Gary Siegel

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.

It is "unlikely" the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates for "at least the next couple of meetings," Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said at a press conference Wednesday, yet she noted that could change based on incoming data.

The Federal Open Market Committee said the zero lower bound percent target range for the federal funds rate “remains appropriate” and the panel “judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy,” removing the phrase “for a considerable time” from its statement.

The median Consumer Price Index increased 0.1% in November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland reported Wednesday.

The New York region's service sector activity "expanded modestly," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's December Business Leaders Survey, released Tuesday.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes grew as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index slipped to 57 in December from 58 in November.