The U.S. economy grew at a modest pace in recent weeks, with manufacturing buffeted by a global slowdown while consumer purchases gave mixed signals on the strength of household spending, the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday. The report, released ahead of the Fed's Sept. 17-18 policy meeting when central bankers are widely expected to cut interest rates to counter the economic slowdown, suggested that U.S. businesses do not expect a recession soon. "Although concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook," according to the Fed's report. The central bank said growth in employment appeared to be "modest" in recent weeks, a pace that was "on par with the previous reporting period." But manufacturing activity was slightly weaker than during the previous period, the Fed said. The report detailed a host of concerns by businesses about tariffs, including the prospect that uncertainty over the direction of trade policy could dampen investment.
