CHICAGO — ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CONTINUED TO IMPROVE in July and early August, according to the 12 Federal Reserve Districts in the latest Beige Book report from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Nine districts report modest economic growth, with two reporting slow growth and the 12th indicated mixed reports with some slowdown.
Retail activity, including car sales, had increased since the previous report, although the districts showed only slight increases. Several districts – Boston, New York, Richmond, Atlanta, Minneapolis and San Francisco – indicated that tourism was on the upswing.
The tourism increase was backed by a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. International visitors, according to the commerce report, have spent more than $82 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related products since the first of the year, an increase of 11% from this time last year.
