Let's not kick Yahoo while it's down; after a glance at some financial charts, it'd be sufficient to say that the company hasn't done as well as Microsoft and Google in recent months (the three companies are up 6.6, 19.1, and 28.0 percent since September 9th).  But circumstances are likely to change, according to Carol Bartz, who made some interesting remarks at a conference today.

Here's what may be the most significant comment out of the UBS Media Conference: Joseph Tartakoff reported that Bartz said with regards to advertising, "Things are looking up.  We're seeing marketers engage."  Which is certainly an encouraging sign for the company's revenue stream.

Then there was also a hint that Yahoo could receive a significant lump sum at some point, as Bartz confirmed that she's interested in selling HotJobs.

And it turns out that, even now, Yahoo's benefiting from all of the interest in a certain cheating golfer.  According to Andrew LaVallee, Bartz joked, "God bless Tiger," citing a sharp rise in traffic - bigger (and more monetizable) than the one generated by Michael Jackson's death, in fact.

As long as mistresses keep stepping forward and the economy doesn't backslide, then, Yahoo might be in significantly better shape before long.

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