The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s Burgundy Book—a financial report issued quarterly about economic activity in Louisville, Little Rock, St. Louis and Memphis—said that the health of Louisville’s economy was mixed this past summer. Published in September, the report said that car dealerships and general retailers declared some successes that were tempered by low sales in some sectors. Manufacturing declined but the service sector showed signs of stability. Louisville real estate and construction sectors declined, while agriculture and banking showed mixed results. The Fed report said that half of the general retailers and a third of the car dealers surveyed reported that their sales were up in July and the first week in August, compared to the same period a year earlier. However, one-third of the respondents in each group reported decreased sales for the same period. The report said that manufacturing in the Louisville area continued to decline, but the declines were not true for all manufacturing firms and industries. Firms that made products with coal and oil, chemicals, fabricated metals, railroad technology, and plastics all stated that they were planning to expand. The report said—contrary to other sources that monitor Louisville real estate—that Louisville home sales experienced double-digit declines while the industrial, suburban and downtown office vacancy rates rose that quarter. Louisville banks reported a decrease in lending activity for commercial and industrial loans, but lending for consumer loans and residential mortgages was mixed. Other mortgage lenders said that home loan delinquency rates had stabilized and people were putting more into savings, but at a slower pace than in previous quarterly reports.