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It would be nice if they provided some exploratory data for these reports, such as a notebook that people could use to see the actual data that they're looking

It would be nice if they provided some exploratory data for these reports, such as a notebook that people could use to see the actual data that they're looking at. I've always felt like these government agencies are continuously moving the goal posts around so that everything appears like they're doing a good job so everyone can keep collecting their paycheque and government benefits. I don't want to read a massive wall of text, I'd rather see charts that show what's really going on.

graemeo 7y ago
That's not really the point of the book, though (emphasis mine): "Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources." [1] If you want charts and analysis, find yourself some data/market color providers in the finance industry. Additionally, most finance professionals that need to know about this stuff keep an eye on the economic calendar [2] to see the info in real time as news breaks, because the market reacts immediately. [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beige-book-default.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beige-book-def... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/economic-calendar https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/economic-calendar
nathancahill 7y ago
Some visualizations available if you click through to the regional sites: https://www.dallasfed.org/research/econdata/auscoini.aspx https://www.dallasfed.org/research/econdata/auscoini.aspx
black6 7y ago
> I've always felt like these government agencies... Make no mistake--the Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a Central Bank, organized by a consortium of bankers to control the money supply of the United States and, by effect, the world. Episode 201 of the fantastic podcast Congressional Dish[0] really gets into the nuts-and-bolts of what the Federal Reserve is, how it was created, and what it does. 0: https://congressionaldish.com/cd201-wtf-is-the-federal-reserve/ https://congressionaldish.com/cd201-wtf-is-the-federal-reser...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
christopherbalz 7y ago
Charts: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
ccvannorman 7y ago
>I've always felt like these government agencies For clarity, the Fed is NOT a government agency[0]. [0] https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/resources/fed-today/fed-today_lesson-3.pdf https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/r...
- snagglegaggle 7y ago
  Can you really say this when it is granted monopoly power on the state currency?
neffy 7y ago
All the data you need is available courtesy of the St Louis Federal Reserve, and they also have a nice python api. https://fred.stlouisfed.org https://fred.stlouisfed.org To some extent you´re right, the people involved are under a lot of political pressure to only publish the favourable stuff (although the occasional cry for help can sometimes be discerned from the footnotes), but the data is there. As are the reports. The real trouble is nobody seems to be reading them.

graemeo 7y ago

That's not really the point of the book, though (emphasis mine): "Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources." [1] If you want charts and analysis, find yourself some data/market color providers in the finance industry. Additionally, most finance professionals that need to know about this stuff keep an eye on the economic calendar [2] to see the info in real time as news breaks, because the market reacts immediately. [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beige-book-default.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beige-book-def... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/economic-calendar https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/economic-calendar

nathancahill 7y ago

Some visualizations available if you click through to the regional sites: https://www.dallasfed.org/research/econdata/auscoini.aspx https://www.dallasfed.org/research/econdata/auscoini.aspx

black6 7y ago

> I've always felt like these government agencies... Make no mistake--the Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a Central Bank, organized by a consortium of bankers to control the money supply of the United States and, by effect, the world. Episode 201 of the fantastic podcast Congressional Dish[0] really gets into the nuts-and-bolts of what the Federal Reserve is, how it was created, and what it does. 0: https://congressionaldish.com/cd201-wtf-is-the-federal-reserve/ https://congressionaldish.com/cd201-wtf-is-the-federal-reser...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

christopherbalz 7y ago

Charts: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

ccvannorman 7y ago

>I've always felt like these government agencies For clarity, the Fed is NOT a government agency[0]. [0] https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/resources/fed-today/fed-today_lesson-3.pdf https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/education/teachers/r...

snagglegaggle 7y ago
Can you really say this when it is granted monopoly power on the state currency?

neffy 7y ago

All the data you need is available courtesy of the St Louis Federal Reserve, and they also have a nice python api. https://fred.stlouisfed.org https://fred.stlouisfed.org To some extent you´re right, the people involved are under a lot of political pressure to only publish the favourable stuff (although the occasional cry for help can sometimes be discerned from the footnotes), but the data is there. As are the reports. The real trouble is nobody seems to be reading them.