Briefcase

Spokane’s energy future to be topic at meeting

Downtown Spokane Partnership will present a twin-bill program at its annual meeting Feb. 17 at the Spokane Convention Center. The event begins at 3:30 p.m.

Speaker and civic consultant Roger Brooks, founder and CEO of Destination Development International, will talk about how Spokane can showcase its distinctive urban features beyond the “Near Nature, Near Perfect” marketing approach.

The second program will be presented by representatives from Avista Utilities and the city of Spokane on efforts to develop a sustainable, efficient energy plan.

To register go to DowntownSpokane.net.  Registration is $30 before Thursday, $35 at the door.

Tom Sowa

Group of investors purchases Hooters chain

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Hooters restaurant chain, known for its scantily clad waitresses, has been sold to a group of investors. The sale means that for the first time in more than two decades, South Carolina’s Brooks family will not own Hooters of America.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Chanticleer Holdings LLC and a consortium of investors bought the privately owned chain for an undisclosed sum.

Hooters has one location in the Inland Northwest, in Spokane Valley.

Bob Brooks, a Loris, S.C., native, bought Hooters in 1984 when it only had two locations and expanded it into a global chain. Brooks died in 2006.

Associated Press

Disney reports earnings 54 percent higher

LOS ANGELES The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday posted a 54 percent jump in earnings in the latest quarter. The results beat analyst expectations thanks to higher advertising revenue at its ESPN and ABC television networks, stronger performance at its theme parks and cost cutting at its movie studio.

Net income in the three months to Jan. 1 hit $1.3 billion, or 68 cents per share, from $844 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 10 percent to $10.7 billion from $9.7 billion a year ago.

Associated Press

China hikes rates again to cool inflation

BEIJING – China’s central bank raised interest rates for the second time in just over a month in a bid to dampen high inflation and guide blistering economic growth.

The People’s Bank of China announced Tuesday on its website that the benchmark 1-year deposit rate would rise by a quarter percentage point to 3 percent and the 1-year lending rate would increase by the same amount to 6.06 percent. The increases are effective today.

Its last rate hike came on Christmas Day, when the bank raised both benchmark rates by a quarter point. China’s leaders have sought to cool surging inflation that could pose a threat to political stability.

Associated Press