• February 15, 2017
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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is back in the hot seat, giving her semiannual monetary policy report to Congress and taking questions from members.

• February 16, 2017
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Construction on new houses fell 2.6% in January, but another increase in permits points to builders breaking ground on more units in the months ahead. Housing starts took place at an annual rate of 1.246 million last month, the government said Thursday. That’s how many houses would be built in the U.S. in 2017 if

• March 17, 2017
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Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Friday said he dissented from the U.S. central bank’s decision to hike interest rates earlier this week because not all that much had changed in the outlook for inflation since the January meeting. While there were some signs that inflation was picking up, it was not happening rapidly, Kashkari

• February 16, 2017
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The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in mid-February rose by 5,000 to 239,000, but they remained at exceedingly low levels that reflect the resilience of a nearly eight-year-old economic recovery. Continuing Jobless Claims 2.076M vs. estimates of 2.051M.

• February 16, 2017
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The Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing index soared in February to a reading of 43.3 from 23.6 in January. That’s the highest level since early 1984.

• March 17, 2017
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Most Americans are quite optimistic the U.S. economy will do well in the days ahead, though Democrats remain depressed two months into the Trump presidency. The index of consumer sentiment rose to 97.6 in March from 96.3 in February, based on a preliminary reading by the University Michigan. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a

• March 17, 2017
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The U.S. economy is set to accelerate, if a gauge that historically correlates with future performance is on target. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose 0.6% in February — the third straight gain of that magnitude — to reach its highest level in more than a decade. “Widespread gains across a majority

• February 22, 2017
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January Existing Home Sales 5.69M vs. estimates of 5.54M. A nice beat, but not a factor in pricing today.

• March 17, 2017
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Treasurys gained ground Friday, leaving yields on track for a weekly decline after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday failed to signal a more aggressive approach to future rate moves. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 1.8 basis points to 2.506%, according to Tradeweb, while the 2-year yield declined 0.7 basis point to 1.317%.

• February 22, 2017
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The next interest rate increase could be closer than it appears. That’s after documents released Wednesday show that Federal Reserve officials spent their meeting three weeks ago consumed with the changes brought on by a new administration in the White House — concluding with a strong indication that another hike could be just around the