Wall Street turmoil ripples across Main Street

By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Turmoil on Wall Street is pushing financial professionals to the therapist's couch, scaring them off power lunches and testing the mettle of small investors caught in the vortex.

With investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co agreeing to buy stricken rival Bear Stearns and the U.S. Federal Reserve stepping in to prop up securities firms, everyday Americans are also feeling the squeeze.

The state of the economy is now the major issue in the campaign for the U.S. presidential election in November and various polls show consumers are turning more gloomy.

A Reuters/University of Michigan survey published on Friday, before the Bear Stearns buyout and the Fed's emergency action, showed nearly unanimous agreement among consumers that the economy was in recession, the director of the survey said.

"Business is definitely quiet because of the market," said Ivan Mitankin, manager of Harry's at Hannover Square, a bar and restaurant popular with traders. "There's been a 20 percent drop the past couple of days, especially today for lunch."

People are voicing their concerns as they see retirement funds dwindle, friends laid off and ballooning mortgage obligations surpassing the value of their homes.

James Masten, a psychotherapist whose practice is a block from Wall Street on Exchange Place, has noticed growing anxiety from patients about layoffs and said the downturn was putting stress on couples with one person working in finance.

"You want to perform at a higher level and the process of witnessing the layoffs is very demoralizing and it undermines self-esteem and ability to work," he said.