U.S. manufacturers in the Philadelphia region continued to expand their business in April, but just barely, and companies were less eager to hire new workers. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s index of business conditions fell to 1.3 in April from 2.0 in March, the bank said Thursday. Readings above zero indicate manufacturing is growing instead of shrinking. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the index to improve to 4.0. The Philly Fed’s gauge is the second this week to fall short of Wall Street expectations and show softer growth. On Monday, the New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State index also missed ... (full story)