Gary Siegel

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

With inflation expectations falling, it would be "unwise" to keep raising the fed funds rate target, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Wednesday night.

Inflation is "likely" to hit the Federal reserve's 2% target over the medium-term, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey M. Lacker said Wednesday.

Sales of new single-family homes fell 9.2% to a 494,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in January, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee needs to be patient and perhaps hold off on rate increases, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan said in an interview published Tuesday.

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

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "slowed in February," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index dipped to negative 4 in February from positive 2 in January.

The consumer confidence index dropped to 92.2 in February from a revised 97.8 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Existing home sales grew 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.47 million-unit rate in January from a downwardly revised 12.1% increase to a 5.45 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.

The region's non-manufacturing sector dropped in February, as the general business conditions index slid to 3.6 from 5.1 in January, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January climbed to positive 0.28 from a revised negative 0.34 reading in December, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) narrowed to negative 0.15 from a downwardly revised negative 0.30 in December, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

The Federal Open Market Committee should be able to carry out its expectations for gradual increases in the fed funds target rate, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester said Friday.

With strong underlying economic growth, normalization can proceed at a gradual pace, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams said Thursday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was down 0.2% in January following a 0.3% drop in December, first reported as a 0.2% decrease, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector contracted again in February, as the general business conditions index climbed to negative 2.8 from negative 3.5 in January, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Although uncertainty increased since their prior meeting, members of the Federal Open Market Committee decided at their January meeting that it was premature to change their outlook, according to minutes of the meeting, released Wednesday.

Industrial production gained 0.9% in January, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The New York region's service sector activity "declined," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's February Business Leaders Survey, released Wednesday.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he felt the proposed amendment to the Federal Open Market Committee's Statement of Longer-Run Goals was "insufficiently forward-looking and therefore potentially confusing," so he dissented.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes was lower as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index declined to 58 in February from an upwardly revised 61 in January.