RBC Financial says that the report, “offered little support for those hoping to find evidence that the U.S. recovery was about emerge from its recent funk.”

It notes, “First, the report concludes that in most regions ‘labor market conditions improved marginally but remained slack overall’. These findings suggest that the payrolls survey, which has been pointing to a weak labour market so far this year, is probably more accurate than the household survey, which has been pointing towards a stronger labor market.”

“Second, most regions reported that business lending was either soft or sluggish. The Chicago Fed went further and said that firms in its district were ‘wary of borrowing to make large capital outlays’, notes RBC. “These snapshots of current business conditions, while not comforting, should not be overshadow the fact that corporate profits have just started to turn positive on an economy wide basis again. It may yet take a few quarters before that filters down to more investment spending. We believe that by the fall, evidence will start to point towards an investment recovery.”

Bank of Montreal’s economists say that the report, “did not suggest a central bank poised to move on interest rates”. It notes that, “Ongoing concerns about corporate profits and the integrity of earlier-reported corporate results continue to weigh on the stock market. The decline in stocks has contributed to some safe-haven flows into fixed income markets. The attendant decline in bond yields has been abetted by the Fed’s beige book report that implied little reason to expect any imminent rise in interest rates.”