by Calculated Risk on 7/27/2011 02:00:00 PM

Fed's Beige Book:

Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity continued to grow; however, the pace has moderated in many Districts. The six Districts nearest the Atlantic seaboard reported a slowdown in activity since the previous Beige Book report; activity was little changed in the Atlanta District and unchanged or slightly improved in the Richmond District. Of the other six Districts, the Minneapolis District reported political and weather-related disruptions that temporarily slowed growth, and the Dallas District slowed to a moderate pace of growth. The remaining four Districts continued to grow modestly.
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Consumer spending increased overall, with modest growth of nonauto retail sales in a majority of Districts. Falling gasoline prices throughout most of this reporting period may have encouraged a pickup in shopping trips and some additional spending since the previous Beige Book.
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Manufacturing activity was reported as continuing to increase since the last report in all but two districts, although many noted that the pace of growth had slowed.
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Labor market conditions remained soft in most Federal Reserve Districts. Employment, especially among temporary hiring agencies, improved in the Richmond District in recent weeks. Modest hiring increases, often within specific sectors such as advertising in the Boston District and manufacturing in the Cleveland District, contributed to modest overall employment gains.

And on real estate:

Residential real estate sales in almost all Districts were little changed from the last Beige Book. Activity edged up in the Richmond, Atlanta, and Minneapolis Districts. ... Increasing inventories of unsold homes in the Boston, New York, and Kansas City Districts have restrained building in the single-family housing sector. ... Since the previous Beige Book, construction and activity in the residential rental market have continued to improve in the New York, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco Districts.
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Nonresidential real estate activity improved somewhat in the Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Dallas Districts. The Chicago District reported strong demand for industrial facilities, particularly from the automotive sector. The Philadelphia District reported improvements in terms of lower vacancy rates for office space, industrial space, and apartments; the Chicago District reported generally lower vacancy rates. The New York, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and San Francisco Districts all reported generally weak activity in nonresidential real estate.

This was based on data gathered before July 15th, and I've heard reports of further slowing since the middle of the month.