Beige Book

Beige Book

A commonly used name for the Fed report entitled "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District." It is published just before the FOMC meeting on interest rates and is used to inform the members on changes in the economy since the last meeting.

Notes:

This report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its district. The beige book generally consists of reports from bank and branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The beige book summarizes this information by district and sector. In preparing for the meetings, FOMC members also receive the "green book," containing the FRB staff forecasts of the U.S. economy. This is coupled with the "blue book," which presents the board staff's analysis of monetary policy alternatives. Only the beige book is available to the public, and it is released approximately two weeks before each FOMC meeting.

See also: Federal Funds Rate, Federal Reserve Bank, Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Interest Rate, Monetary Policy