U.S. real gross domestic product increased more than expected in the second quarter of 2014. Tapering of QE3 is going to continue, according to the Fed. Private-sector employment increased by 218,000 jobs month over month in June.

NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index declined 1.1 percent in June compared to May. It is predicted that if Congress makes no change in existing law, Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will be exhausted by 2030, four years later than projected last year. And Social Security would be depleted three years later, as predicted earlier.

Fewer banks failed in 2014 than during the recession. Durable goods orders were up 0.7 percent in June.

Sales of new single-family houses nationwide dropped 11.5 percent in July, compared to June. The Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI dropped to 56.3 in July, compared with 57.3 in June.

The number of delinquent U.S. residential loans is down 15 percent year over year. The Architecture Billings Index is signaling improving conditions for the design and construction industry. The International Monetary Fund is cutting its prediction of U.S. GDP growth for 2014 from 2 percent to 1.7 percent.

Total existing-home sales rose in June by 2.6 percent month over month. Inflation experienced another mild uptick in June, with the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increasing 0.3 percent for the month.

American consumers were a little more optimistic in June than in May, though not quite as much as economists had expected. The Conference Board’s leading economic index was up 0.3 percent in June.

Retail sales were up 0.2 percent in June compared with May. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that interest rates weren’t going to move for an unspecified while, since the recovery of the U.S. economy is “not yet complete.” And the Congressional Budget Office predicts a rise in public debt.

Late last week trouble in the eurozone arose when Portugal halted trade in Banco Espirito Santo.

In June, U.S. home prices were up 8.1 percent year over year and 2.6 percent quarter over quarter, both of which reflect a slowdown in average price increases. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said that some progress has been made on the financial sector reform front.