Mixed Beige Book Lives Up To Its Name

Stocks popped on some bloomberg flashing red headlines from the Fed's Beige Book but quickly faded as bonds did not move. The reality - summed up in the worldcloud - is 'mixed' - for sales, for prices, for demand, for jobs.

• *FED DISTRICT BANKS SAID `CREDIT STANDARDS WERE LITTLE CHANGED'
• *FED DISTRICT BANKS SAID MANUFACTURING WAS `SOMEWHAT IMPROVED'
• *FED DISTRICTS SAID `OVERALL LOAN DEMAND INCREASED SLIGHTLY'
• *MOST FED BANKS SAID `WAGE PRESSURES REMAINED MODEST'
• *FED BANKS SAID `EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS WERE LITTLE CHANGED'
• *FED DISTRICTS SAID CONSUMER SPENDING WAS `FLAT TO UP SLIGHTLY'

The summary:

[5]