Gary Siegel

The University of Michigan's preliminary December consumer sentiment index reading was 91.8, compared to the final November 93.1, and the preliminary November 93.1, according to market sources.

The federal government ran a $64.6 billion budget deficit in November, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

Increases in gross domestic product will be lower than those projected six months ago, as the estimated GDP for the last half of 2015 was lowered to 2.1% from 3.1%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Livingston survey, released Thursday.

Labor market "activity declined as momentum remained high" as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) widened to negative 0.113 in October from a revised negative 0.014 in October, first reported as negative 0.056, according to the Bank.

Outgoing Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota will not attend the Federal Open Market Committee next week, the bank said.

Both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors of the economy should see growth in 2016, according to the Institute for Supply Management's December 2015 Semiannual Economic Forecast, released Tuesday.

The Federal Reserve's Labor Market Conditions Index, a compilation of 19 labor market measures, fell to 0.5 in November from a revised 2.2 in October.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) slipped to 128.69 in November from an upwardly revised 129.75 in October, and is up 2.7% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

Inflation, measured by the consumer price index, is forecast at 0.4% this year, but 1.9% next year, according to participants in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's annual Economic Outlook Symposium, released Monday.

Noting that he'd prefer a "sooner rather than later" rate hike, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick T. Harker said Friday hiking rates this year will cut uncertainty and set the economy up for healthy growth.

U.S. inflationary pressures were off in November, as the U.S. future inflation gauge dipped to 102.0 from an upwardly revised 102.4 reading in October, first reported as 102.1, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace in November as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 55.9 in the month, compared to 56.9 in October, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Thursday.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen's Thursday testimony before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee pretty much repeated what she said Wednesday at The Economic Club of Washington, suggesting she is prepared for liftoff later this month.

Rates should go up "sooner rather than later," Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams said Wednesday.

While hedging that incoming data will determine whether the Federal Open Market Committee begins the normalization process this month, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen suggested Wednesday that she's ready for a rate increase.

New York City business activity "moderated to a still healthy pace," in November, as the current business conditions index slipped to 60.7, from 65.8 in October, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Wednesday, indicated.

The Midwest Economy Index narrowed to negative 0.14 in October from a downwardly revised negative 0.17 in September, first reported as negative 0.15, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Wednesday.

Private-sector employment increased by 217,000 in November, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP reported Wednesday.

Noting that his liftoff would come later than most of his colleagues, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans said Tuesday, he's more interested in the "trajectory" of rates after liftoff than when the first rate hike occurs, and he believes a fed funds rate under 1% at the end of 2016 could be appropriate.

Texas service sector activity "increased in November," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index climbed to 10.3 from 7.6.