J-W to change stocks, mutual fund listings

Beginning Tuesday, the Journal-World will launch a revised listing of stocks and mutual funds in an effort to make wiser use of our resources, while also continuing to serve you.

We now carry more than 4,000 listings each day, Tuesday through Saturday. Of that number, only about 300 were specifically requested by readers within the past 10 years. We suspect we have been running more listings than most readers need, especially considering the increasing popularity of up-to-the minute listings on our Web site at www.ljworld.com and other sites.

It’s no coincidence we are re-evaluating our financial listings as the nation and region cope with a severe economic downturn. As are most businesses, we are doing all we can to cut costs in smart ways that do not significantly affect our customers — in this case our readers.

Here is how we intend to do that. We will continue to run the fixtures you’ve become accustomed to — Stocks of Local Interest, Foreign Exchange, Money Rates, commodities and others. We also will continue to carry a wide range of stock and mutual fund listings, including all that readers have specifically requested. And we will continue to add any stock or fund listings requested by readers who call or e-mail.

The Market in Review section will continue to appear each Saturday, with expanded information on more than 4,000 stocks and mutual funds.

And we will add 401(k)s of Local Interest, a new feature with expanded information on funds available in the most widely held 401(k) plans, as identified by the area’s largest employers.

The space we open up by better tailoring our stock pages to our readers will allow us to bring you a more complete business news report each day.

We hope you like the changes.

Motley Fool: Name that company

I was founded as a watch-repair business in 1897 by a guy named Otto, and today I run rings around many competitors. My products help create memories and celebrate life’s most important moments. Some of my products are worn, while others are signed or framed. You can find me in schools, in corporate offices, and even at high school proms. I’ve created jewelry for the likes of the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Red Wings. The second quarter of the year is by far my busiest one. In 2002 I booked sales of $756 million. Who am I?