TOKYO, June 1 : Japanese companies' pace of annual spending on plant and equipment stalled in the first quarter after a year of strong expansion, likely prompting a downgrade to economic growth as concerns mount over the impact of the Middle East conflict.The Iran war has upended the global economic outlook,

TOKYO, June 1 : Japanese companies' pace of annual spending on plant and equipment stalled in the first quarter after a year of strong expansion, likely prompting a downgrade to…

(Corrects to restore dropped word 'flat' in lead paragraph)By Makiko YamazakiTOKYO, June 1 : Japanese companies' annual spending on plant and equipment remained almost flat in the…