Fed’s ‘Beige Book’ Reveals Real Cost

If there was any doubt about whether uncertainty has a real cost to the country, the latest Federal Reserve summary of the economy should dispel that.

Over and over again, the so-called beige book — an anecdotal account of the economic conditions in each of the Fed’s 12 districts — talks about the drag caused by the heightened uncertainty over the government’s budget and debt-ceiling crisis.

The report, released Wednesday, describes the overall economy as growing at a “modest to moderate pace” during September and early October, similar to the previous period. But the uncertainty about the political and economic landscape, including interest rates and how the healthcare law will play out, factored more significantly in the latest report.

LA Times

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