By James Blitz in London and Ben Hall in Paris

The French are markedly more pessimistic about their prospects for the coming decade than their counterparts in Europe or the US, fearing they will have a progressively lower living standard and get less state help, according to a new opinion poll.

A Harris poll for the Financial Times asked people in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US whether they felt they were better off than 10 years ago, and to assess how they will have fared by 2020.

The New York Stock Exchange traces its origins to 1792, when 24 New York City stockbrokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement. This agreement set in motion the NYSE’s unwavering commitment to investors and issuers.
Now NYSE Euronext welcomes the historic American Stock Exchange into the world’s largest and most liquid exchange group.

Originally called the "curb market" because its brokers traded outdoors in the street, the Amex has been at the forefront of the U.S. financial markets over the course of two centuries.

From Wikipedia:

How Does the Stock Market Work?

With food inflation up more than 8% for the year and gas close to $4 a gallon, some consumers are going to extreme measures to stay within their budgets.

Though some ideas might sound crazy -- car-engine fried eggs, anyone? -- others contain clever solutions to the everyday challenges of stretching a dollar. Here are eight of the best extreme-saving techniques, culled from some of the top minds on the Web:

1. Turn your car off -- while it's moving
Savings: You can shave a few dollars off your gas bill each month.

2. Reuse plastic sandwich bags

"I know of nobody who is arguing over the amount of money or even that the secretary ought to have the authority to purchase these toxic instruments, these bad debts," said Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Well, Senator, had you or Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson truly bothered to ask around, you'd surely have found more than a few honest, taxpaying citizens who are, like me, completely outraged over the size, scope and nature of the unprecedented plan to push this country further toward total socialist rule.

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly soared last week to their highest level since just after the Sept. 11 ist attacks seven years ago as a mix of economic weakness and recent hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas pushed claims near the half-million mark.

Even accounting for the roughly 50,000 claims that the government said were related to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the trend remains very weak for labor markets at a time when the crisis on Wall Street threatens to pull the economy into a deeper downturn.

Welcome to Investing Basics! If you've found your way here, chances are you've either got some money socked away or you're planning to do so. But first things first. Why is investing a smart idea?