BMO's Ian Lyngen said Fed Chair....>

US TSYS/RESEARCH: BMO's Ian Lyngen said Fed Chair Yellen on Tues. "in her final

testimony to Congress" had "portrayed an optimistic outlook stating, 'I expect

that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, the economy

will continue to expand and the job market will strengthen somewhat further,

supporting faster growth in wages and income.' She did however acknowledge some

weakness in wages by saying "Despite these labor market gains, wage growth has

remained relatively modest." Overall, her comments appeared to cement a December

hike and helped to continue a Treasury selloff that started early in the

session."

- He added SF Fed's Williams "spoke in Phoenix sounding optimistic about the

economy and wage growth stating that he expects it to rise to 3-3.5%.

Additionally, he stressed that the economy is on the right track and Fed must

"maintain expansion.""

- He also noted October pending home sales "beat expectations at +3.5% MoM

compared to +1.0% consensus and 0.0% in September. In the details the South led

the increase at +7.4%, while the West showed the only decline at -0.7%."