Hey Robert, are you on a stakeout? You're staring so intently through that pair of binoculars.

Whalen, I have my eyes locked on this government fortress-looking building in DC. It's the home

of the Federal Reserve. Apparently they're meeting behind closed doors over the next two

days, and I'm looking for some sort of sign of what they're going to decide. Maybe some

smoke from the chimney or something. Oh, that's how they choose a pope. That's not how

they decide interest rates. Yes, yes, yes. But it does seem like everyone these days is

just waiting for some sign, any sign of what the Federal Reserve will do. I hear people

are so desperate to know whether interest rates will stay steady or go up that they're

even reading the beige book. The beige book is of course the obscure federal publication

by the Fed that tells little anecdotes about the economy. It used to be mostly us at the

indicator paying attention, but now I see all sorts of tweets and commentary every time

it comes out. Sure, sure, they read it, Whalen. But do they celebrate it? No, no, they

do not. That is our job. It's the Bezier Awards. Are eight times a year salute to the

art and science of telling stories about the economy. I'm Robert Smith. And I'm Whalen

Wong. As we wait to see what the Fed will do this week, we'll let you know what tea leaves

we can read from the beige book. A tarot card reading for the economy, if you will. I just

flipped over the night of swords. Is that good for the economy? Bad? We'll interpret

after the break.

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