Fed says US economy expanding, new home sales fall

The US economy expanded at a “measured pace” recently, according to a Federal Reserve report on Wednesday. From Bloomberg:

“Consumer spending grew at a moderate pace in most districts, while manufacturing weakened,” the central bank said in its Beige Book business survey, which is based on reports from the Fed’s 12 district banks. “Contacts in a number of districts expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff.”

However, new home sales in the US fell 0.3 percent in October.

Diane Swonk notes that the decline “was concentrated in the South and Northeast; both were affected by Superstorm Sandy at the end of the month”.

However, she also notes that new home prices “firmed a bit”. Mortgage applications for purchase also continued to move up last week, suggesting that “the market will show renewed gains once we get further away from the disruptions created by Sandy”.