Americans holding their breath

Americans continue to show their optimism despite Wall Street's epic mess, according to a new Reuters poll. The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures the mood of the country, rose to 96.3 in September from 91.9 in August as seven of the 10 measures of public opinion used in the index rose. The index is still climbing from numbers accounted for in August.

According to the survey, Americans felt better this month about their personal finances, job security and their children's prospects. But, as Reuters reports, the survey was conducted before Sunday's Wall Street meltdown, indicating moods might change pending the financial market's volatile susceptibility to change on a daily basis.

Among other findings, the survey found the number of people who gave their personal finances positive marks jumped from 47 percent to 52 percent, while the number of Americans feeling secure in their job climbed to 64 percent from 61 percent.