Gary Siegel

Tender rates for the Treasury Department’s latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.030% high rate, up from 0.015% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.070% high rate, up from 0.050% the week before.

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

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

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index was up 0.7% in October to a seasonally adjusted level of 85.5, as three of the four regional sectors showed improvement, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s region “eased slightly in November, but expectations for future months remained relatively solid,” according to the bank’s monthly manufacturing survey, released Wednesday.

The University of Michigan’s final November consumer sentiment index reading was 64.1, compared to the preliminary November 64.2, and the October 60.9, according to market sources.

The Treasury Department auctioned $29 billion of seven-year notes, with a 1 3/8% coupon, a 1.415% high yield, a price of 99.734313.

The Treasury Department said Thursday it will auction $29 billion 91-day bills and $27 billion 182-day discount bills Monday.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s region “eased slightly in November, but expectations for future months remained relatively solid,” according to the bank’s monthly manufacturing survey, released Wednesday.

The University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index reading was 64.1, compared to the preliminary November 64.2, the final October 60.9, and the final September 59.4, according to market sources.

“Service sector activity strengthened in November, boosted by improvement in the retail subsector,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

“Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region stabilized in November following four months of contraction,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Although economic growth was “somewhat stronger” than when they last met, labor markets remained weak, leading the Federal Open Market Committee to keep its policy the same, according to minutes of its Nov. 1-2 meeting.

Public contingency planning should be part of the Federal Reserve’s strategy going forward, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota reiterated Tuesday.

The Treasury Department auctioned $35 billion of five-year notes, with a 7/8% coupon, a 0.937% high yield, a price of 99.697840.

The Treasury Department Tuesday auctioned $35 billion of four-week bills at a 0.020% high yield, a price of 99.998500.

“Manufacturing activity in the central Atlantic region stabilized in November following four months of contraction,” according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. “The index of overall activity steadied as a slightly positive reading for shipments offset a slight decrease in new orders and a flat reading in employment. Modest improvement was also evident in most other indicators. District contacts reported continuing moderate weakness in backlogs, but noted that capacity utilization edged lower. Delivery times grew at a somewhat quicker pace, while inventories grew at a slightly slower rate.”

“Service sector activity strengthened in November, boosted by improvement in the retail sub-sector,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday, “Revenues at services-providing firms were nearly flat this month, but retail sales jumped and foot traffic rose sharply. Big-ticket sales were flat, however. Retail inventories expanded and merchants were upbeat about potential sales during the next six months. Services providers remained optimistic about revenues in the six months ahead, though their outlook was somewhat less enthusiastic than in October.”

Tender rates for the Treasury Department’s latest 90-day and 181-day discount bills were higher Monday. The three-months incurred a 0.015% high rate, up from 0.010% the week before, and the six-months incurred a 0.050% high rate, up from 0.040%.

The Treasury Department Monday auctioned $35 billion of two-year notes with a 1/4% coupon at a 0.280% yield and a price of 99.940209.