Japan Wages May 2008 and the June Tankan

Japan's wages grew at the slowest pace in five months in May, suggesting that households will continue to reduce spending as inflation rises faster than workers' paychecks. Monthly wages, including overtime and bonuses, climbed 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 275,815 yen, according to the Japanese Labor Ministry. Due to the impact of inflation this becomes a 1.2% fall in real terms.Households