Beige Book finds signs of life in North Carolina's economy - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:

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The Beige Book, an anecdotal account of business conditions compile d by each of theFederal Reserve’s 12 districtt banks, said that manufacturers reported higher orders and shipmentzs in the Fifth District, which includes North and South Carolina, Maryland, most of West Virginia and D.C. The report, released Wednesday by the Fed bankin Richmond, Va., also said that residentia l real estate agents saw a slight rise in home salese and that residential lending also grew on more purchaser loans.
On the negative side, the report founcd higher vacancy rates in commercialk real estate markets including Demand for commercial loanss remained weak as credit quality continuedto Also, retail revenue declined as salexs of big-ticket items such as automobiles fell. Services firms reporteed lower salesand revenues. The report makes severap references toNorth Carolina, thougn no businesses or contacts are named.
Amongt the references: • Several groceryt stores and executives at two centralp North Carolina chain department stores said revenuw and foot traffic increased inrecent • A producer of residential doors in Nortg Carolina told the Fed that demand had pickedc up slightly, which the business attributeed to customers needing to replenish depleted inventories. • Tourist activityh along the coast was slightlgy weaker compared to a year ago but contacts on the Outer Banks and Virginia Beach, Va. told the Fed that Memorialp Day weekend bookings were somewhat strongetr compared to the last BeigeBook report.
A contacy from the Outer Banks of Nortj Carolina noted that the weddinh industry remained strong but that rental sales and hotel bookinga were somewhat weaker thanlast year. • An agenyt at a Raleigh employment agency told the Fed that demandd for workers would continue to be slow in the next severao weeks due to a slowdowjn in manufacturing but that he expects work to pick up in Another Raleigh area agent expected stronger demand due to improving confidencd in thebusiness community.