Joe Weisenthal points us to the Philadelphia Fed’s monthly Business Outlook Survey, which he terms a “disaster.” Here’s what the Philly Fed says:
The survey’s indicators for general activity, new orders, shipments, and average work hours were all negative this month, suggesting overall declines in business….Nearly 40 percent of the firms reported declines in activity this month, exceeding the 22 percent that reported increases in activity. Indexes for new orders and shipments also showed notable declines, falling 18 and 20 points, respectively.
Presumably Ben Bernanke and the other Fed governors knew this yesterday, when they met and decided not to do much about the economy. Perhaps they were swayed by the fact that the future outlook remained “positive.” Perhaps they don’t think there’s anything more they can do. I don’t know.
