Gary Siegel

The Federal Open Market Committee held the fed funds rate target at 0.5% to 0.75% at its most recent meeting, which ended Wednesday.

About 4,850,500 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in January, an increase of 49,000 from December, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The overall economy grew for the ninety-second straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the fifth consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in January albeit at a slower pace," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slid to 16.2 from 21.3.

The consumer confidence index decreased to 111.8 in January from a revised 113.3 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer fell to 50.3 in January from 53.9 in December, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business gained to 59.81 in December from 51.23 in December, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Tuesday.

The Midwest Economy Index improved to positive 0.06 in December from a revised negative 0.02 in November, first reported as negative 0.01, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "activity increased for the seventh consecutive month in January," according to the monthly Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

Pending home sales increased 1.6% to an index reading of 109.0 in December, after an unrevised 2.5% drop to 107.3 in November, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.

The University of Michigan's final January consumer sentiment index reading was 98.5, compared to the preliminary January 98.1, and the final December 98.2, according to market sources.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "continued to expand moderately with strong expectations for future activity" in January, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.5% in December following an unrevised 0.1% increase in November, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December rebounded to positive 0.14 from a downwardly revised negative 0.33 in November, first reported as negative 0.27, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) narrowed to negative 0.07 from an unrevised negative 0.14 in November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Thursday.

Service sector activity "strengthened in January," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Existing home sales fall 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted 5.49 million-unit rate in December from an upwardly revised 5.65 million sales pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "strengthened in January, with continued growth in new shipments and the volume of new orders," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index rose to 12 in January from 8 in December.

The region's non-manufacturing sector "expanded at a faster pace in January compared with December," as the general business conditions index soared to 37.7 from 19.5 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business, released Tuesday, indicates.

Toeing the line set forth in the Summary of Economic Projections, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick T. Harker said Friday he expects three rate hikes this year.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded in January, as the general business conditions index rose to 23.6 from a revised 19.7 in December, first reported as 21.5, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.