Gary Siegel

The University of Michigan's preliminary March consumer sentiment index reading was 97.6, compared to the final February 96.3, and the preliminary February 95.7, according to market sources.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.6% in February following an unrevised 0.6% increase in January, the Conference Board reported Friday.

With slack remaining in the labor market and inflation still below the Fed's 2% target, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari voted against raising the fed funds target rate this week.

Industrial production was flat in February, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded in March, but at a slower pace than in February, as the general business conditions index declined to 32.8 from 43.3 in February, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The New York region's service sector activity "expanded slightly," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's March Business Leaders Survey, released Thursday.

The Federal Reserve's Summary of Economic Projections was changed slightly from the dot plot issued three months ago, with three 25 basis point rate hikes still projected for this year.

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee Wednesday announced it raised the fed funds target by 25 basis points to between 0.75% and 1.00%.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes jumped as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index grew to 71 in March from 65 in February.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business activity continued to grow at a solid clip in New York State," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Wednesday, as the general business conditions index decreased to 16.4 in March from 18.7 in February.

Despite a dip to 105.3 in February from 105.9 in January, the National Federation of Independent Business' monthly Small Business Optimism index published Tuesday, stayed near a 43-year high.

The producer price index was up 0.3% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the core rate, which excludes food and energy rose 0.3%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Consumer expectations on inflation "shows a slight uptick in median three-year ahead inflation expectations," according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) grew to 131.394 in February from a downwardly revised 129.91 in January, and is up 3.1% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta picked economist Raphael W. Bostic as its 15th president and chief executive officer, the Bank announced Monday.

The federal government ran a $192.0 billion deficit in February, the Treasury Department reported Friday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up in February, as the U.S. future inflation gauge increased to 113.4 from a 113.0 reading in January, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

The European Central Bank announced its Governing Council held interest rates at its latest monetary policy meeting Thursday.

About 4,537,600 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in February, a decrease of 360,200 from January, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 298,000 in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP estimated Wednesday.