The concurrent rally in the U.S dollar and U.S. equities implies good news relating to the U.S. economy. But unfortunately the price action is misleading, because this morning's U.S. housing market numbers were mixed, and according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report, there are more signs of slower economic activity in the 12 Fed districts. For the Federal Reserve, which uses the Beige Book to decide if monetary policy changes are needed, there was nothing surprising in today's report. While growth in some parts of the nation is slowing, other parts of the country are still growing at a moderate to modest ... (full story)