MNI US Morning Briefing

     LONDON (MNI) - Across the Atlantic the first release of the day is the US

MBA Weekly Applications Index at 1200GMT.

     Also at 1200GMT are weekly questions to the Prime Minister, the questions

will be taken by Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington in the absence

of UK PM Theresa May.

     At 1315GMT the US ADP Employment Report will be released.

     The US Employment Cost Index will be published at 1330GMT. The Employment

Cost Index is expected to rise 0.6% in the fourth quarter after a 0.7% gain in

the previous quarter, keeping in line with the recent average.

     Several key Canadian releases also scheduled for 1330GMT, GDP by Industry

and Industrial Product and Raw Material Price Index will hit the wires.

     At 1400GMT the US Milwaukee Manufacturing ISM index is on the docket.

     The US MNI Chicago PMI data will be released at 1445GMT. The index is

expected to fall back to a still-strong reading of 64.0 in January after jumping

to 67.8 in December. Other regional data already released have suggested a

slowdown in growth.

     At 1500GMT US NAR Pending Home Sales and the Help Wanted Online Index are

on the schedule.

     At 1530GMT US DoE Weekly Crude Oil Stocks will be released, a build is

expected after a gain in API inventory data yesterday, if the data does show a

rise in stocks it will be the first in 11 weeks.

     Bundesbank Board member Andreas Dombret gives a speech at Annual Reception

of the Regional Office in North Rhine-Westphalia, in Duesseldorf, Germany at

1600GMT.

     At 1900GMT comes the main event of the day, the FOMC policy announcement in

Washington. The Federal Reserve is set to carefully evaluate a shift in the

balance of risks to its dual mandate amid soaring job growth and sagging

inflation, and with Jay Powell preparing to take the helm from outgoing Chair

Janet Yellen next month.

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3809; email: kieran.williams@marketnews.com