Pretty rosy stuff:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypo....

A couple of partial quotes:

Quote:

Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest overall economic activity expanded at a moderate pace during the reporting period from early April to late May. Activity in the New York, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts was characterized as growing at a moderate pace, while the Richmond, St. Louis, and Minneapolis Districts noted modest growth. Boston reported steady growth, and the Philadelphia District indicated that the pace of expansion had slowed slightly since the previous Beige Book.

Quote:

Employment, Wages, and Prices

Hiring was steady or showed a modest increase. Reports of hiring were most prevalent in the manufacturing, construction, information technology, and professional services sectors. Staffing firms in the Cleveland and Dallas Districts noted a pickup in orders, and contacts in the Boston and Philadelphia Districts reported steady growth in orders. Demand for temporary workers rose in the Richmond District, and several employers in the Minneapolis District noted a tightening labor market. New York's report indicated that demand for staffing services was mixed, but manufacturers and other business contacts expect hiring to pick up in coming months. Atlanta's report pointed to positive employment growth in the District. Hiring remained limited in the Chicago District, and modest employment increases were noted in the San Francisco District report. There were widespread reports that firms continued to face difficulty finding highly trained or skilled workers--especially in information technology, engineering, and manufacturing fields--and manufacturers in the Chicago District said they were easing job requirements or using interns to fill open positions. Overall upward wage pressures continued to be fairly modest. There were reports of slight wage increases for skilled workers in the Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco. Contacts in the Philadelphia and Chicago Districts noted increases in healthcare costs.

Price inflation was modest across most areas of the country. Reports from several Districts, including New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Dallas indicated selling prices were stable or had softened somewhat since the previous report. Some Districts, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco noted cost pressures eased as the price of energy inputs fell. However, Atlanta's report noted some firms had implemented price increases tied to previous increases in energy costs, and firms in the Kansas City District noted higher input and final goods prices.

the rain of spain will cover this plain BS

Then there is no need for QE.

Well Muscle, that's what the report at face value SHOULD be saying, and probably is exactly how they'll try to spin it.

The ugly truth is that we CAN'T have any more QE - without bankrupting a healthy chunk of the middle class, and/or forcing us to eat dog food to survive. Gas? I'm not ready for $8/gallon, and The Bernank knows even HE can't wither that for long politically.

Fun times ahead.

Right, Muscleknight, comments in the Beige Book do not jibe with whatever beans WSJ's Hilsenrath spilt yesterday after the close. Although, to give Hilsenrath some credence, presumably the Fed did not have the NFP numbers until mid-week last week, and this Beige Book was based on information collected up until May 25.

For what it's worth, .XAU (in both USDs and EURs) has backed off over the course of the day. I've had a sneaking suspicion that whoever bought gold after the NFP numbers Friday waited to do so in order to disguise their end-of-the-euro trade as a QE trade.

And, as for Liesman's plea yesterday, we might wonder if he's barking up the IMF tree, as opposed to opening the door, PR-wise, for the Fed.

They will QE regardless of consequences. That is all they can do. They will not sit by and do nothing.

Eagle wrote..

They will QE regardless of consequences. That is all they can do. They will not sit by and do nothing.

The House has everything bet on inflation.

I think their biggest problem is exponents. The wage arena is deflationary, UNLESS you can write your own ticket. Then, if you don't get your 2/3/4 percent annually, you will threaten to walk.

Now, the problem there is the people that can make those kind of threats also tend to be pulling down nice coin. So, you're getting 2/3/4% on the top of nice coin. This drives inflation even more, and the bottom rung of burger flippers gets left even further in the dust.

This doesn't concern The Bernank, because nobody he knows can't write their own ticket.

Nice cleft stick.