Gary Siegel

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slightly faster pace in February as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 56.9 in the month, compared to 56.7 in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday.

About 5,451,300 online job postings appeared on leading Internet job boards in February, an increase of 184,100 from January, the Conference Board reported Wednesday.

Again urging the Federal Reserve to show patience on interest rate hikes, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans said Wednesday, the risks of a too-early increase outweigh the benefits.

Private-sector employment increased by 212,000 in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP reported Wednesday.

New York City business activity expanded in February, as the current business conditions index rebounded to 63.1, from 44.5 in January, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

Construction spending decreased 1.1% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday, and is 1.8% above the January 2014 level.

The overall economy grew for the sixty-ninth straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the twenty-sixth consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

The University of Michigan's final February consumer sentiment index reading was 95.4, compared to the preliminary February 93.6, and the final January 98.1, according to market sources.

Pending home sales increased 1.7% to an index reading of 104.2 in January, after a revised 1.5% decrease to 102.5 in December, according to a report released Friday by the National Association of Realtors.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer dropped to 45.8 in February from 59.4 in January, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Friday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business declined to 50.3 in February from 51.6 in January, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Friday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "rose just slightly from the previous month, but producers expected activity to pick up moderately in the months ahead" in February, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

U.S. durable goods orders climbed 2.8% in January, while excluding transportation orders grew 0.3%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Initial jobless claims surged 31,000 to 313,000 in the week ended Feb. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The January consumer price index dropped 0.7% while the core rate rose 0.2%, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in February," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index gained to 13.6 from 12.1.

The region's non-manufacturing sector climbed in February, as the general business conditions index surged to 46.9 from 8.8 in January, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Service sector activity "expanded at a moderate pace in February," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "activity slowed in February," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index slid to 0 in February from 6 in January.

The consumer confidence index slid to 96.4 in February from a revised 103.8 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.