Gary Siegel

The overall economy grew for the seventy-eighth straight time, while the manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in three years, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

Construction spending increased 1.0% in October, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, and is 13.-% above the October 2014 level.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "increased for a second month in a row in November after exhibiting weakness in the first three quarters," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer declined to 48.7 in November from 56.2 in October, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Monday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business declined to 45.3 in November from 46.7 in October, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Monday.

The University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index reading was 93.1, compared to the preliminary November 93.1, and the final October 90.0, according to market sources.

Sales of new single-family homes soared 10.7% to a 495,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in October, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.

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

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "slowed in November," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index slipped to negative 3 in November from negative 1 in October.

The consumer confidence index slid to 90.4 in November from a revised 99.1 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The region's non-manufacturing sector gained in November, as the general business conditions index rose to 26.3 from 17.5 in October, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Existing home sales slid 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.36 million-unit rate in October from an unrevised 5.55 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Monday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October improved to negative 0.04 from a revised negative 0.29 reading in September, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) dipped to negative 0.20 from an upwardly revised negative 0.03 in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region in November "was largely flat, although expectations for future activity improved considerably," according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.6% in October following a 0.1% dip in September, first reported as a 0.2% slide, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector grew in November, as the general business conditions index climbed to positive 1.9 from negative 4.5 in October, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee supported the idea of including a reference to the possibility of raising rates at its December meeting in its statement, although members at that meeting wanted more information before deciding to raise rates, according to minutes from the meeting, released Wednesday.

The Federal Open Market Committee was "prudent" to not raise rates at its last two meetings, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President and CEO Rob Kaplan, who noted that accommodation, although not necessarily near zero rates, would be appropriate for "some time."

The Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization Act would "severely impair" the central bank's ability to meet it Congressional mandates and "severely damage" the economy, should it be enacted, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen wrote in a letter to Congress.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes was lower as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index fell to 62 in November from 65 in October.