Times are good for two of the country’s premier financial institutions. Former Fed chair Alan Greenspan got an $8 million payday for his memoirs, reports the New York Times. And shares in the Big Board soared 19 percent on the Big Board on their first day.

Greenspan’s deal is the second biggest book deal ever, bested only by the $10 million deal Bill Clinton got for his autobiography. The former banker is promising a book that touches on current issues like the impact of China and covers all the politicians he’s had to deal with.

The big question, as the paper notes, is whether he can write lucidly for a general audience. Remember, he won’t get any more royalties until he manages to unload almost 2 million copies of the book. Even though he embedded phrases like “irrational exuberance” into our lexicon, most of his statements have been cryptic and difficult to decipher.

And there was plenty of bell-ringing as the New York Stock Exchange began operations as a publicly-traded company after more than two centuries of operating as a co-operative society. “It’s a great new chapter for the NYSE Group,” CEO John Thain told the paper. “Now, of course, we have to demonstrate to our shareholders that there’s real value to be had here.”

But there doesn’t seem to be much doubt that the company will succeed. Other exchanges around the world have operated as for-profit entities and the London Stock Exchange is probably going to be floated for a multi-billion figure. At least that’s what it’s current owners think it’s worth.

Dealers said though that the push on the NYSE stock was from retail investors who wanted to own a piece of the most venerable institution on Wall Street.