On the one hand, you'll likely never find anything so aptly named in finance. It is indeed a beige book. But its real title is the Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District. About two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee meets to decide on interest rates, Fed governors get a compilation of how individual Federal Reserve banks view their economic health. (Actually, a different Fed bank is responsible each time to put it together, so they pass the workload around like roommates deciding who'll do the dishes.)

Obviously, it's important stuff. Since it's rather timely, many stock traders and economists use it to gauge whether the Fed has the same view of economic conditions as the market seems to.

But it's not scientific -- even the Fed admits that it's "anecdotal." And the Beige Book is the result of dozens of interviews with economists, bank branch managers, market experts and business leaders. As a result, a survey of pessimists in a district can paint a decidedly glass-half-empty picture. What's more, the Beige Book surveys all 12 Fed districts, and economic conditions in Cleveland can be much different than, say, Richmond, Va.

As a result, the Beige Book is rarely a market-mover, unless it contradicts a bunch of other data. So, check out the summary, but you can find better reports to read before nodding off.