The September issue of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book (a brief, countrywide economic snapshot created eight times per year) was released today. While the report gives a more comprehensive look at the many sectors of economic activity, the overarching theme was that there were some increases in consumer spending and some progress in economic activity during the summer months, but signs indicate that this economic growth is now decelerating. You can get the full report here.
President Obama announced his new economic recovery proposal today. His ideas include certain tax breaks for businesses and additional monies for infrastructure projects that will improve roads and other structures and may provide some temporary relief in employment issues.
U.S. markets regained some forward momentum today with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 46.32 points to 10,387.01. The S&P 500 rose 7.03 points to 1,098.87 and the Nasdaq climbed 19.98 points to 2,228.87.
The Committee of European Bank Supervisors issued a statement downplaying criticism of its European bank stress tests. Apparently, European investors took their words to heart because European markets all closed up on Wednesday. Asian markets were down.
Stocks in the news: Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), BP Plc (NYSE: BP), New York Times Co (NYSE: NYT).
