Such businesses were thought to be vulnerable to a downturn as investors fretted over economic problems in Asia and Russia.

It American shares are down 53 percent so far this year, as investors fret that the company has been too slow to reduce debt.

Nissan's shares also fell 1.7 percent in Tokyo today as investors fretted over how long it would take the company to find a partner.

Over recent weeks, investors have been fretting over data showing that the US economy has hit a soft patch.

The shares were hit in the latter part of last year as investors fretted about the state of the airline industry.

They've made large losses as investors fret about the future of the eurozone.

And in recent weeks, long-term interest rates have fallen as investors have fretted about slowing growth.

Recently, however, stocks have taken a pounding - the Dow dropped 3.4 percent last week - and many investors are fretting.

Still, some analysts, investors, clients and senior managers at Interpublic units have been fretting about the future.

Bank stocks were among the biggest losers yesterday, as investors fretted that a recession would mean rising losses on loans.