• April 25, 2017
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Consumer confidence in the U.S. dipped slightly in April, but Americans are still far more optimistic than they were before the 2016 election, a survey shows. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slipped to 120.3 last month from a 16-year-high of 124.9 in March. Americans were a bit less rosy about the current

• April 25, 2017
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Sales of newly-constructed homes throttled to the highest in nearly a year in March as the housing recovery picked up steam. New-home sales ran at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 621,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was 5.8% higher than a downwardly-adjusted February sales pace, and 15.6% higher than a year ago.

• April 25, 2017
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Treasury prices retreated Tuesday, continuing to send yields higher, as investors continued to pile back into stocks and other assets perceived as risky at the expense of traditional havens like government bonds. The yield on the 10-year note climbed 5.6 basis points to 2.3330%, briefly approaching the two-week high of 2.315% before heading lower. The

• April 25, 2017
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U.S. house prices continued to show no signs of slowing, hitting their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Dallas. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.9% in the three-month period ending in February compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.7% yearly

• April 24, 2017
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Weak growth in the U.S. economy in the first quarter will likely be temporary and interest-rate hikes should be able to proceed as planned, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Friday. “Our tendency is to think this [weakness in the first quarter] is a transitory change and that growth will be around forecasts in

• April 20, 2017
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The manufacturing index from the Philadelphia Fed slid in April, but from high levels, suggesting slower growth in the factory sector after a post-election surge. The index fell to 22.0 from 32.8. It had hit a 33-year high of 43.3 in February and has receded every month since then. In a diffusion index, any reading

• April 19, 2017
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The U.S. economy expanded at a modest-to-moderate pace between mid-February and the end of March, but inflation pressures remained in check despite more difficulties in attracting and retaining workers. There is still debate within the Fed about just how rapid and sustained the pickup in inflation will be given that it has struggled to reach

• April 18, 2017
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British Prime Minister Theresa May says she is seeking an early election on June 8 to seek a strong mandate as she negotiates the country’s exit from the European Union.

• April 18, 2017
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Overall U.S. industrial production rose 0.5 percent in March because of an 8.6 percent weather-driven surge in utilities generation, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday. That was the largest increase in utilities output on record, which resulted from heating demand returning to so-called seasonal norms after being suppressed by unusually warm weather in February, the

• April 18, 2017
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Builders broke ground on fewer homes in March, but ramped up applications for permits, as the housing recovery continued to grind forward in fits and starts. Housing starts fell 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.22 million, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was 9.2% higher than during the same period a year