Gary Siegel

Pending home sales declined 1.1% to an index reading of 104.1 in October, after a revised 0.6% gain to 105.3 in September, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.

The University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index reading was 88.8, compared to the preliminary November 89.4, and the final October 86.9, according to market sources.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer fell to 60.8 in November from 66.2 in October, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business rose to 70.3 in November from 65.6 in October, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity "improved notably in November," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index surged to 25.4 from 14.0.

Service sector activity "increased" in November, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "grew modestly" in November, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index fell to 4 in November from 20 in October.

The region's non-manufacturing sector declined in November, as the general business conditions index slipped to 41.2 from 50.0 in October, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 in November from a revised 94.1 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

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

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October fell to 0.14 from a revised 0.29 reading in September, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) dropped to negative 0.01 from a revised positive 0.12 in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "expanded at a slightly faster pace in November, and producers' expectations for future activity increased further" in November, according to the bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday.

Clarity in communication from the Federal Open Market Committee makes policy more effective, but improvements can be made because the Great Recession caused the Fed to alter its behavior, making it difficult for markets to read how it will react to economic developments, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President and Chief Executive Officer Loretta J. Mester.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.9% in October following a revised 0.7% rise in September, first reported as a 0.8% climb, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in November, as the general business conditions index soared to its highest reading since December 1993, 40.8 from 20.7 in October, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The Federal Open Market Committee apparently had a long discussion about whether or not to keep the phrase "considerable time" in its statement regarding how long it would keep the fed funds rate target zero lower bound after its asset purchase program was ended, according to minutes from its Oct. 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday.

The New York region's service sector activity "expanded briskly," according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's November 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 climbed to 58 in November from 54 in October.

Fears that highly accommodative monetary policy will lead to a surge in inflation are unfounded, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter release Monday.

Growth projections were lowered slightly by those responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's quarterly Survey of Professional Forecasters, and unemployment rate projections for the next three quarters were also revised down in the report released Monday.