Gary Siegel

Again noting his discomfort with a raise rates sooner rather than later policy, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans Wednesday said liftoff shouldn't start until there is certainty the economy will be able to thrive without accommodation.

A mid-2015 liftoff on interest rates seems "reasonable" to Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and Chief Executive Officer William C. Dudley, who said Tuesday he expects to back ending the Fed asset purchase program when the Federal Open Market Committee meets on Oct. 28-29.

Noting that inflation below 2% "is just as much of a problem" as inflation greater than 2%, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota called on the Fed to set a "benchmark two-year time horizon" to get inflation to 2% and added it would be "inappropriate" to raise rates next year.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) gained to 121.68 in September from an upwardly revised 121.32 in August, and is up 6.1% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a slower pace in September as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 58.6 in the month, compared to 59.6 in August, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Friday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were lower in August, as the U.S. future inflation gauge fell to 105.0 from a downwardly revised August 105.9 reading, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

New orders for manufactured goods dropped 10.1% in August, after climbing an unrevised 10.5% in July, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

New York City business activity grew at a faster pace in September, as the current business conditions index gained to 63.7 from 57.1 in August, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Thursday, indicated.

Initial jobless claims fell 8,000 to 287,000 in the week ended Sept. 27, the Labor Department said Thursday.

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

Construction spending declined 0.8% in August, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, and is 5.0% above the August 2013 level.

Texas service sector activity "improved notably in September," according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index gained to 26.9 from 21.0.

The consumer confidence index declined to 86.0 in September from a revised 93.4 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer slid to 60.5 in September from 64.3 in August, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business rose to 63.2 in September from 59.6 in August, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Tuesday.

The Midwest Economy Index dipped to 0.55 in August from a revised 0.63 in July, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Tuesday.

Liftoff is likely in the middle of next year, and rates should rise about one percentage point a year, according to an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

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

Pending home sales fell 1.0% to an index reading of 104.7 in August, after a revised 3.2% gain to 105.8 in July, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.

Arguing that the labor market recovery is not yet complete, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and Chief Executive Officer Charles L. Evans Monday reiterated his call for patience on monetary policy and restated his discomfort with calls to change policy sooner rather than later.