Yawn

   Stable, moderate, modest, steady, measured. These are some of the words that jump off the pages of the latest Beige Book report on the American economy from the Federal Reserve. There were a few areas that justified the use of terms like strong, increased, expanded, and stimulated. But there were also the words softened, cautiously optimistic, and slow.
   It would probably be unrealistic to expect an official economic analysis to say the status is foggy and the outlook bleak and likely to become worse. A report like that quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
   The latest summary, prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and based on information gathered on or before July 8, is not aglow with optimism, however. "Overall economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace since the previous survey," the report said.
   Another survey, prepared by the International Monetary Fund, said the U.S. economy is likely to increase by 1.75 percent this year, and is projected to increase its output by 2.75 percent next year, even as growth worldwide remains "subdued."

   Real estate people, however, perennially an optimistic bunch, see a pickup coming as they look at improving sales of new and existing homes. A REAL Trends market report said housing sales in June were up 10.2 percent from a year ago, and the average price of homes sold rose by 7.8 percent.
   That report, released today, joins earlier reports from builders, sales agents and lenders, all of whom see a brighter future for the industry.

   Taken together, however, official reports from government sources call for more a more cautious outlook. Regardless of attempts to pump up individual sets of numbers, the overall economy has not yet awakened.