Fed Says Economy Expanding, Housing Market Still Dead via Forbes

The U.S. economic recovery marches on, the latest Fed Beige Book shows. Covering the month of December, all twelve Fed districts noted some level of expansion in activity, as the economy rode the holiday wave and increased consumption trends vis-à-vis 2010. Still, commercial and residential real estate remains weak, prompting a response by three Fed governors noting they were failing at pumping life into the beleaguered sector.

Stronger consumer spending was the biggest positive data point to come out of Wednesday’s report, “reflecting significant gains in holiday retail sales compared with last year’s season.” The Beige Book confirms other reports showing the U.S. economy is indeed expanding, namely the latest jobs report which registered a 200,000 increase in jobs in December.

Read more...Fed Says Economy Expanding, Housing Market Still Dead via Forbes