Finances

An alert reader directs us to a confounding situation on Wall Street. This news will not make you forget AIG, Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers. This will not make losses on the 401K statement easier to absorb.

Newspaper company stocks have been on the rise this week. That includes A.H. Belo.

A.H. Belo closed Friday's trading at $7.07, up nearly 10 percent on the day and nearly 20 percent for the week. Even McClatchy, the beleaguered owner of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, managed an increase.

A.H. Belo's shares have not been at this level in three months. Even after the job cuts were announced in late July, the prices fell steadily to a low of $4.67 a month later.

You may wonder what the impact could be on the pending layoffs. This certainly cannot hurt. However, the most important numbers are the pending results for the third quarter, which ends Sept. 30. Expect figures several weeks later from Corporate.