Gary Siegel

The federal funds rate target remains between 0.25% and 0.50%, following the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which ended Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in January," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slipped to 10.0 from 15.2.

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

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "grew mildly in January," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index dipped to 2 in January from 6 in December.

The consumer confidence index grew to 98.1 in January from a revised 96.3 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The region's non-manufacturing sector dropped in January, as the general business conditions index plunged to 5.1 from 26.7 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "fell sharply in January," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was down 0.2% in December following a 0.5% gain in November, first reported as a 0.4% increase, the Conference Board reported Friday.

Existing home sales soared 14.7% to a seasonally adjusted 5.46 million-unit rate in December from an unrevised 4.76 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December climbed to negative 0.22 from a revised negative 0.36 reading in November, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) dipped to negative 0.24 from an upwardly revised negative 0.19 in October, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Friday.

The region's manufacturing sector contracted in January, as the general business conditions index climbed to negative 3.5 from negative 10.2 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes was steady as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index remained at 60 in January from a downwardly revised 60 in December.

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

The University of Michigan's preliminary January consumer sentiment index reading was 93.3, compared to the final December 92.6, and the preliminary December 91.8, according to market sources.

Industrial production declined 0.4% in December, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business activity declined for New York manufacturers at the fastest pace since the Great Recession," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Friday, as the general business conditions index dropped to negative 19.37 in January from negative 6.21 in December.

Oil prices will have to stabilize before inflation will grow to 2%, but with oil prices continuing to fall, reaching the Federal Open Market Committee's 2% target may take longer than expected, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Thursday.

The Philadelphia Report on Business general business conditions index was revised down in December to negative 10.2 from the originally reported negative 5.9, the Bank announced Thursday.

Nine districts reported economic expansion since the previous Beige Book report, while Boston contacts were said to be "upbeat," and New York and Kansas City reported flat activity.

The federal government ran a $14.6 billion budget deficit in December, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.