Gary Siegel

While Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George was the only voter to dissent at the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, minutes show she was not alone in wanting a rate hike.

The Federal Open Market Committee should be able to gradually raise the fed funds rate target this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester repeated Wednesday.

Labor market conditions “declined modestly, while momentum moderated,” as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) decreased to negative 0.02 in March from a revised positive 0.01 in February, first reported as negative 0.05, according to the Bank.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster pace in March as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 54.5 in the month, compared to 53.4 in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

New York City business activity “continued to expand at a slower rate, settling close to a stall speed in the latest month,” as the current business conditions index fell to 50.4 in March from 53.6 in February, the Institute for Supply Management-New York’s Report on Business index, released Monday, indicated.

The Federal Open Market Committee should be able to gradually raise the fed funds rate target this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester said Friday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up in March, as the U.S. future inflation gauge gained to 107.8 from an upwardly revised 107.0 reading in February, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

The University of Michigan's final March consumer sentiment index reading was 91.0, compared to the preliminary March 90.0, and the final February 91.7, according to market sources.

The overall economy grew for the eighty-second straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in six months, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday.

Construction spending decreased 0.5% in February, the Commerce Department said Friday, and is 10.3% above the February 2015 level.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Business Barometer soared to 53.6 in March from 47.6 in February, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Thursday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business gained to 57.78 in March from 55.22 in February, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Thursday.

The Midwest Economy Index gained to positive 0.07 in February from a negative 0.09 in January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Thursday.

After having among the most accommodative assumptions on the Federal Open Market Committee, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans said Wednesday he is “comfortable” with the projections in the latest Summary of Economic Projections.

About 5,130,500 online job postings appeared on leading internet job boards in March, a decrease of 31,500 from February, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 200,000 in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP reported Wednesday.

Caution is the appropriate step for the Federal Open Market Committee to take when it comes to raising rates, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet L. Yellen said Tuesday.

Texas service sector activity “continued to reflect expansion in March,” according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slipped to 6.4 from 9.7.

The consumer confidence index increased to 96.2 in March from a revised 94.0 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, “expanded slightly in March,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.