Americans Optimistic About Personal Finance and Pessimistic About Economy

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - November 11, 2008) - 48.5% of Americans predict the nation is on the verge of experiencing another great depression, according to study findings released by BIGresearch (http://www.bigresearch.com) at the annual VCF/TPMA Conference. Although half of the 4,086 respondents foresee doom and gloom for the financial markets, a glimmer of hope can be found in the results.

75.7% of Americans feel their personal financial situation will stay the same or be better in the next six months. 32.2 % remain happy "with the way things are going in their personal lives" and 50.5% say there are both good days and bad days. Only 17.3% say they are unhappy.

When it comes to how Americans perceive the new presidential administration, 35.1% say it is a "watershed event" capable of inspiring the beginning of an economic recovery; 36.2% say it's not. 43.6% say their taxes will increase while 47.4% think grocery prices will go up.

Americans are split on the future of energy prices and job creation under President-elect Obama, but are more confident the stock market will go up.

Under the new presidential administration...

                      Energy prices           More jobs will   Stock market
                      will stabilize/decline  be created       will go up
Agree/Strongly Agree  31.7%                   31.7%            35.9%
Disagree/Strongly
 Disagree             31.1%                   33.7%            22.6%
Uncertain             37.2%                   34.6%            41.5%

Source: American Pulse Post Election Survey, Nov 2008

For complimentary findings: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

About American Pulse™

The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. http://www.bigresearch.com.

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236