Fed Survey: Slow Grow th, Declines: Confidence Found Weak in All Regions
A national economic snapshot taken in early October by regional Federal Reserve banks showed a mixture of slow growth and mild declines across the country, with growth holding a small edge, according to results released yesterday.</br></br>While no part of the country was eported to be either expanding or ledining rapidly, both business and lonsumer confidence were weaken-ng significantly in almost every region. Also, construction activity, >oth commercial and residential, :ontinued to fall virtually every-vhere, the Fed survey found.</br></br>The reports from the Fed banks in Jan Francisco, Kansas City, Minneap* )lis, Chicago, Cleveland and Atlanta ndicated their regional economies were still growing, although seeming-y at a slower pace than earlier in the /ear. St. Louis said it was flat.</br></br>Dallas found its economy declin-ng, as did the East Coast banks: Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Richmond, which covers the Wasli-ngton metropolitan area.</br></br>0	the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and he large oil price increases that fol-owed, could turn the slow average jrowth into a recession, but that loesnÛªt seem to have happened so ar. given the findings of the Fed iurvey.