While the second impeachment of Donald Trump held all the attention in markets on Wednesday, the real threat to the US economy was exposed in the latest Beige Book of economic anecdotes collected by the US Federal Reserve ahead of its first meeting of the year on January 26 and 27. While the survey showed US economic activity increasing modestly in recent weeks, a growing number of the Fed’s 12 districts saw a drop in employment as the surge in coronavirus infections led to more lockdowns and restrictions. The December jobs report last week revealed the loss of 140,000 positions last month with losses occurring in ... (full story)