Beige Book Nowcast Archive


January 2026

Nowcast: Federal Reserve Beige Book Economic Activity

The January 2026 report shows improved economic economic conditions, but still only slight growth.

Three districts show reasonable (modest) growth:

Only one shows contraction:

The rest are flat or show slight growth.

Erratic government policies continue to damp growth.


November 2025

Nowcast: Federal Reserve Beige Book Economic Activity

The November 2025 report continues to show significant weakness for the sixth period in a row. It ranks 77th of the 84 periods we have analyzed since beginning of 2016. Discounting covid, June 2025 is the worst).

Only three district show economic expansion:

Three show contraction:

Four are flat.

Dallas is particularly concerning since the district has done well, or very well, for 5 straight years (40 periods).

Tariffs and erratic government policies are likely causes of the poor performance.


October 2025

October 2025

The October 2025 report shows significant weakness. It ranks 80th of the 83 periods we have analyzed since beginning of 2016. Discounting two covid periods, it is the second worst in our dataset (June 2025 being the worst).

Only three district show economic expansion:

Three show contraction:

Six are flat.

Tariffs and erratic government policies are likely causes of the poor performance.


Five years of our Beige Book nowcasts are available on LinkedIn.

Back to current period