WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is a transcript of comments by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during the the daily press briefing on the potential nomination of San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen to succeed Donald Kohn as Fed vice chairman:

WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is a transcript of comments by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during the the daily press briefing on the potential nomination of San Francisco Fed President Janet to succeed Donald Kohn as Fed vice chairman:

By Dennis Pettit

NEW YORK, March 12 (MNI) - The dollar was holding slight gains vs. the euro and yen as the week wound down Friday, but the greenback gains vs. the euro only represented a small clawback of steeper dollar losses suffered overnight after the euro finally burst above the $1.3700 that had capped recent sessions.

Euro-dollar was changing hands at $1.3755 in afternoon dealings Friday, slightly below the early $1.3772 level of the session with the euro pinned in a $1.3725/85 range during the U.S. session.

DATE GMT / EST EVENT

16-Mar 1815/1415 FOMC announces monetary policy decision.

17-Mar - Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher on panel about crisis response at Dallas Fed conference on the euro and dollar in the crisis, in Dallas.

By John Shaw

By Brai Odion-Esene

WASHINGTON (MNI) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Friday warned that it would be a mistake to attempt a quick narrowing in the federal deficit now, with the economic recovery still in its early stages, but acknowledged that postponing the issue indefinitely would also be bad for the country.

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday the health care reform has entered its final phase, and she would like a final vote in the House by the end of next week.

At a briefing, Pelosi said Democratic leaders are drafting a budget reconciliation bill to make changes to the health care legislation that the Senate approved on Christmas Eve.

By Theresa Sheehan

PRINCETON (SMRA) - The week of March 15 is moderately busy with economic data, most of which will focus on inflation, manufacturing and housing. However, the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee Tuesday will also keep markets on alert, as they await the next iteration of monetary policy.