Economic indicators

Private-sector employment increased by 234,000 in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis, ADP estimated Wednesday.

Texas service sector activity “continued to increase in January, albeit at a slower pace than last month,” according to business executives responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey, as the revenue index plunged to 12.8 from 24.4.

The consumer confidence index increased to 125.4 in January from a revised 123.1 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.

Home prices rose 6.2% on an annual basis in November, not seasonally adjusted, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, released Tuesday.

Texas factory activity, as measured by the production index, “continued to expand in January,” albeit at a slower pace than in December.

Personal income rose 0.4% in December, while nominal PCE was up 0.4% and the core PCE price index rose 0.2%.

The value of U.S. durable goods orders surged by 2.9% in December, well ahead of expectations for a 0.9% gain due to a 7.4% jump in transportation orders.

Fourth quarter GDP rose 2.6% in the advance estimate, slower than the 3.0% pace expected.

Manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's region "strengthened further, and expectations for future activity increased" in January.

The pace of new single-family home sales decreased by 9.3% to 625,000 in December.

The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.6% in December following a revised 0.5% increase in November.

Initial jobless claims rose to 233,000 in the week ended Jan. 20, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Existing home sales fell 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted 5.57 million-unit rate in December from a revised 5.78 million sales pace the previous month, first reported as 5.81 million, the National Association of Realtors announced Wednesday.

Service sector companies “reported moderate growth in January,” according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond service-sector activity survey, released Tuesday.

Manufacturing growth in the central Atlantic region was “slower” in January, according to the monthly business activity survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, as the manufacturing index declined to 14 from 20.

The region's non-manufacturing sector “continued to expand.”

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for December increased to 0.27 from a downwardly revised 0.11 in November.

The University of Michigan's preliminary January consumer sentiment index reading was 94.4 compared to the final December 95.9 reading, sources said.

The December Chicago Business Barometer was revised up to 67.8, but the downward revision to second quarter numbers pulled down the index for the year.

Initial jobless claims fell by 41,000 to 220,000 in the January 13 week, well below the 250,000 level expected and hitting the lowest level since February 24, 1973.