October 13, 2006	Friday	Ramazan 19, 1427

WASHINGTON, Oct 12: The US economy is being dented by “widespread cooling” in the real estate market but other sectors are holding generally firm, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report on Thursday.

The widely watched Beige Book survey, used by the central bank for its policymaking meetings, said the overall economy continued to expand in the six weeks since the prior report.

Activity was uneven in the 12 Federal Reserve districts, with the biggest drag coming from “widespread cooling, with the majority of districts citing lower asking prices, rising inventories of homes on the market and softening sales.” —AFP