Gary Siegel

The December current activity index in the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey was revised down to 24.3 from the originally reported 24.5, the Bank said Thursday.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace in December as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 56.2 in the month, compared to 59.3 in November, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.7% in November, after falling an unrevised 0.7% in October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

New York City business activity grew at a faster pace in December, as the current business conditions index gained to 70.8,its highest level in four years, from 62.4 in November, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Monday, indicated.

Saying she "could imagine" a rate hike in the first half of this year, if the variables fall into place Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester predicted Friday inflation would "gradually" move toward the Fed's 2% target.

A modest decline in financial market stress was reported for the week ending Dec. 26, according to the St. Louis Fed Financial Stress Index (STLFSI), which measured negative 0.989, down from the previous week's revised value of negative 0.840.

The overall economy grew for the sixty-seventh straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the nineteenth consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday.

Construction spending declined 0.3% in November, the Commerce Department said Friday, and is 2.4% above the November 2013 level.

Pending home sales gained 0.8% to an index reading of 104.8 in November, after a revised 1.2% decrease to 104.0 in October, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer fell to 58.3 in December 60.8 in November, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity "continued to reflect expansion in December," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, but the revenue index declined to 20.5 from 25.4.

The consumer confidence index grew to 92.6 in December from a revised 91.0 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The Midwest Economy Index grew to 0.52 in November from a revised 0.36 in October, first reported as 0.51, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "increased again in December," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business declined to 57.6 in December from 68.9 in November, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Friday.

The region's non-manufacturing sector declined in December, as the general business conditions index slipped to 32.5 from 41.2 in November, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Service sector activity "slowed going into the December holidays," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "grew modestly" in December, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index rose to 7 in December from 4 in November.

The University of Michigan's final December consumer sentiment index reading was 93.6, compared to the preliminary December 93.8 and the final November 88.8, according to market sources.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November surged to 0.73 from a revised 0.31 reading in October, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) gained to 0.48 from a revised 0.09 in October, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.