Beige Book Was Rather Blue on the Retail Sales Backdrop

There was a ton of excitement about the December retail sales report, but the tone of the Beige Book was far different

Highlights

• Ignore the “dry powder” on the sidelines and focus on the fundamentals

• Beige Book highlights the divide between official data and business contacts

• Monetary contraction is set to create a liquidity squeeze

• Warmer than average weather is heating up the economic data