Gary Siegel

December durable goods orders plunged 3.4%, while excluding transportation, orders dropped 0.8%, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.5% in December following a revised 0.4% rise in November, first reported as a 0.6% climb, the Conference Board reported Friday.

Existing home sales grew 2.4% to a seasonally adjusted 5.04 million-unit rate in November from a revised 4.92 million pace the previous month, the National Association of Realtors announced Friday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December plunged to negative 0.05 from a revised 0.92 reading in November, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) slipped to 0.39 from a revised 0.54 in November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Friday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "expanded at a slower pace, but producers' expectations for future activity remained at solid levels" in January, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

The European Central Bank announced its Governing Council held interest rates at its latest monetary policy meeting Thursday.

The region's non-manufacturing sector declined in January, as the general business conditions index dropped to 8.8 from 32.5 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes slid as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index slipped to 57 in January from a revised 58 in December

The University of Michigan's preliminary January consumer sentiment index reading was 98.2, compared to the final December 93.6 and the preliminary December 93.8, according to market sources.

Industrial production dipped 0.1% in December, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The New York region's service sector activity "grew moderately," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's January Business Leaders Survey, released Friday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in January, as the general business conditions index dropped to 6.3 from 24.3 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business activity expanded for New York manufacturers," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Thursday, as the general business conditions index surged to positive 9.95 in January from negative 1.23 in December.

As has been the case for much of the year, economic growth remains "modest" or "moderate," according to the latest Beige Book report released Wednesday.

Labor market conditions improved slightly as the Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) narrowed to negative 0.47 in November from negative 0.50 in November, according to the Bank.

Business inventories rose 0.2% to $1.764 trillion in November, while sales were down 0.2% to $1.346 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

With a dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, the Federal Reserve has discretion to switch between goals, but Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and Chief Executive Officer Charles I. Plosser believes the Fed should focus on price stability.

The first interest rate hike is apt to be in "the middle of the year," according to Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart, who said he purposely used the vague term because the exact timing of the first increase isn't extremely important

Consumers are less afraid of losing their jobs, and their view of inflation expectations held steady in December, with buyers expecting around 3.0% inflation over the course of one year and three years, 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 128.43 in December from an upwardly revised 127.83 in November, and is up 7.5% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.