Worries over consumer spending knocks FTSE hard

Consumer attempts to reign in spending are causing concern in the UK stockmarkets this morning that the economic recovery may now be slower than hoped. After this morning's open, the FTSE 100 fell to a nine-month low as BP and Vodafone led the decline. The FTSE 100 Index dropped 58.5 points, or 1.3%, to 4521.8 after sliding to 4506.3, its lowest since Sept. 24. BP slipped 9.5p, or 1.8%, to 529p while Vodafone, Europe's largest wireless company, shed 2p, or 2.3% to 87p and AstraZeneca dropped 87p, or 3.2%, to £25.85 after Europe's second-biggest pharmaceutical firm said it fai...