Federal Reserve reports small gains for some industries

9/7/2011

Small gains in many industries were found in the Federal Reserve's latest report on economic activity, which could indicate a bigger impact than figures show due to recent turbulent events.

The natural disasters hitting several East Coast cities during the late summer could have spelled disaster for the retail, tourism and real estate sectors, but each of these industries recorded only slight changes or no movement at all. Commercial real estate improved somewhat in Boston and New York, two of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Irene - both cities shut down many civic operations for an entire day, including the subway systems, and widespread power loss greatly affected both states.

The banking sector also realized an improvement in loan quality in most parts of the country, despite the summer turmoil on Wall Street and in international markets. This news comes on the heels of another recent Federal Reserve announcement of an increase in loan originations and an improved forecast for the sector for 2011. While a stable commercial real estate market and small gains in the financial industry must be repeated during the coming quarters to truly mark an economic upturn, the future for commercial funding may be getting brighter.