Gary Siegel

The consumer confidence index increased to 82.3 in March from a revised 78.3 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Sales of new single-family homes decreased 3.3% to a 440,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in February, according to data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February climbed to positive 0.14 from a revised negative 0.45 reading in January, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) declined to negative 0.18 from a revised positive 0.02 in January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

The newly announced Federal Open Market Committee forward guidance "weakens the credibility" of the Fed's "commitment to target 2 percent inflation" and increases policy uncertainty, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota said in explaining why he voted against the statement.

The region's manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace in March, as the general business conditions index climbed to positive 9.0 from negative 6.3 in February, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

The composite index of Leading Economic Indicators was up 0.5% in February following a revised 0.1% increase in January, first reported as a 0.3% climb, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

Initial jobless claims grew 5,000 to 320,000 in the week ended March 15, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Thirteen of the sixteen members of the Federal Reserve Board expect next year to be the appropriate time for policy tightening, with a range of expectations for rates between 0.25% and 3.00% at the end of 2015, according to the Fed's latest summary of economic projections, released Wednesday.

Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction slipped in February, dipping 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 907,000 units as building permits surged 7.7% to an annual rate of 1.018 million units, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes grew as the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index rose to 47 in March from 46 in February.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "business conditions continued to improve for New York manufacturers, though activity grew slowly," in March, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Monday as the general business conditions index rose to 5.61 in March from 4.48 in February.

The University of Michigan's preliminary March consumer sentiment index reading was 79.9, compared to the final February 81.6, the preliminary February 81.2, and the final January 81.2, according to market sources.

Business inventories rose 0.4% to $1.715 trillion in January, while sales decreased 0.9% to $1.303 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

February import prices rose 0.9% and export prices grew 0.6%, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims fell 9,000 to 315,000 in the week ended March 8, the Labor Department said Thursday

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $30 billion of three-year notes with a 3/4% coupon at a 0.802% yield, a price of 99.846425.

Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% in January, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index (ETI) gained to 116.39 in February from a downwardly revised 115.99 in January, and is up 4.4% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.

U.S. inflationary pressures were higher in February, as the U.S. future inflation gauge climbed to 104.1 from the revised January 102.1 reading, according to data released Friday morning by the Economic Cycle Research Institute.

While the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecasts a rise in interest rates in the last half of 2015, its President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lockhart said late Thursday he supports "continuing with a highly accommodative policy and deferring liftoff for a while longer."