BULLET: FED BEIGE BOOK: 8 of 12 Fed districts reported to....>

FED BEIGE BOOK: 8 of 12 Fed districts reported 'modest to moderate 

growth' in the period vs 10 in the previous Beige Book. The other 4 

reported either flat (NY and Kansas City) or rising slightly (St. Louis 

and Cleveland). Chicago Fed prepared the report on data through Jan 7.

- Outlooks remained generally positive, but many districts noted their 

contacts were less optimistic due to "increased financial market 

volatility, rising short-term interest rates, falling energy prices and 

elevated trade and political uncertainty."

- A majority of districts reported "modest to moderate" price gains, 

with input costs up outside of falling energy prices, but mixed reports 

on the ability to pass-through costs to the consumer level. A number of 

districts cited higher tariffs as a factor in higher input costs.

 - Employment was up across most of the country, but all the districts 

reported labor market tightness and difficulty of firms to find workers 

at all skill levels. Moderate, but widespread, wage gains were seen 

across the country, including at the entry-level.

- Nonauto sales grew modestly as holiday traffic was up from a year 

earlier. Auto sales were flat on balance, while auto production growth 

slowed. Manufacturing as a whole continued to expand, but at slower 

pace. New home building and existing home sales were held back by higher 

prices and low inventory.