World factories stuck in low gear on sluggish demand

Speculation in recent weeks that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the next few months, concerns about Chinese economic growth, and worries that a possible British exit from the European Union, are all factors that have knocked confidence. JPMorgan's Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), produced with Markit, came in at 50.0 last month, right on the level that separates growth from contraction, compared to 50.1 in April. "The May PMI data suggest that the glo