Gary Siegel

The economy can handle a rate hike, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta J. Mester said Friday.

The federal government ran a $136.5 billion budget deficit in October, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

The economy is progressing, despite some issues, and the conditions may soon be met to allow the Federal Open Market Committee to begin normalization, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and Chief Executive Officer William C. Dudley said Thursday, noting he would not predict whether rates will be increased at the FOMC December meeting.

Interest rates should remain low since inflation will be below target until at least 2018, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans.

The time has come to raise the fed funds target rate and start edging the Fed's balance sheet "toward more normal settings," Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President and CEO James Bullard said Thursday.

Neel Kashkari has been chosen to replace Narayana Kocherlakota as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, effective Jan. 1, 2016, the Bank announced Tuesday.

Small business optimism was flat in October, with the National Federation of Independent Business' monthly Small Business Optimism index published Tuesday remaining at 96.1.

U.S. inflationary pressures were up in October, as the U.S. future inflation gauge grew to 102.1 from an upwardly revised 101.7 reading in September, first reported as 101.0, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Although he sees liftoff as "a close call," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and CEO Dennis Lockhart said Thursday risks that led to the Federal Open Market Committee holding rates at its last two meetings are dissipating and "the case for liftoff will continue to firm up."

The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster pace in October as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 59.1 in the month, compared to 56.9 in September, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

The Treasury said it will raise $3.6 billion in new cash with its quarterly refunding, selling $16 billion 30-year bonds on Nov. 12, $24 billion 10-year notes on Nov. 10 and $16 billion three-year notes on Nov. 9.

Private-sector employment increased by 182,000 in October, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP reported Wednesday.

Voters in the Dallas Independent School District Tuesday approved a $1.6 billion bond referendum that will allow the building of new schools, addition of classrooms and fund repairs.

New York City business activity "bounced back sharply after the first contraction in eight months," in October, as the current business conditions index surged to 65.8, from 44.5 in August, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.110% high rate, up from 0.020% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.280% high rate, up from 0.155% the week before.

The overall economy grew for the seventy-seventh straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the thirty-fourth consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

Construction spending increased 0.6% in September, the Commerce Department said Monday, and is 14.1% above the September 2014 level.

The University of Michigan's final October consumer sentiment index reading was 90.0, compared to the preliminary October 92.1, and the final September 87.2, according to market sources.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer gained to 56.2 in October from 48.7 in September, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Friday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business climbed to 46.7 in October from 39.4 in September, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Friday.