Gary Siegel

New York City business activity "contracted at the fastest pace in seven years," as the current business conditions index fell to 37.2 in May from 57.0 in April, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Thursday, indicated.

Most Federal Reserve Districts showed economic growth in April through mid-May, with San Francisco reporting "moderate" growth and six other banks reporting "modest" growth, according to the Beige Book report released Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in May," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slid to 5.8 from 10.6.

About 4,884,200 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in May, a decrease of 285,800 from April, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

According to the ISM's monthly report on business, the ISM index increased to 51.3 in May from 50.8 in April.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "declined in May after two months of increases," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index decreased to 92.6 in May from a revised 94.7 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer dropped to 49.3 in May from 50.4 in April, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Tuesday.

The Midwest Economy Index remained at 0.25 in April, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Tuesday.

Observers should not "prejudge" the Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting, since any moves will be data-dependent, but a hike can happen even though there's no press conference after the meeting, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said in a televised interview.

Service sector activity "increased at a slower pace in May," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "slowed in May," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, although the manufacturing index slipped to negative 1 in May from positive 14 in April.

The region's non-manufacturing sector slipped in May, as the general business conditions index declined to 4.6 from 13.5 in April, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The U.S. is close to a rate hike, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said in a published report this weekend.

Existing home sales grew 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted 5.45 million-unit rate in April from a revised 5.7% gain to a 5.36 million sales pace, first reported as a 5.1% increase to a 5.33 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.6% in April following a revised flat reading in March, first reported as a 0.2% rise, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector contracted in May, as the general business conditions index slipped to negative 1.8 from negative 1.6 in April, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for April climbed to positive 0.10 from a revised negative 0.55 reading in March, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) slipped to negative 0.22 from a revised negative 0.18 in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Thursday.

Industrial production surged 0.7% in April, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

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