stocks

Rightcontrol Lite is an intuitive program that allows users to track inventory and sales. Although this free version of the program is practically useless, it offers a preview of what could potentially be a very helpful program.

The program's interface is plain and well-organized, with graphical buttons that represent each of its major functions. Users create databases of customers and suppliers, enter their inventory, and then use the software to manage purchasing, ring up sales, and create invoices. The program also allows users to create and print bar codes. The program comes with a 31-page PDF manual that is … Read more

Basic Inventory Control helps populate and track a business' products. With a fundamental set of tools to accomplish this goal, even novices will step right into this useful program.

The program's very plain-looking interface pushed us into experimenting, since its Help file and Tutorial were vaguely worded and directionless. Thankfully, the inventory manager is broken down into a few simple commands for creating and tracking inventory. The success of the program hinged on building up a product database. After we'd given all our stocks a name, product number, and price, we were free to manage our inventory. Ordering, … Read more

Stockwatch is a very basic way to view and monitor your stock values. With a setup that is incredibly simple to navigate and provides just the essential numbers, this is a great tool for beginning stock traders.

We had no trouble with the program's interface, since it was built with Excel and is basically a well-designed spreadsheet. At no point in running this program did we feel like we needed any guidance. We enjoyed the simplicity of Stockwatch; it contained simply a tab for Current stocks and one for Sold stocks. The program smartly included a box to fill … Read more

Shutterstock, a "microstock" company that sells royalty-free photographs for relatively low prices over the Internet, has acquired rival BigStockPhoto and a new sales method along with it.

Shutterstock had offered its photographs and videos through a subscription payment plan, but BigStockPhoto sells its individually with credits. Both rely on a large pool of photographers to supply them with stock photography used in everything from corporate PowerPoint presentations to tourist brochures.

"This addition will enable Shutterstock to better satisfy the diverse payment preferences of stock photo buyers worldwide," said Jon Oringer, founder and CEO of Shutterstock, in … Read more

Global Gaming Factory X, the software maker that has claimed it will acquire BitTorrent search site The Pirate Bay, has found a new stock exchange for its shares--a move that can only be described as bewildering.

Mangold Fondkommission, an independent exchange that specializes in the trading of small and medium-size stocks, issued a press release Wednesday, announcing that Global Gaming's shares were available for trade.

Global Gaming was booted off its former stock exchange earlier this month after exchange officials concluded the company provided false information about its ability to purchase The Pirate Bay.

Sweden's Economic Crimes Bureau … Read more

FreeCommander is a file management program that lets users view their file hierarchies in two separate panes, making it easy to navigate between them. Although the program's interface leaves something to be desired, it contains many features that users may find useful when managing their files.

Our first impression of FreeCommander's interface was not favorable. The contents of our computer were displayed in both of the two viewing panes, and across the top of the interface were a slew of tiny, unlabeled buttons. Although the program's basic features were clear--it was easy, for example, to drag and … Read more

Monitoring and trading stocks from the comfort of home just got easier with this easy-to-use app.

Personal Stock Monitor Gold launches a familiar, e-mail-client-like interface. Navigating the app's features is easy to master, thanks to the category tabs, and the tutorials built into the Help feature are well illustrated, nicely detailed, and great for introducing the app and its processes to novices. We were very pleased with the feature set for this package: the news feeds and active securities monitoring are very handy for keeping an eye on specific stocks and being alerted to items you haven't been … Read more

Jill Schlesinger of CBS' MoneyWatch joins the show to talk about the economy. So it turns out that things aren't going to collapse, and we're not going to have to sell our bodies in a barter system. That doesn't mean, however, that we're out of the woods, and Jill is here to show us the way out. Throw in a little bit of health care, a little bit of Social Security, and a garlic smell? Only on The 404!

For the last couple of months, stocks have been soaring more than 50 percent since their March low. Jill says all that means is that the market doesn't think we're headed for Great Depression 2.0, but that doesn't mean we're out of trouble. In the dark, we imagine what V-, U-, and W- recoveries would look like. Strange... Justin, is that your hand on my leg?

Further down the line, we jump into the health care debate. Jill tells us her generation is screwing our generation and not in a good way. Essentially, they took all the good health care, and we (the 20-somethings) will just not be able to afford the premium "best health care" in the world, when we really need it. And somehow, Wilson reveals some of his Republican leanings? Say what?

Finally, we get into personal savings for the future, and we pick up the ashes of our 401(k)s. So while your parents may have lost a bundle on their retirement funds, we 20-somethings still have another 40 years before we really have to worry about our returns. Meanwhile, Social Security is a toss-up. Jill wants to advise President "Barry" Obama that the easy solution to fixing the "Third Rail" of American politics is just tying benefits to an age index. People are just living too long...death panels, any one?

Wow! So we hope you finally learned something on The 404. We sure did! Send in your feedback to the usual at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com. Follow Jill on Twitter. Or leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET, and you can debate us on the finer points of the liquidity of the money supply and U6 unemployment figures.

Catfood Quote gives users a simple way to monitor their favorite stocks on their desktop. By allowing quotes to be easily entered and viewed, Catfood Quote is a simple program that will earn a lot of fans.

The program's interface was delightfully easy to manage and navigate. It embeds itself into the toolbar and provides intuitive areas to enter data and a simple way to read the results. Users will most likely not need to consult the Help file to operate this program. Checking stock quotes involves a few simple steps. Users simply choose the stock exchange they prefer … Read more