Five out of the 12 Federal Districts have reported a downshift in growth in their regions. Seven of the other regions have reported a moderate growth. The Beige book (which is a report that is prepared by the New York Fed) reports that the slower growth is concentrated in the Northeastern region and in Kansas City. The Dallas Fed reported their growth going from super-strong to strong. The Fed report says "there was little change in strong labor markets, with only scattered reports of labor shortages and upward wage pressures. The report said that consumer spending increased slowly in most regions, held down by sluggish auto sales and less spending on home improvement." The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time: http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?siteid=mktw&dist=nwhfriend&rid=em_story_e_main&guid=%7b77864B00-25C4-419B-B760-8B5D941FCA85%7d Pam