The Washington Post plans to drop its business section, combining it with the front section for its Monday through Saturday editions Bloomberg reported Friday.

The decision is intended to curtail newsprint costs. The changes, including the reduction of the stock price listings to half a page, will be effective March 30.

A memo from the paper's editors explains that the actions and the savings that will result "will allow us to continue providing the features that our readers tell us they most value in the newspaper," Bloomberg reported.

In response to newsprint prices, which increased by 32 percent in 2008, the Post will also run fewer comics in its Sunday edition, eliminate one of its crosswords, and run a daily page covering local business in lieu of its regular weekly section.