Sonic moves ahead
Emporia’s Sonic Drive-In has moved one step closer to being named the chain’s top drive-in in the country.
Sonic is one of the 300 restaurants left from the original field of more than 2,600 participating in the 2007 Dr Pepper Sonic Games. Twelve restaurants will eventually be named to go to the national finals in September in Oklahoma City.
The nine-month Olympic-style competition evaluates employees in a number of categories: carhop (food delivery), fountain (drink preparation), switchboard (service delivery) and dresser, grill and swamp (food preparation). Competition is conducted at the individual and team levels.
‘Blue Ribbon Bank’
ESB Financial has again received a top rating based on Federal Reserve Board financial data. In an announcement by Veribanc, the bank has been accorded the special recognition as a “Blue Ribbon Bank” for the quarter ending March 31, 2007. The award, reserved for those highly rated institutions that demonstrate exceptional attention to safety, soundness and financial strength, is the oldest national accolade presented to banks by private sector analysts. The financial strength required for a bank to be designated as “Blue Ribbon” reaches into 20 different safety aspects of the institution’s operations.
“We are pleased to receive recognition as a Blue Ribbon Bank,” said James C Wayman, president and chief executive officer of the bank. “ESB draws considerable strength serving the financial needs of the communities that we serve. Because we are locally owned and operated, decisions are made here and dollars deposited in the bank are used to benefit this area through loans to our citizens and businesses.
“We believe that this continuing commitment to the people in this area will be the cornerstone of our banking success during the coming years.”
Sears in a slide
CHICAGO — Sears Holdings Corp. surprised Wall Street Tuesday, warning its second-quarter earnings will likely fall well below expectations because of more disappointing sales at its Sears and Kmart.
The news tanked Sears’ stock, which fell more than 10 percent to a 10-month low before rebounding slightly.
It would be the second earnings miss in a row for the department store chain led by Chairman Eddie Lampert, a hedge-fund guru who acquired Kmart in 2003 and Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 2005.
With Lampert at the helm, many investors have regarded Sears as a hedge fund masquerading as a department store, and have been anxiously awaiting word from Lampert about a possible expansion that could turn around the company’s fortunes. But while Sears’ profits and stock price have fared well in the past two years, revenues have continued to sink.