Gary Siegel

Annual benchmark revisions to the Consumer Price Index, (1982-84 equals 100) resulted in the December CPI headline number being revised to a 0.3% decline from the initially reported 0.4% drop, the Labor Department said Friday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in February, as the general business conditions index dropped to 5.2 from 6.3 in January, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.2% in January following a revised 0.4% rise in December, first reported as a 0.5% climb, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

Industrial production gained 0.2% in January, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The New York region's service sector activity "leveled off," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's February Business Leaders Survey, released Wednesday.

In his final speech as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Charles Plosser Tuesday stressed the need for the central bank to remain independent so monetary policy stays free of political interference.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes fell as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index — a monthly gauge of builder sentiment — slipped to 55 in February from 57 in January.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business activity continued to expand at a modest pace for New York manufacturers," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday, as the general business conditions index slipped to 7.78 in February from 9.95 in January.

The forecast for U.S. economic growth remains nearly the same as it did three months ago, with 3.2% growth expected this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Survey of Professional Forecasters, released Friday.

The University of Michigan's preliminary February consumer sentiment index reading was 93.6, compared to the final January 98.1, and the preliminary January 98.2, according to market sources.

The Federal Reserve needs to be vigilant regarding increasing excess reserve levels, since it's not clear what banks will do when conditions change, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Business inventories rose 0.1% to $1.764 trillion in December, while sales were down 0.9% to $1.333 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Labor market conditions improved slightly as the Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) narrowed to negative 0.33 in November from a revised negative 0.42 in December, first reported as negative 0.47, according to the Bank.

The Federal Reserve should raise interest rates despite low inflation, realizing the drop in oil prices is keeping headline inflation low, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said Wednesday.

Wholesale inventories increased 0.1% in December, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Wholesale sales slid 0.4%.

Tighter monetary policy earlier in the expansion cycle could head off risks to financial stability, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George late Monday night.

Consumers' view of inflation hasn't changed much in the past month, but spending growth expectations "retreated significantly," according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) gained to 127.86 in January from a downwardly revised 127.17 in December, and is up 7.6% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

Consumer credit increased by $14.8 billion in December to $3.312 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

Liftoff should begin "around mid-year, or a little later," assuming that projections for the economy hold, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and CEO Dennis Lockhart said Friday.