Growth in factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region decelerated in February to its slowest level in a year, a regional Federal Reserve survey showed on Thursday. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index fell to 5.2, the lowest since February 2014, from January's 6.3. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase to 9.3, according to a Reuters poll. Any reading above zero indicates expansion in the region's manufacturing. The survey covers factories in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. It is seen as one of the first monthly indicators of the health of ... (full story)