Gary Siegel

The federal government ran a $112.8 billion deficit in July, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

Small business optimism was nearly flat in July, with the index of small business optimism creeping to 94.6 from 94.5 in June, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Consumers decreased their expectations for three-year inflation while their projections for one year out held steady, according to the July Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

Noting he is not in a hurry to raise interest rates, Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell said in an interview that below-target inflation, the Federal Open Market Committee "can be patient," according to a published report.

The Federal Reserve's Labor Market Conditions Index, a compilation of 19 labor market measures, rose to positive 1.0 in July from a revised negative 0.1 in June, first reported as negative 1.9.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) gained to 128.28 in July from a downwardly revised 127.89 in June, and is up 1.6% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

Consumer credit increased by $12.3 billion in June to $3.634 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up in July, as the U.S. future inflation gauge gained to 112.6 from an unrevised 111.4 reading in June, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

New York City business activity "returned to cautious optimism after the short term pre-Brexit negativity seen in May and June," although the current business conditions index increased to 60.7 in July from 45.4 in June, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

Monetary policy accommodation should be removed "in a gradual and patient manner," Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President and CEO Robert S. Kaplan said in Beijing Tuesday.

Commercial and industrial loan standards tightened in the second quarter although demand remained nearly the same, according to the July 2016 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, released by the Federal Reserve on Monday.

The overall economy grew for the eighty-sixth straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the fifth month in a row, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

The University of Michigan's final July consumer sentiment index reading was 90.0, compared to the preliminary July 89.5, and the final June 93.5, according to market sources.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer fell to 55.8 in July from 56.8 in June, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Friday.

The Midwest Economy Index fell to negative 0.04 in June from positive 0.11 in May, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Friday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "declined modestly" in July, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

The federal funds rate target was left unchanged at 0.25% to 0.50% by the Federal Open Market Committee, according to its statement released Wednesday, which hinted at coming rate hikes by saying risks to the short-term outlook have "diminished."

Pending home sales increased 0.2% to an index reading of 111.0 in June, after an unrevised 110.8 reading in May, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in July," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index fell to 10.3 from 15.6.

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