Beige Book says US recession easing

Despite lingering problems in labour and real estate markets, most regions in the US are seeing signs that the recession is easing, a Federal Reserve survey shows. Reports from the 12 Federal Reserve districts suggest that economic activity continued to be weak going into the summer, but most districts indicated that the pace of decline has moderated since the last report or that activity has begun to stabilise, albeit at a low level, said the survey, known as the Beige Book. That's a welcome improvement compared to last month's report, which covered the period from mid-April through May and was more downbeat than expected. Then, only five of the districts reported that the downward trend was showing signs of moderating. The Beige Book provides a summary of regional economic conditions ahead of Fed policymakers' next meeting on interest rates in August. Information for today's report was collected on or before July 20. The report includes some hopeful anecdotes that back up optimistic comments President Barack Obama made earlier today. Beige Book is published eight times in a year for the analysis of economic and financial activities.