The Philadelphia Federal Reserve index for manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region is not expected to change much in May. "The Philly Fed has been relatively steady in the low to mid teens in recent months," informed the economic departments at Westpac. "We expect it the nudge a little higher, from 13.2 to 15.0 in May, in line with the improving tone in the national ISM and some other business surveys recently," they predicted. In contrast, Mike Carey, Currency Strategist at Calyon thinks that the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook is expected to continue to show expansion but at a slower pace. "The Beige Book reported for this district that manufacturers expect growth in business activity to stay on an upward trend in the months ahead, but on the other hand capital spending among district manufacturers calls for modest increase in expenditures," he said.