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U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben BernankeJIM YOUNG

The U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige book on economic activity was indeed coloured beige – with few surprises colouring an otherwise upbeat day for stocks. In its report, the central bank continued to describe economic growth as expanding at a "modest to moderate pace," which comes as little surprise despite the disappointing payrolls report in March. Here's how a few economists interpreted things.

Avery Shenfeld, CIBC World Markets: "The Beige book sits on the fence in terms of economic activity, saying the expansion in March was somewhere between 'modest' (often Fedspeak for low 2 per cent or weaker) and 'moderate' (typically entailing growth in high 2 per cent or low 3 per cent range, based on past patterns) in various Fed districts. That's the same term applied in the last Beige book."

Jennifer Lee, BMO Nesbitt Burns: "The tone remained modestly optimistic, but warned that higher gasoline prices 'could limit discretionary income' in coming months. But at least hiring was 'steady or showed a modest increase' in most of the Federal Reserve's districts, but difficulty finding skilled workers in the manufacturing sector remains a problem."

Paul-André Pinsonnault, National Bank Financial: "The overall message from the Fed was a good one, in that it confirmed economic growth extended into March. The message about consumption and manufacturing bodes well for March retail sales and industrial production (both due next week). That's consistent with our view that the US grew further in Q1, at a decent 2 per cent annualized pace. It's good to note that unlike in Europe, lending activity remains normal in the US, a positive for the growth outlook."

David Onyett-Jeffries, Royal Bank of Canada: "Today's report noted limited improvement in labour market conditions through March, which corroborates the disappointing employment gains reported last Friday. Given the Fed's concerns that the "job market remains far from normal" and with the unemployment rate still historically elevated, we expect that the central bank will keep monetary conditions highly accommodative for the foreseeable future."

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