Federal Reserve Releases December Beige Book and Related Sound Clip

ST. LOUIS—Audio highlights of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which summarize economic conditions for the United States as a whole and the Fed's Eighth District, are available for downloading.  The entire Beige Book audio clip is produced in MP3 format.

The voice on the clip is that of St. Louis Fed senior economist Rubén Hernández-Murillo, who discusses the District’s situation regarding:

• overall economic conditions;
• consumer spending;
• manufacturing;
• automotive sales;
• residential and commercial real estate; and
• banking.

The full print edition of the Beige Book can be accessed at http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook/default.htm.

Commonly known as the Beige Book, this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources.  The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector.  An overall summary of the 12 district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis.