(FORTUNE Magazine) – Here's a sign of the times: Even poll questions have turned pessimistic. Search firm Christian & Timbers recently asked more than 200 executives to choose the place they would never want to work, from a list of six of the world's top financial centers (not including SARS hot spots Beijing and Hong Kong). Tokyo topped the least-wanted roster with nearly half the votes, followed by Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. London "won" by getting the fewest votes, while the San Francisco Bay Area was a close runner-up, despite the meltdown in Silicon Valley. --Julie Schlosser