Research shows that households with lower levels of wealth spend a larger fraction of income gains than their wealthier counterparts.

The budget deal Senate leaders reached late Wednesday would add nearly $300 billion in government spending over two years and push the deficit higher, exactly the opposite of what the economic textbooks say lawmakers should be doing, said a Moodys economist.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen suggested on Wednesday that policy makers generally see the GOP tax plan as having a modest and mostly short-term impact.

"If the next president is not going to have a recession, it will be a U.S. record," said Gad Levanon, chief economist for North America at the Conference Board in New York.

Millennials may need to start saving more than they thought.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested that the central bank might delay, but not abandon, planned interest-rate increases.

Warming weather, confident consumers and a healthier housing market all argue for a rebound in growth and hiring after a harsh and frigid winter rocked the economy in the first three months of the year, economists said.

The drop in joblessness suggests the U.S. labor market is tightening, raising the odds that a pick-up in wages will eventually lead to faster inflation.