The Final State of the Union
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The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report indicated an improving economy, prompting several papers’ business sections to lead with the encouraging news.
The AP article led with reassuring words:
The recession is ending and the economy is finally growing again.
That's the message implicit in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of businesses around the country, which found economic activity stabilizing or improving in most regions.
In addition, the New York Times touched on specifics of the Federal Reserve’s report:
While many parts of the economy, like retail sales and commercial real estate, remain frail, others are stabilizing or showing signs of improvement. Since the start of the year, the economic reports in the beige book have steadily brightened, from dismal to less bad to tepid, as the stock markets rebounded and the recession began to loosen its grip.
"The economy is making the transition from recession to recovery," said Alan D. Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, who said he expected the economy to grow at a rate of about 3 percent in the summer, then more modestly in the last months of the year.
The Washington Post reported improvements in several industries, including manufacturing:
There were positive signs from manufacturing, as most of the country reported modest improvements. The San Francisco Fed in particular said orders rose for manufacturers of semiconductors and other information technology products, and several districts reported increases in automobile and pharmaceutical production.
