Nortel (NT) turned in less that stellar numbers, but relief that it is not the next Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) sent shares up 7%. The stock still trades fairly near its 52-week low.

Nortel had revenue of $2.70 billion, down 8 percent year over year and 4 percent on a year-to-date basis. The company’s large carrier network division revenue fell 19%.

The Company reported net earnings in the third quarter of 2007 of $27 million, or $0.05 per common share on a diluted basis, compared to net loss of $63 million, or $0.14 per common share on a diluted basis, in the third quarter of 2006.

A bit of a mess, but not as bad as it might have been.

Douglas A. McIntyre