Deutsche Bank

Lee Enterprises executives touted their 39 percent reduction in costs since 2007 at an Arizona lenders' conference last month, a decline which tracks the steady decline in employment at the Davenport-based firm from more than 8,100 to just over 4,500 full-time employees.

The presentation at Deutsche Bank's Leveraged Finance Conference September 29 may have helped contribute to recent gains in the price of its stock, which has climbed nearly a dollar per share since hitting a 52-week low of $1.36 per share Sept. 10.