Beige Book: Modest growth in the U.S. economy

With improved figures for the housing market and car sales and not least the labor market it is a U.S. economy that is showing 'modest growth'.

That is according to the trend report Beige Book, published Wednesday evening. It presents 12 districts - regional branches of the Federal Reserve - their assessment of how the economy in their field are doing, collected by the central bank, Fed.

Stocks: Europe high in the air - Wall Street loses steam

It was a really good day on the European stock markets, and the investors can largely thank the U.S. central bank chairman Ben Bernanke for that. In the U.S. the stock market flew out of the starting blocks from the morning in New York, but the air is four hours later gone a little out of the balloon.

Weak U.S. economy may force Bernanke to take action

A majority of analysts expect the Fed at its meeting Thursday will announce support acquisitions to boost the U.S. economy.

The continued weakness in the U.S. data is likely to force the Federal Reserve to initiate another round of bond purchases with the aim of forcing borrowing costs down and boost the U.S. economy.

Commodities: Large price increases after Bernanke speech

Oil prices rose over the weekend on top of Jackson Hole Symposium and Ben Bernanke's speech, which did not offer clear signs of new quantitative easing, although unemployment in the U.S. economy worries head of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the U.S. oil production is these days resumed after Hurricane Isaac, and is Monday morning up to 28 percent of normal capacity.

Currency: Utter silence ahead of the ECB meeting Thursday

If there was quiet in the international currency markets late last week, there is deafening silence Monday. The market responded only briefly to chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke's speech on the financial summit in Jackson Hole on Friday night.