Guest editorial: Economy looking up

Third-quarter growth was 8.2 percent, a pace fairly described as "torrid." Consumer confidence jumped 10 points this month. Corporate profits for the last quarter were up 11.6 percent, the largest jump in 11 years. Orders for big-ticket durable goods went up 3.3 percent in October, the largest increase in more than a year. And business spending, a worrisome indicator for the past two years, went up 18.4 percent last quarter.

But is it really good news?

Yes, because even the very cautious Federal Reserve Board says so. The Fed regularly surveys its 12 districts about economic conditions and publishes the result in a publication aptly called, given the Fed's propensity for bland pronouncements, the Beige Book.

In the Beige Book out Wednesday, the Fed said:

"Reports received from the District Banks suggest that the economy continued to expand in October and early November. Descriptions of the pace of growth varied somewhat. But improvements appeared to be reasonably broadly based, with most districts noting growth in a number of industries."

So there you have it. The key phrase is "reasonably broad based." It means the Fed is giddy with excitement.