Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher on Tuesday said he did not think it was time for the U.S. Federal Reserve to consider increasing interest rates.

The U.S. Federal Reserve must eventually begin to sell assets but now is not the right time, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said on Tuesday.

The financial doesn t address the systemic risk presented by the size of big banks, which ought to be reduced, Richard W. Fisher, the head of the Dallas Federal Reserve, said.

Republican Senate hopeful Gilbert Baker on Tuesday criticized rival John Boozman for supporting a 2008 bailout of the nation s banks, and called on the Republican congressman to promise to oppose any future bailout packages.

An industry group sponsored by the New York Federal Reserve that promotes best practices in the U.S. Treasury market said on Tuesday it is expanding its focus to include agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities.

U.S. consumer confidence rebounds in March after falling sharply the prior month, the Conference Board says, but consumers are still worried about current business and labor market conditions.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fall a not-seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January compared with December, according to the Case-Shiller home-price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor s.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fall a nonadjusted 0.4% in January compared with December, according to the Case-Shiller home-price index.

Large U.S. regional lender Comerica Inc said it will not repurchase warrant issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program s Capital Purchase Program in November 2008.

* ADP report, Chicago PMI, Feb factory orders data on tap * S&P 500 up 73.4 pct from March 2009 low as Q1 ends * Futures down: S&P 1.5 pts, Dow 11 pts, Nasdaq 3.75 pts