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The Fed also said it will continue to buy $85 billion a month in bonds to keep long-term borrowing costs down and encourage borrowing and spending. And it signaled that it's open to expanding the bond buying if the economy needs it. Since last year, the U.S. recovery has been held back, in part, by weak manufacturing. Earlier this week, for example, an industry trade group said the growth of U.S. factory activity slowed in April to its weakest pace this year. Even so, some manufacturers, particularly auto companies, are strengthening. Last month, U.S. auto sales reached their highest level for any April since 2007. Sales grew 8.5 percent to nearly 1.3 million vehicles. And on Thursday, Ford Motor Co. said it will add 2,000 workers to a Missouri plant that makes the F-150 pickup. The reason: Surging demand for U.S. trucks. Ford's pickup sales are up 19 percent so far this year. One reason is that home builders and other construction workers have finally been replacing trucks they kept during the recession. And the F-Series is the best-selling vehicle in the United States. The ECB's move Thursday to cut its key interest rate to a record low 0.50 percent and unveil other measures to spur lending means companies and households in the euro alliance will find it cheaper to borrow. Those lower borrowing costs, in turn, could help the U.S. economy if they allow European consumers and businesses to buy more U.S. exports. Some economists cautioned that the ECB's actions might not help much because European banks remain reluctant to lend, especially to small companies. On Friday, economists expect the U.S. government to report that employers added more than 100,000 jobs in April but fewer than last year's pace of nearly 185,000 jobs a month. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 7.6 percent. Some economists this week lowered their predictions for job gains after some reports had suggested that slower U.S. growth could hold back hiring. Some are concerned that higher Social Security taxes and deep government spending cuts that took effect this year may have started to hurt the economy. The Fed expressed that concern Wednesday after its policy meeting. "Fiscal policy," the Fed cautioned, "is restraining economic growth."
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