Inflation-adjusted wages have been recovering for the past two years after declining for the previous seven, notes the FT. Real wages have grown by 2.5% since last May, but have yet to regain their pre-crisis peak. Now it looks as though they may stall on the way there.
With commodity prices recovering and the pound sliding, inflation is expected to reach around 2.5% in 2017, while earnings growth remains unspectacular. In the year to May, total pay rose by 2.1%.
“The ‘cost-of-living’ crisis may make a return visit,” says David Smith in The Sunday Times, denting confidence and consumption.
The ten most-hated shares on the FTSE
| Share | Description | % of stock being shorted | % on 24 June |
| Ocado Group | Online supermarkets | 22.75% | 23.13% |
| Wm Morrison | Supermarkets | 17.17% | 15.05% |
| Carillion | Construction/outsourcing | 16.69% | 18.34% |
| J Sainsbury | Supermarkets | 11.01% | 9.31% |
| Tullow Oil | Oil and gas explorer | 9.96% | 7.65% |
| Mitie Group | Facilities management | 8.20% | 9.32% |
| Ladbrokes | Gambling | 8.10% | 8.63% |
| Just Eat | Online food delivery | 6.65% | 7.02% |
| Lancashire Holdings | Insurance | 6.40% | NEW ENTRY |
| Hansteen Holdings | Real estate investment trust | 6.25% | 6.56% |
This is a list of the ten most despised shares on the London market, judged by the percentage of stock being shorted. Short-sellers hope to profit from falling stock prices, so it can be useful to see what they are betting against.
The list is also a good indicator of stocks with the potential to bounce strongly on unexpected good news – “short squeezes” occur when short sellers are forced out of their positions, which can send share prices surging. Insurers’ shares have fallen since Brexit on fears of lower growth and interest rates. Another worry for new entrant Lancashire Holdings is pressure on premiums amid overcapacity in the reinsurance and speciality underwriting markets.