Decline in Chinese factory output threatens recovery

HSBC said its purchasing managers' index for Chinese manufacturers - where scores below 50 represent decline - fell from 49.2 in May to a nine-month low of 48.3 in June, the Daily Mail reports. It fuelled fears that the world's second-largest economy is slowing and could miss its growth target of 7.5% having expanded at its weakest pace for 13 years in 2012. Mixed figures in the US failed to lift the mood. US home sales hit a three-and-a-half year high in May and factory output in the Mid-Atlantic region rebounded strongly this month. But it was not enough to stop American manufact...