Gary Siegel

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

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "was essentially flat in August," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer slid to 54.4 in August from 54.7 in July, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Monday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business climbed to 47.7 in August from 47.1 in July, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Monday.

The Midwest Economy Index slipped to negative 0.12 in July from an upwardly revised neutral level in June, first reported as negative 0.02, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Monday.

Market volatility will play a role in the timing of liftoff, according to Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, who noted, "we've got time to wait" before making a rate decision.

The University of Michigan's final August consumer sentiment index reading was 91.9, compared to the preliminary August 92.9, and the final July 93.1, according to market sources.

The Federal Reserve should not raise interest rates this year, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota repeated Friday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "continued to decline moderately, similar to the pace of the previous few months," according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

Pending home sales increased 0.5% to an index reading of 110.9 in July, after a revised 1.7% decrease to 110.4 in June, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

The region's non-manufacturing sector climbed in August, as the general business conditions index increased to 15.4 from 8.1 in July, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Service sector activity "continued to grow at a healthy pace in August," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "activity slowed in August," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index slumped to zero in August from 13 in July.

The consumer confidence index rose to 101.5 in August from a revised 91.0 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Sales of new single-family homes climbed 5.4% to a 507,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in July, according to data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday.

Seasonal adjustments to the gross domestic product data, some have recently suggested, may not be sufficient to give a true read of the economy, however, the inadequacies are unlikely to cause policymakers consternation or harm monetary policy, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter released Monday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June gained to positive 0.34 from a revised negative 0.07 reading in June, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) climbed to neutral level from a revised negative 0.08 in June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

While accommodative monetary policy can promote economic activity it may slow productivity growth by allowing unproductive firms to survive, according to the latest issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Macro Bulletin.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was down 0.2% in July following an unrevised 0.6% rise in May, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in August, as the general business conditions index climbed to 8.3 from 5.7 in July, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.