• March 29, 2017
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Contract signings for home sales boomed in February to the second-highest level in a decade, a trade group said Wednesday. Pending home sales rose 5.5% in February after falling 2.8% in January, the National Association of Realtors reported. That’s the highest level in close to a year

• March 29, 2017
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Treasury prices gained some ground on Wednesday after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May began the Article 50 process, which formally begins the process of taking the country out of the European Union. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped 2.6 basis points to 2.398%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 2.3 basis

• March 28, 2017
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U.S. house prices roared to their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the west. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.7% in the three-month period ending in January compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.5% yearly increase in December. The 20-city index was up 0.2%

• March 28, 2017
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The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index leapt to 125.6 in March from 116.1 in February, coming in well ahead of the consensus of 114.1.

• March 25, 2017
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A renewed effort by Republicans to reform the Federal Reserve will kick off next week. House Republicans have been pressing to reform the Fed since taking control of the chamber in 2010 but have yet to succeed in the face of opposition from Democrats and the Obama White House. This time might be different now

• March 24, 2017
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New orders for durable goods, a telltale sign for the U.S. economy, climbed in February for the second straight month. Orders for durable goods advanced 1.7% while the increase in January was raised several notches to 2.3%, reflecting a pickup in manufacturing that kicked in toward the end of last year.

• March 24, 2017
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Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan wants a “gradual and patient” approach to raising interest rates this year but said that doesn’t necessarily include a “pause” in the Fed’s rate-tightening policy. With its rate hike last week, Fed members signaled rough forecasts for two more rate hikes this year. San Francisco Fed President John Williams

• March 23, 2017
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U.S. stock futures traded in tight ranges on Thursday, as investors kept their eye on a speeches from Federal Reserve members including Chairwoman Janet Yellen, as well as an important vote on a health-care bill.

• March 23, 2017
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U.S. interest rates futures rose to session highs on Wednesday as traders dialed back their view on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next rate hike following its quarter-percentage point increase last week. Federal funds futures implied traders saw 49.6 percent the U.S. central bank would raise rates at its June 13-14 policy meeting, compared

• March 23, 2017
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Bank lobbyists who opened the Trump era with great expectations for sweeping regulatory reform are privately striking an increasingly dismal tone as hopes for a quick and thorough rewrite of Dodd-Frank legislation dim. Lobbyists say they are facing the reality that bank deregulation legislation will have to wait in line behind other bigger priorities such