Gary Siegel

The Federal Reserve may be able to increase its fed funds target rate at a pace quicker than markets expect, if the incoming data suggest continued improvement, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President & Chief Executive Officer Eric S. Rosengren said Thursday.

Despite have spent many years below the Federal Reserve's 2% target, inflation data have been "encouraging" recently and in line with the Federal Open Market Committee's stance that inflation will return to that level in the medium-term, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester said Thursday.

The federal government ran a $106.5 billion surplus in April the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

Labor market conditions "was little changed in April, while momentum increased," as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) increased to positive 0.05 in April from a revised positive 0.03 in March, first reported as negative 0.02, according to the Bank.

Small businesses were more optimistic in April, as the Index of Small Business Optimism rose to 93.6 in April from 92.6 in March, according to the National Federation of Independent Business' monthly index published Tuesday.

The current monetary policy is appropriate for now, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President and CEO Neel Kashkari said Monday.

Consumers increased their expectations for inflation, but they remain low, according to the April Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The Federal Reserve's Labor Market Conditions Index, a compilation of 19 labor market measures, gained to negative 0.9 in April from negative 2.1 in March.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) rose to 128.28 in April from a downwardly revised 126.42 in March, and is up 2.1% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

Consumer credit increased by $29.7 billion in March to $3.592 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up in April, as the U.S. future inflation gauge gained to 107.8 from a downwardly revised 107.6 reading in March, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form increased about $1.269 billion in April to a total of $215.865 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Thursday.

The Federal Open Market Committee plans to gradually return rates to "normal" levels while the markets see a shallower path, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard noted Thursday.

About 5,170,100 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in April, an increase of 39,600 from March, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster pace in April as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 55.7 in the month, compared to 54.5 in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 156,000 in April, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP reported Wednesday.

Commercial and industrial loan standards tightened in the past three months, with less demand for C&I loans, according to the Federal Reserve's April 2016 senior loan officer opinion survey, released Monday.

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

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

Pending home sales increased 1.4% to an index reading of 110.5 in March, after a revised 3.4% gain to 109.0 in January, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.