Somebody should start a comedy routine with the punch line being “and the share price went up.” Sometimes the news that can cause share prices to rise can seem pretty absurd. Take Sallie Mae latest troubles for example…

Student lender Sallie Mae said Monday it raised $2.9 billion through a stock sale, the majority of which will be used to settle contracts that require the company to buy back shares at above-market prices.

and at the end of the article…..

Shares rose 36 cents, or 1.8 percent, Monday afternoon $20.01 The company’s shares had plunged last week to their lowest price since early 2001.

I know the markets were probably just relived that Sallie Mae manged to get out of those contracts as easily as it did. Still, its kind of funny when stocks rise on news like that.