We are as close as you can probably get in an economy as large and as sophisticated as the U.S. economy to being becalmed, basically stuck in neutral.
That’s the impression one gets from the very first paragraph of the summary of the “Beige Book,” the compilation of economic activity across the various districts of the Federal Reserve.
The latest Beige Book was released by the Fed today and is based on information collected on or before July 19. Taken together, it’s a picture of an economy not declining, but growing at a level that’s probably not all that discernible from unchanged.
Here’s the quote from the Fed:
“Economic activity has continued to increase, on balance, since the previous survey, although the Cleveland and Kansas City Districts reported that the level of economic activity generally held steady. Among those Districts reporting improvements in economic activity, a number of them noted that the increases were modest, and two Districts, Atlanta and Chicago, said that the pace of economic activity had slowed recently.”
