Plus: Slow Growth for the U.S. Economy, a Fall in Jobless Claims and Mixed Signs for Eurozone.

U.S. Economy Shows Modest Growth
New reports indicate that economic conditions in the United States are gradually improving and that the economy as a whole is experiencing moderate growth. However, concerns about the expansion rate remain.

According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book, seven of the 12 regions surveyed reported general improvements in business activity between September and early October. In particular, manufacturing activity posted strong growth in most districts, with gains in production and new orders “across a wide range of industries.” The only exceptions were in the Philadelphia and Richmond regions, which had weakened growth compared to the previous reporting period.

Other indicators were mixed. Hiring was sluggish through early October, and future capital spending plans “appeared to be limited.” Housing markets remained weak, credit availability was still constrained in many regions and spending continued to be low as wages have not gone up. These signs point to continued economic growth, albeit at a slower pace.

“The latest Beige Book provided a glum picture of the world’s largest economy as it struggles to recover more than a year after the end of the worst recession since the Great Depression,” Agence-France Presse reports. “Consumer spending, which represents about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, was essentially stalled as retailers geared up for the year-end holiday season.”

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI), which is used to track peaks and troughs in the business cycle, provided further evidence of modest economic growth last week. The LEI for the U.S. rose 0.3 percent in September, following a 0.1 percent increase in August and 0.2 percent in July.

“The LEI remains on a general upward trend, but it is growing at its slowest pace since the middle of 2009,” Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at The Conference Board, said in an announcement of the findings. “However, “[t]here isn’t any indication of a relapse into another downturn through the end of the year.”

Jobless Claims Fall Sharply
New initial jobless claims fell steeply in the latest week reported. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted unemployment claims decreased by 23,000 for the week ending Oct. 16, bringing the total to 452,000, down from the previous week’s total of 475,000. The four-week moving average fell 4,250 to 458,000.

Despite the decrease, jobless claims have remained in a relatively narrow range over the past year, lingering between the mid-400,000 and 500,000 thresholds. This indicates that employment conditions have remained largely static since a spate of rapid improvements in 2009.

“Claims fell steadily last year after the recession ended in June 2009, dropping from roughly 600,000 to about 470,000. But not much progress has been made this year,” NPR.org reports. “Economists say that claims need to fall below 425,000 to signal that employers are stepping up hiring. Some companies are still laying off workers, even as their profits grow.”

The latest drop in weekly jobless claims may also give a distorted picture of the improvement, as the Labor Dept. revised the previous week’s data to show a rise of 26,000, more than double the initial figure reported. That means the most recent decline in claims was not enough to offset earlier gains.

Eurozone Industry Shows Mixed Signs
New industrial orders across the 16 countries that share the euro posted their strongest monthly gain in five months and the sharpest annual gain on record in August, the European Union’s statistics agency reports.

Factory orders, which increased 5.3 percent from July, were 24.4 percent higher than in August 2009, marking the strongest yearly gain since records began in 1996, according to Eurostat.

However, a more up-to-date survey of purchasing managers released last week showed private-sector activity across the Eurozone grew at its slowest pace in a year this month. The Markit preliminary composite purchasing managers index (PMI) fell from 54.1 in September to a 12-month low of 53.4 in October. A reading of 50 or higher indicates growth in business activity, while a figure lower than 50 signals contraction.

“Slower output expansion was accompanied by the further loss of momentum of new orders and employment growth, as well as a slight uptick in the rate of increase of prices charged to a two-year high,” the financial information services firm said.

According to Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, “The flash PMI readings for October indicate that the recovery continued to lose momentum as the Eurozone entered the final quarter of the year. The data are equivalent to a quarterly GDP growth run rate of 0.3 percent, down markedly from a peak of 1 percent seen in the second quarter.”

EPA Proposes Adding 9 Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the addition of nine hazardous waste sites to the general Superfund section of the National Priorities List (NPL). Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment across the country.

To date, there are 1,281 sites listed on the NPL.

In the Federal Register on Thursday, the following nine additions were proposed to the NPL:

• Armstrong World Industries (ceiling tile manufacturer) in Georgia;
• Dwyer Property Ground Water Plume (contaminated ground water plume) in Maryland;
• Washington County Lead District – Furnace Creek (lead mining area) in Missouri;
• Horton Iron and Metal (former fertilizer manufacturer and metal salvage) in North Carolina;
• Mansfield Trail Dump (waste disposal area) in New Jersey;
• Milford Contaminated Aquifer (contaminated ground water plume) in Ohio;
• Cabo Rojo Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Puerto Rico;
• Hormigas Ground Water Plume (contaminated ground water plume) in Puerto Rico; and
• West County Road 112 Ground Water (contaminated ground water plume) in Texas.

Contaminants found at the proposed sites include arsenic, asbestos, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, dichloroethene, lead, mercury, polynuclear aromatic hydrcarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethane, trichloroethene, vinyl chloride and zinc.

The EPA will accept public comments regarding these proposed listings during a 60-day comment period following the publication date in the Federal Register.