(with Max Hoelzl, Joel Dresang, engineered byJason Scuglik)

No major announcements

No major announcements

The Federal Reserve Board said U.S. economic activity changed little since its previous Beige Book. The latest report — a collection of unofficial anecdotes gathered in each of the central bank’s 12 districts — showed weak consumer spending overall and stable but muted demand for workers. According to the Fed, three of its districts reported slight to moderate growth in the six weeks up to Oct. 6. Five districts noted little change from September’s report. Four revealed slight declines in economic activity. Although the Beige Book provides relatively soft evidence of the country’s economic state, harder data is scarce since the federal government shut down Oct. 1.

A report on the September Producer Price Index, measuring inflation on the wholesale level, was not available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of the government shutdown.

A Commerce Department report on September retail sales was not released because of the government shutdown. Retail sales account for about two-thirds of consumer spending, which drives about 70% of U.S. economic activity.

The four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims was not available from the Labor Department because of the shutdown.

An update on the U.S. housing market, via a Commerce Department report on September housing starts and building permits was not available because of the shutdown.

The Federal Reserve was not able to release its September report on the progress of U.S. industrial production and capacity utilization because it relies on data from other government agencies. Because of the shutdown, the data was not available to the Fed.