Gary Siegel

The region's manufacturing sector slowed in October, as the general business conditions index narrowed to negative 4.5 from negative 6.0 in September, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business activity declined for a third consecutive month for New York manufacturers," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Thursday, as the general business conditions index narrowed to negative 11.36 in October from negative 14.67 in September.

Noting that he still would be comfortable with a rate hike, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker in a televised interview would not predict how his colleagues will vote at the October Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Labor market “activity remained essentially unchanged, while momentum declined but remained high” as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) narrowed to negative 0.100 in September from negative 0.105 in August, according to the Bank.

Given current conditions, the Federal Reserve should not raise rates this year, Governor Daniel Tarullo said in a televised interview Tuesday.

Consumers’ view of inflation was fairly stable in the past month, according to the September Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Tuesday.

While refusing to suggest a date for liftoff, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans Friday said his views lean toward being extra patient and offering a more accommodative policy than his colleagues would like, and he’d be comfortable with a fed funds rate target under 1% at the end of next year.

With the economy on “a satisfactory track,” liftoff should occur this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said Friday.

The best monetary policy to spur the economy would be “reducing the target range for the fed funds rate, not increasing it,” and certainly not increasing the target this year or next, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota said Thursday.

Consumer credit increased by $16.0 billion in August to $3.470 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

Normalization of interest rates should begin, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard repeated Friday.

New orders for manufactured goods decreased 1.7% in August, after gaining a revised 0.2% in July, first reported as a 0.4% increase, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

New York City business activity “contracted for the first time in eight months,” in September, as the current business conditions index declined to 44.5, from 51.1 in August, the Institute for Supply Management-New York’s Report on Business index, released Friday, indicated.

U.S. inflationary pressures were down in September, as the U.S. future inflation gauge fell to 101.0 from an unrevised August 101.9 reading, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

With employment near its “natural rate” and inflation expected to “gradually” approach the Fed’s 2% target, interest rates should be raised before the end of the year, unless economic developments suggest otherwise, according to Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams.

The overall economy grew for the seventy-sixth straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the thirty-third consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Thursday.

Construction spending increased 0.7% in August, the Commerce Department said Thursday, and is 13.7% above the August 2014 level.

About 5,280,200 online job postings appeared on leading Internet job boards in September, a decrease of 138,500 from August, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Business Barometer dropped to 48.7 in September from 54.4 in August, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business slumped to 39.4 in September from 47.7 in August, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Wednesday.