NEW YORK – In the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks, media companies of all sizes did far more than simply deliver news.

The day following the attacks, for example, The Silicon Alley Reporter, a Manhattan-based publication covering New York’s new media and Internet industry, set up an emergency database pairing companies displaced from the disaster area with those who might have extra office space. With room to spare at its offices, The Silicon Alley Reporter itself was one of the first volunteers.

“We’re going to have five companies living in our office for who knows how long,” says Jason Calacanis, The Silicon Alley Reporter’s editor and chief executive.

In addition to giving, it’s clear that media companies also receive a benefit from the crisis, at least in the short term. “They’ll have a tragic story to tell,” notes Miles E. Groves, chief economist at the Barry Group, a Bethesda, Md.-based marketing and communications consulting firm. “Viewership, readership and listenership will probably be up across the board over at least the next few weeks.”

The longer term is more speculative, Groves warns, particularly with uncertainty over the intensity and duration of the United States’ response and the subsequent impact on the economy.

Whatever the outcome, though, more turmoil means more demand for distribution of information. Moreover, should the crisis spur public and private investment in infrastructure and technology, any positive economic impact could help stabilize ad spending budgets.

Full story at Forbes.com

NEW YORK – Fearing the “falling knife,” money managers often avoid stocks priced under $10. Frances Tuite has no such qualms.

“Low-priced stocks often carry the stigma of high risk and poor quality,” says Tuite, portfolio manager at Talon Opportunity Partners, a Chicago hedge fund with $40 million under management. “In many cases, that’s true,” she adds, “but you shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

One of Tuite’s under-$10 recommendations is Tyler Technologies (nyse: TYL – news – people ), currently priced at $3.75. The Dallas-based company provides software and technology systems for local and county governments, including 911 dispatch, utility billing, vehicle data and tax collection.

In an effort to clean up its balance sheet, Tyler Technologies has shed assets and sold businesses. Since mid-2000, the company has reduced its long-term debt load by 82%, to $12 million. Long-term debt now stands at 12% of shareholders’ equity “They have a very focused product line and improving cash flow from operations,” says Tuite.

Full story at Forbes.com

NEW YORK – The proposed $25 billion purchase of Compaq Computer by Hewlett-Packard sends a strong signal that the long-awaited consolidation in the technology sector may have begun. Massive losses and depressed share prices could lead to several mergers among hardware, chip companies and telecom equipment manufacturers in the months ahead.

Computer-company mergers do not always have successful outcomes, but in an industry that is reeling from overcapacity and a sharp drop-off in demand, there may be little choice but to seek new efficiencies and economies of scale.

One such example is Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD – news – people ), a microprocessor manufacturer that has been gaining market share at Intel’s (nyse: INTC – news – people )expense. AMD has an enterprise value of $4.5 billion. Calculation: market value plus total debt and the liquidation value of preferred stocks minus cash and equivalents. The enterprise value represents the minimum price an acquiring firm must pay to buy another publicly traded company.

Dividing AMD’s enterprise value by its latest 12-month operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) produces an enterprise multiple of 3.5. By contrast, Compaq (nyse: CPQ – news – people ) has an enterprise multiple of 6.

Full story at Forbes.com