Economy Proceeding at Modest Pace: Fed's Beige Book

The US economy is growing at the same modest pace reported two months ago, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its Beige Book of anecdotal evidence on the US economy.

According to the Beige Book report, which summarizes information from the contacts the Fed uses to help measure the strength of the economy, many districts reported "modest" or "slight" growth with a "weaker or less certain" outlook reported among many contacts.

Energy, autos, and tourism were three bright spots. Financial activity was reported to have weakened. Non-auto retail sales were flat to down in September, and many retailers were reluctant to build inventories ahead of the holiday season.

Most of the Fed's 12 districts reported that wages remained subdued and little change in weak labor market conditions.