Gary Siegel

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December dropped to positive 0.02 from a revised positive 0.27 reading in November, while the three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) rose to negative 0.11 from a revised negative 0.13 in November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Tuesday.

The University of Michigan's preliminary January consumer sentiment index reading was 71.3, compared to the final December 72.9, reading, the preliminary December 74.5, and the final November 82.7, according to market sources.

The Treasury Department said it will auction $15 billion 10-year inflation-protected notes on Thursday, Jan. 24.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $32 billion 91-day bills and $28 billion 182-day discount bills Tuesday.

The region's manufacturing sector contracted in January, as the general business conditions index slipped to negative 5.8 from positive 4.6 in December, this month's Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Report on Business indicates.

Builders' confidence in the market for new single-family homes paused after eighth straight increases the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index held at 47 in January.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $35 billion of four-week bills at a 0.095% high yield, a price of 99.992611.

The Fed should use a 5.5% target for unemployment rather than the 6.5% it set, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota said Tuesday.

The December producer price index fell 0.2% and the core rate rose 0.1%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed "conditions for New York manufacturers continued to decline at a modest pace," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday as the general business conditions index worsened to negative 7.78 in January from an upwardly revised negative 7.30 in December.

Fed policy needs to remain accommodative since it has failed to achieve its dual mandate, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President and Chief Executive Officer Eric S. Rosengren said Tuesday.

Although the Federal Open Market Committee has set specific thresholds for when it will raise interest rates, "the majority of the Committee still believes that the 'liftoff' date for the FOMC's policy rate will be in 2015 or later," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said Monday.

The Fed will need to buy mortgage-backed securities and longer-term Treasury securities "well into the second half of 2013," as uncertainty continues to hold back the recovery, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President and CEO John C. Williams said Monday.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were mixed, as the three-months incurred a 0.075% high rate, up from 0.065% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.105% high rate, unchanged from 0.105% the week before.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $35 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

While inflation should be moderate in the near-term, the length and magnitude of monetary policy accommodation mean risks for inflation in the medium and long term, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President and Chief Executive Officer Charles I. Plosser.

While monetary policy has become more accommodative than it was six months ago, GDP should grow faster than potential for the next two years, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Thursday.

Keeping interest rates near zero for too long may result in "financial imbalances and instability" that increase rather than decrease unemployment, according to Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President and Chief Executive Officer Esther L. George.

The Treasury Department Thursday auctioned $13 billion of 29-year 10-month bonds with a 2 3/4% coupon at a 3.070% high yield, a price of 93.772210.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $32 billion 91-day bills and $28 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.