Gary Siegel

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "continued to improve" in August, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index rose to 12 in August from 7in July.

The consumer confidence index gained to 92.4 in August from a revised 90.3 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, "increased again in August, albeit at a slower pace than in recent months," according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released Monday.

Sales of new single-family homes fell 2.4% to a 412,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in July, according to data released by the Commerce Department Monday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July gained to 0.39 from a revised 0.21 reading in June, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) gained to 0.25 from a revised 0.21 in June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

While the economy has made "considerable progress" and in the past year the jobless rate has dropped "at a surprisingly rapid pace," the labor market hasn't fully recovered, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said Friday.

The Federal Reserve will probably start raising rates late in the first quarter of next year, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard reiterated in a televised interview.

The Federal Reserve should increase interest rates "sooner" so hikes can be gradual, rather than wait and need to raise rates quickly, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser said Thursday in televised interview.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in August, as the general business conditions index climbed to 28.0 from 23.9 in July, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.9% in July following a revised 0.6% increase in June, first reported as a 0.3% climb, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

Labor market and inflation moved closer to the Federal Open Market Committee targets in the past few months, and if the progress speeds up, it may mean removing policy accommodation earlier than expected, according to the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting, which were released Wednesday.

Subdued wage growth is a better indicator of labor market slack than low inflation, but neither works well to gauge future inflation, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researchers.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes grew as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index climbed to 55 in August from 53 in July.

The University of Michigan's preliminary August consumer sentiment index reading was 79.2, compared to the final July 81.8, and the preliminary July 81.3, according to market sources.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed conditions "continued to improve for New York manufacturers, but the improvement was less widespread than in the previous month," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Friday as the general business conditions index dropped to 14.69 in August from 25.60 in July.

Business inventories rose 0.4% to $1.743 trillion in June, while sales increased 0.3% to $1.347 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

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

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form decreased about $122.691 billion in July to a total of $213.974 billion, the Bureau of the Public Debt reported Wednesday.

The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster pace in July as the non-manufacturing business activity composite index was 58.7 in the month, compared to 56.0 in June, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured goods gained 1.1% in June, after dropping a revised 0.6% in May, originally reported as a 0.5% decrease, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.