDENTIAL DOUGLAS ELLIMAN |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion