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Survey: Financial anxiety grows among Americans
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-13 23:58

WASHINGTON - Alongside dizzying declines in stock prices and home values, financial anxiety is growing among Americans, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out Monday has found.

Less than half now believe they will have enough money to last through retirement, and two-thirds fear for their family's economic situation, according to poll results.

Moreover, over four in 10 said they have been hurt by the stock market's steep decline.

In addition, one in six reported "a great deal" of financial pain.

Yet even in the wake of last week's historic sell-off on Wall Street, many Americans who own stocks or stock funds -- about three in 10 -- have not looked at their holdings to assess the damage.

One reason about that was almost all investors polled said they are in the market for the long term, and most understand the underlying risks of stocks.

Beyond their own pocketbooks, Americans' concerns on the direction of the nation's economy and the performance of the stock market have deepened.

Nearly nine in 10 are worried about the direction of the economy over the next few years and more than three-quarters are worried about the markets' performance.

Concerns on both fronts are up since mid-September, when markets began to turn sharply negative.

And in a sign that the tightening credit market has spooked large numbers of people, more than four in 10 are worried about their ability to get a loan.

The poll was conducted by telephone October 9 to 11, among a random sample of 517 adults.