Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsWood Group has come a step closer to becoming the latest company to leave the London Stock Exchange, after the board of the British oil services company said it was minded to accept a reduced takeover offer from a Dubai-based suitor.Sidara, the Middle Eastern engineering company, initially proposed a 35p-a-share offer in April.We are taking a more cautious view on the UK consumer. The end of 2024 and early 2025 are likely to have been the sweet spot with real wage growth set to slow and fear of unemployment set to build from here.Our Household Cash Flow model shows discretionary spending lagging spending power and, unless consumers reduce savings, there will be a 4ppt slowdown in discretionary spend to +3% in 2H from +7% in 1H. Continue reading...