Beige has never been one of my favorite colors. It’s not white. It’s not yellow. But whether one likes beige or not, it just is.

Lately, that’s how many feel about the Federal Reserve Bank’s “Beige Book”. We don’t like it, but it is what it is.

This morning, MSNBC.com has an article titled, “Fed: Economy darkens before holidays“. The subtitle is “Beige Book suggests economy is sinking further into recession“. So what is this Beige Book no one seems to like?

The Beige Book is a report about current economic conditions which is published by the Federal Reserve Bank eight times per year. It’s public information available for anyone to read.

The Federal Reserve Bank (aka “the Fed”) gathers information from each of it Districts. The information includes data on current economic conditions, interviews with significant business persons, economists and market experts. This information gathered by the Fed is then summarized and reported by District and sector.

The twelve Federal Reserve Districts are Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco. The sectors vary by District but include areas of business activity like consumer spending, tourism, construction, real estate, manufacturing and related services, etc.

The Beige Book is public information. And it is not an academic treatise beyond the comprehension of the public. You can read it online just like all the economic experts and talking heads do who talk about it and try to explain it.

To read this year’s Beige Books, point your browser at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2008/

You will notice at the bottom of the page, there are links to previous years, too, all the way back to 1970.

Enjoy the Beige Book!