Beige Book paints drab portrait of economy

The beige book, released today by the Boston Fed, painted a sluggish and unenthusiastic portrait of the U.S. economy. Manufacturing reports were down across the board, with contraction reported in New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, Kansas City and Dallas, while Atlanta, San Francisco and Minneapolis described activity as varying among different industries. Only St. Louis reported a pickup in manufacturing. All districts reporting on energy cited rising energy prices, though this was coupled with increased hiring in the energy sector in Cleveland and Kansas City. Reports of financial activity were varied, with New York, St. Louis, Dallas, Richmond and Kansas City districts reporting a decrease in the overall loan demand. Demand in San Francisco remained steady, while Chicago and Kansas city were the only districts to report increases in business loans. Cleveland and Chicago saw a decrease in overall loan quality, while New York reported a rise in every form of loan delinquency, except for mortgages, which remained steady. The New York district also reported the largest increases in prices in well over a year.