Stocks tumbled on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling to a 12-year low and almost 50 percent off the peak it hit just 16 months ago.

The market bounced back on Tuesday after Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, played down the likelihood that the government will nationalize major banks, potentially wiping out existing shareholders. His reassurance on nationalization followed earlier statements from the White House that supported a privately held banking system.

Following President Barack Obama's address to Congress on Tuesday night, a rally attempt failed on Wednesday, leaving stocks modestly in the red. Thursday was a similar story, but with somewhat more weakness in the broad market.

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Eight times a year the Federal Reserve releases an assessment of economic conditions in its 12 Regional Bank territories. Yesterday we were treated to the latest of these reviews in its Beige Book, so called for the color of its cover.

The view from the central bank is that the U.S. economy remained generally weak last month and that higher energy and commodity prices are being passed on to consumers in some areas. The Fed reported that the economy was stable in five regions but described conditions as weak or soft in the other seven regions.

No real surprise there, but we’re encouraged that the Fed sees conditions aren’t deteriorating as you might infer from some recent economic reports. Take, for instance, last week’s big jump in the civilian unemployment rate, which sent shutters through the stock market.

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