For the 18th time in the last 19 months, American manufacturing activity has contracted according the closely-watched PMI report for May from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The PMI registered 48.7, down 0.5 from April as demand softened. “Demand remains elusive,” according to ISM, “as companies demonstrate an unwillingness to invest due to current monetary policy [interest rates] and other conditions. These investments include supplier order commitments, inventory building and capital expenditures.” See the full report here.