• March 5, 2018
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Non-manufacturing activity was expected to decrease slightly in February. The measure jumped up in January, nearly matching the recent peak in October 2017 when the index touched the highest level since its debut in 2008.

• March 1, 2018
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Consumer spending in January rose a scant 0.2% as Americans cut back after the holidays. And spending fell for the first time in a year if adjusted for inflation, the government said Thursday. Economists polled had forecast a 0.3% increase in spending. At the same time, though, incomes rose 0.4% and after-tax incomes posted the

• February 28, 2018
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The housing recovery appears to be making a U-turn as mortgage rates rise amid a critically low supply of homes for sale. Pending home sales, which measure signed contracts, not closings, fell 4.7 percent in January compared to December, according to the National Association of Realtors. The weakness was nationwide, and December’s reading was also

• February 28, 2018
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After rising sharply for weeks, mortgage interest rates steadied last week, and homebuyers responded, the Mortgage Bankers Association says. Total mortgage application volume increased 2.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the previous week. The increase was driven by homebuyers, who have been sidelined significantly this year by a record low number of listings and by weakening

• February 28, 2018
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The pace of growth in the U.S. economy was trimmed to 2.5% from 2.6% in the fourth quarter, largely because of a slower buildup in inventories of unsold goods. The revised reading on GDP matched the forecast of economists surveyed. Every other key figure in the latest upate to gross domestic product was virtually unchanged.

• February 27, 2018
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U.S. consumer confidence surged in February, building off its rebound from January and reaching the highest level since 2000. The Conference Board’s measure of consumer attitudes on current and future economic conditions increased to 130.80 in February, up from 124.30 in January. Feelings about short-term economic prospects, in particular, shot back up in January after

• February 27, 2018
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Potentially more worrisome, a key measure of business investment fell for a second straight month, the first time that’s happened since early 2016. Economists surveyed had forecast a 1.7% decline in orders for durable goods. Stripping out planes and cars, orders fell a much smaller 0.3%. Transportation often exaggerate the ups and downs in durable-goods

• February 27, 2018
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In his first appearance on Capitol Hill in his new role, Powell told House lawmakers that the Fed “will continue to strike a balance between avoiding an overheated economy” and reaching 2% inflation, the target the Fed considers healthy. In prepared remarks, he did not suggest any plans to speed up the Fed’s planned interest

• February 27, 2018
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell downplayed concerns over recent market volatility, and said the central bank remains on course for more interest rate hikes. Powell emphasized that the job market remains robust, consumer spending is solid and wage growth is accelerating. The Fed has been aiming to boost inflation to 2 percent, but the recent

• February 26, 2018
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St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Monday he does not think the so-called neutral U.S. interest rate is likely to rise much over the next two years. “The natural, safe real rate of interest, and hence the appropriate policy rate, is relatively low and unlikely to change very much over the forecast horizon,” Bullard