Rising bills 'biggest finance fear'

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Research from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) found that 52% of the general public believed their greatest financial threat was rising food and energy prices, followed by the possibility of recession (13%) and then the credit crunch (8%).

The figures marked a change from six months ago, when a quarter of the public's foremost financial worry was the threat of recession.

Active investors, separately surveyed by the AIC, mirrored the public's thoughts, with 29% thinking increasing food and energy prices fuelling inflation was the biggest threat to their finances, followed by 22% most worried about recession possibilities, then one in 10 concerned about the credit crunch.

As a result of their fears, more than a third of active investors and nearly a quarter of the general public said they were saving more and spending less.

The statistics also revealed pessimistic expectations for the housing market, with only 5% of the public believing it would perform better than equities - compared to 27% in September 2007. Over half believed both the housing and stock markets would perform badly.

And of the 47% of active investors who thought equities will outperform the housing market, nearly half thought this was because the housing market looked like it could continue to crash.

While 33% were planning to increase their investments in the next few months, this was down 5% from March - and 80% of those investors with such plans said it was because recent market falls represented a buying opportunity.

Blue-chips were now considered the safest haven by active investors, with resources (including oil) a close second.

And "green" investing was still popular, with over half of investors saying global warming might or would definitely affect their investment decisions.