Gary Siegel

While the macroeconomy moves toward a normal level, monetary policy is "not close" to its pre-crisis position and getting there will be a challenge, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Monday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were higher in May, as the U.S. future inflation gauge climbed to 105.2 from the revised March 104.9 reading, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

Rate hikes will probably be needed "sooner and at a faster pace" than the Federal Open Market Committee projects Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and CEO Esther L. George said Tuesday.

New orders for manufactured goods gained 0.7% in April, after climbing 1.5% in March, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

New York City business activity grew at a faster pace in May, as the current business conditions index climbed to 55.3 from 50.6 in April, the Institute for Supply Management-New York's Report on Business index, released Tuesday, indicated.

The overall economy grew for the sixtieth straight time, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the twelfth consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

Construction spending rose 0.2% in April, the Commerce Department said, 8.6% above the April 2013 level.

The inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index, should hit the Fed's 2.0% target this year and stay there next year while economic growth, measured by the gross domestic product, is seen down this year to 2.3% before rising to 2.8% next year, according to participants in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's annual Automotive Outlook Symposium.

The University of Michigan's final May consumer sentiment index reading was 81.9, compared to the preliminary May 81.8, and the final April 84.1, according to market sources.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer gained to 65.5 in May from 63.0 in April, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Friday.

The seasonally adjusted Milwaukee Report on Business soared to 63.5 in May from 47.3 in April, the Institute for Supply Management-Milwaukee reported Friday.

The Midwest Economy Index grew to positive 0.12 in April from a revised negative 0.04 in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Friday.

Short-term interest rates should be raised "shortly after" quantitative easing ends, and raise rates at a quicker pace than expected, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Esther L. George said late Thursday.

Pending home sales grew 0.4% to an index reading of 97.8 in April, after an unrevised 3.4% gain to 97.4 in March, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

Initial jobless claims slumped 27,000 to 300,000 in the week ended May 24, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Texas service sector activity showed slower expansion in May, according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index slipped to 13.1 from 18.5.

Tapering should result in the end of quantitative easing in the last quarter of 2014, and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lockhart said he is "comfortable" with the first rate hike, or liftoff in the last half of 2015.

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

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

Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region "increased at a steady pace of growth" in May, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index rose to 10 in May from 6 in April.