Bond market investors are having trouble figuring out an economy that looks good from 30,000 feet, but less so closer to the ground.
Whether it's payrolls, gross domestic product or retail sales, or a host of other measures, growth looks solid, at the very least.
On Wall Street, the general view was of concern: The Beige Book "showed no material improvement in a generally bleak outlook," Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst wrote.
However, if growth deteriorates, as the Beige Book indicates it has, that likely would push the Fed towards more reductions.
"Despite recent stronger-than-expected data on U.S. employment, retail sales, and consumer inflation, the Fed's latest Beige Book signals a still weakening economy."
Persons:
it's, Goldman Sachs, Donald Trump, Goldman, Andrew Hollenhorst, Kathy Bostjancic, Peter Boockvar, Jerome Powell, Nicholas Colas
Organizations:
Treasury, Federal Reserve, Atlanta Fed, Fed, Citigroup, Nationwide, Bleakley Financial, DataTrek