Gary Siegel

Although the Federal Reserve projects two rate hikes in 2019, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams stressed that those are based on expectations of economic conditions and are not a commitment.

The University of Michigan's final December consumer sentiment index reading was 98.3, compared to the preliminary December 97.5.

The region's services sector decelerated, as the general business conditions index slumped to 3.9 in December from 43.3 in November.

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.2% in November following a downwardly revised 0.3% drop in October.

Manufacturers report expansion “continued to grow but remained subdued” in December.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut its projection for next year to two rate increases from three.

Monetary policy may need to become restrictive at some point, but the Summary of Economic Projections is “not a signal” that it will, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

Existing home sales were up 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted 5.32 million-unit rate in November.

The U.S. current account deficit widened to $124.8 billion in the third quarter from a revised $101.2 billion gap in the previous quarter.

The Treasury Department announced its auction closing schedule for the holiday weeks.

New York service sector activity “expanded slightly” in December, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Business Leaders Survey.

Market participants will focus on reading the tea leaves of the Fed statement Wednesday.

The municipal bond market will see a week of meager issuance, as all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee and its upcoming meeting.

While bond market prognosticators are confident the Federal Open Market Committee will raise the fed funds rate target by 25 basis points this week, they remain less certain on the outlook for 2019.

Builders’ confidence in the market for new single-family homes fell in December as affordability issues remain.

Business activity “continued to expand, though growth was noticeably slower than in recent months,” the December Empire State Manufacturing Survey suggested.

Labor market “activity declined and momentum remained high in November,” as the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) slid to 0.89 from 0.98 in October, the Bank said Tuesday.

Arthur Bass, managing director of fixed income financing, futures and rates at Wedbush, discusses the yield curve inversion, recession chances and the Federal Reserve. Gary Siegel hosts.

Small business optimism slipped a bit in November, but remained at historically lofty levels, as the National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism index dipped to a reading of 104.8.

Newly issued Treasury securities held in stripped form decreased about $2.210 billion in November.