Savers despair for jobs and pensions as markets mauled

By Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Denny Thomas

LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fears that a possible U.S. recession would rock the rest of the world and cost jobs intensified on Tuesday for small investors left counting the cost to pensions and savings from sliding global stock markets.

Hundreds of billions of dollars of value has been wiped from world share markets in two days of volatile trade that have seen some of the most dramatic falls since September 11, 2001 -- falls that underline intense concern over soaring food and fuel costs, record levels of personal debt and faltering job security.

"It's frightening," Paul Henderson, a 54-year old manager of a clothing store in London's Fleet Street, told Reuters.

He said business had already been trailing off and his customers were increasingly using cash instead of credit cards -- implying lower value purchases.

A hit to spending was also on the mind of a bartender in Frankfurt in a pub near the city's wealthy banking district.

"If the economy turns worse maybe people here will not drink so much," said the Cuban-born bartender who asked not to be identified as she is officially unemployed.

Meanwhile those already in official work and hoping for lucrative international assignments were also feeling the pinch of a deteriorating economic and market outlook.

"We are noticing a lot of clients putting off assignments. There will be an impact but no one knows how deep," said David Sayers, a 43 year-old international tax advisor based in London.