
Beige Book by the Federal Reserve - hhs
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook201909.htm
======
brenden2
It would be nice if they provided some exploratory data for these reports,
such as a notebook that people could use to see the actual data that they're
looking at.

I've always felt like these government agencies are continuously moving the
goal posts around so that everything appears like they're doing a good job so
everyone can keep collecting their paycheque and government benefits. I don't
want to read a massive wall of text, I'd rather see charts that show what's
really going on.

~~~
ccvannorman
>I've always felt like these government agencies

For clarity, the Fed is NOT a government agency[0].

[0]
[https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/r...](https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/resources/fed-
today/fed-today_lesson-3.pdf)

~~~
snagglegaggle
Can you really say this when it is granted monopoly power on the state
currency?

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aazaa
> On balance, reports from Federal Reserve Districts suggested that the
> economy expanded at a modest pace through the end of August. Although
> concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the
> majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook.
> Reports on consumer spending were mixed, although auto sales for most
> Districts grew at a modest pace. Tourism activity since the previous report
> remained solid in most reporting Districts. On balance, transportation
> activity softened, which some reporting Districts attributed to slowing
> global demand and heightened trade tensions. Home sales remained constrained
> in the majority of Districts due primarily to low inventory levels, and new
> home construction activity remained flat. Commercial real estate
> construction and sales activity were steady, while the pace of leasing
> increased slightly over the prior period. Overall manufacturing activity was
> down slightly from the previous report. Among reporting Districts,
> agricultural conditions remained weak as a result of unfavorable weather
> conditions, low commodity prices, and trade-related uncertainties. Lending
> volumes grew modestly across several Districts. Reports on activity in the
> nonfinancial services sector were positive, with reporting Districts noting
> similar or improved activity from the last report.

"Trade" is mentioned three times in this one paragraph. I wonder to what
extend this factor is being over-blamed for macro slowness.

Interesting to compare this report with the one from June 2007, at the cusp of
the implosion:

> Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Banks indicated that economic
> activity continued to expand from mid-April through May. Seven banks
> described growth in their Districts as modest or moderate: Cleveland,
> Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, New York, and San Francisco.
> Dallas reported growth as moderately strong, and Minneapolis said the
> District's economy edged up. Philadelphia reported that growth was somewhat
> faster than in recent months, and Richmond said growth picked up a bit.
> Boston characterized reports from its contacts as generally positive.

[https://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2007/20070613/...](https://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2007/20070613/default.htm)

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AdamN
Weird that San Francisco has the entire West Coast. It seems like a new
Pacific Northwest bank should be created to better spread the load
(Minneapolis is currently the smallest one, maybe that one could move to
Seattle?):

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank#Assets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank#Assets)

~~~
hogFeast
It isn't. I would read up on how the Fed was created. The choice of cities was
political (that is why Missouri has two, iirc) and related to the situation in
1913 when the Fed was created (in particular, the cyclical demand for money
from agriculture).

Now, it makes almost no sense to move them. After 1935, the Banks have had
fairly limited power.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
What changed in 1935?

~~~
hogFeast
Reorganization of the Fed. Most importantly: Board of Governors created in
Washington. Combined with the exigencies of WW2, this basically finished
Reserve Bank power. And this structure did worsen the Great Depression
(Reserve Banks acted independently and wouldn't participate in market
operations).

