Lawrence hotel changes name, remodels building

An Iowa Street hotel recently changed its name and completed an extensive remodeling project.

Last week, Lawrence’s Travelodge, 801 Iowa, changed its affiliation to a Quality Inn. The hotel finished a renovation of its 56 rooms and remodeled its exterior. The renovation included the addition of a 25-person meeting room, a luxury suite and an area for a new breakfast buffet.

Stanley Weilert, president of Wichita-based S&B Motels, said he thought the affiliation with Quality Inn would increase revenues and occupancy at the hotel by 50 percent.

The Wichita company bought the hotel in late 2001. Weilert also owns the vacant restaurant building next to the hotel. He said he expected to find a tenant for the building, which used to house the Village Inn, within 90 days. He said the tenant likely would be another restaurant but declined to give names of potential businesses.

Donald Crews, below, general manager, tightened a sign advertising the name change on Monday.

Acquisition: French banks agree to $16.5 billion merger

Credit Agricole agreed to pay $16.5 billion to buy full control of Credit Lyonnais, creating one of Europe’s biggest financial institutions.

Credit Agricole offered $57.30 per share in cash and stock for the roughly 83 percent of Credit Lyonnais it doesn’t already own in an attempt to knock rival suitor BNP Paribas out of a race to take over France’s sixth-largest bank.

A Credit Agricole-Credit Lyonnais combination would have a 28 percent slice of France’s lucrative retail banking market.

Retailer: Stock exchange to delist Kmart Corp. Thursday

The New York Stock Exchange will suspend trading of Kmart Corp. common stock, leading to the firm’s delisting, the bankrupt retailer said Monday.

The exchange told Kmart that it will suspend trading of company shares before the market opens on Thursday. After that, it will begin delisting proceedings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company will be delisted because the average share price of its common stock for the past 30 days was below $1.

Kmart operates a store and a distribution center in Lawrence.

Automotive: Chrysler to break even

A turnaround plan at troubled U.S. automaker Chrysler will result in better-than-expected earnings this year, the company’s German boss said in remarks published Monday. But he warned that weak demand and hard competition meant the U.S. market would remain “very tough” next year.

Chrysler will break even this year, even including restructuring costs, Dieter Zetsche said.