Americas

Americas

U.S. economy expanding at a moderate pace: Fed

16 January 2014 01:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. economy continued to grow at a moderate pace from late November through the end of 2013, with some regions of the country expecting a pick-up in growth, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, APA reports quoting Reuters.

In its Beige Book report of anecdotal information on business activity collected from contacts nationwide, the U.S. central bank said two-thirds of the 12 districts reported increases in hiring.

"The economic outlook is positive in most districts, with some reports citing expectations for 'more of the same' and some expecting a pick-up in growth," the report said.

The findings, compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston from data collected on or before January 6, were broadly in line with economic data ranging from consumer spending to industrial production that have showed a building up of strength in theeconomy in late 2013.

The reports of increased hiring support views that a sharp slowdown in job growth in December was the result of cold weather that gripped some parts of the country during the month.

While the Fed said the real estate market continued to improve, it noted a few districts had reported that home sales or residential construction had slowed or declined in recent months.

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Diplomats said Qatar's role, which includes supporting some militant Islamist brigades inSyria, had been discussed at a meeting in Paris on Sunday of the Friends of Syria, a group supporting the opposition, which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and other Western foreign ministers.

"The message was that everyone needed to be on a new page in support of Geneva and stop backing militants," a person who was at the meeting said. "There were strong hints that the onus falls on Qatar for a Coalition decision to go to the talks."

Qatar's foreign minister insisted in Paris that the Gulf emirate was not backing one opposition faction over another.

Few members of the Coalition, a body comprised largely of exiled political leaders, are enthusiastic about the meeting, organized by international powers anxious to end the conflict which has destabilized the Middle East for three years.

Coalition members see little prospect of President Bashar al-Assad's delegates making big concessions, let along agreeing to their demand of a transitional administration that excludes Assad from power. As a result, they fear attendance could further undermine their legitimacy within a Syrian opposition that is increasingly dominated by rebel fighters on the ground.

However, a failure to show up next Wednesday would dismay most of the opposition's foreign backers. They might scale back their support for a body that has failed to prevent much of the rebel force in Syria becoming dominated by Islamist militants.

"The Coalition is being asked to go to Geneva without a hint that the talks will result in anything even to save face before the Syrian people," said Nasr al-Hariri, spokesman for the 44 members who walked out this month. "The only way for the Coalition to function as a coalition is by expanding it to restore balance and find a consensus president."

Even those close to Saudi-backed Coalition chief Jarba say they are reluctant to go to Switzerland without some assurance of winning concessions, such as the release of prisoners or the lifting of sieges around rebel-held suburbs of Damascus.

Russia, which has shielded Assad from rebel and Western insistence that he step aside, and the United States have discussed such demands as co-sponsors of Geneva-2 but it is unclear that Assad is ready to offer such concessions.