Shopping carts are shown outside of a Kmart store in Redwood City, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

There is a reason these days that Kmart isn’t named OKmart. The latest earnings report from its parent company reconfirmed that financial matters still aren’t OK with the retailer. It announced more store closings, which means local leaders will continue to worry about the future of the Kmart distribution center that operates in northern Lawrence.

Kmart’s parent company, Sears Holdings, announced on Thursday that is is closing another 28 Kmart stores, which is in addition to the approximately 330 Sears and Kmart stores the company already planned to close this year.

The closings — which will happen in November — got one of the last remaining Kmart stores in the area, the Topeka store on Wanamaker Road. The company operates an approximately 1 million square-foot distribution center on Kresge Road near the west Lawrence turnpike interchange. According to figures kept by economic development officials, the distribution center employs about 320 people.

According to the company’s earnings release on Thursday, it lost $251 million in the second quarter, same store sales at Kmart declined by 9.4 percent compared with the same period a year ago, and total revenues dropped to $4.4 billion compared with $5.7 billion in the prior year quarter. The company, though, did note some good news. Its $251 million loss in the quarter was better than the $395 million loss it reported at the same time period a year ago. The store closings also are helping the company home in on its goal of reducing expenses by about $1.25 billion.

Reuters, however, today had an interesting article about how Sears and Kmart may struggle in the near future to keep their shelves stocked. Vendors that sell to large retailers often buy a special type of insurance to ensure they get paid if a company goes bankrupt. Vendors who sell to Sears and Kmart are having a hard time purchasing that insurance currently, because insurers have raised the prices significantly in a sign that the insurance market is becoming increasingly nervous about the company’s prospects.

We’ll continue to follow the Kmart news and how it may affect the Lawrence economy.

• While we are talking about a publicly traded company with a Lawrence presence, I’ll use this opportunity to unveil a new occasional feature. I’ve put together a list of publicly traded companies that have a significant presence in Lawrence. Every quarter or so, I’ll run their stock prices and other news of note in this column. Lawrence isn’t a huge corporate town, but there certainly are some companies where news on Wall Street could result in some changes to Lawrence offices.

I’m open to suggestions on additions that should be made to the list. I haven’t included every publicly traded company that has a presence in Lawrence. For instance, lots of publicly traded retail chains have a store in Lawrence, but if I add them all, the list may become longer than you want to read. I have included a handful of retailers that employ large numbers of people in the city.

Also, if I were you, I wouldn’t take any of this as investment advice. I’m not Standard & Poor’s. My stock portfolio, however, could be described with half of that phrase. I’ll let you guess which half.

• General Dynamics Corp.: Last close: $199.47 per share. Stock price is trading near its 52-week high of $205.90. The company is generally considered the largest private employer in Lawrence with its call center in the East Hills Business park that works on a variety of government contracts. News of note: The company released its earnings in late July. Earnings per share were higher than expected, but sales decreased both in its aerospace unit and its information systems and technology division, according to Reuters.

• Berry Plastics: Last close: $56.64 per share. Stock price is trading near its 52-week high of $58.95. Berry operates both a manufacturing plant and distribution center in Lawrence and rural Douglas County. In early August, Berry reported third-quarter results. Earnings were $107 million versus $96 million for the same quarter a year ago. The company is celebrating its 50th year in business and recently was added to the Fortune 500 list. The company posted quarterly records for net sales and earnings.

• The J.M. Smucker Company: Last close: $107.51. It is trading near its 52-week low of $106.93. Smucker is the parent company for Big Heart Pet Brands, which operates the northern Lawrence pet food plant that produces Kibbles ‘n Bits. The company reported its earnings on Thursday. Revenues decreased by 4 percent compared with the same period a year ago and earnings dropped by 23 percent. The company blamed a slowdown in sales of Folger coffee brand, but its press release did note that sales were up for its pet food category.

• ICL: Last close: $4.33. It is trading in a mid range of its 52-week high and low. The company is the parent company of the ICL plant in North Lawrence that produces phosphoric acid. The company earlier this month reported earnings of $1.32 billion compared with $1.37 billion for the same period a year ago. Operating income came in at $144 million compared with $149 million in the same period a year ago.

Here’s a more abbreviated look at the rest of the list, with last closing price and its 52-week high and low range.

• Kroger Co: Parent company of Dillons: $21.10 close ($36.44 to $20.46)

• Home Depot: $148.25 ($160.86 to $119.20)

• Target Corp: $54.21 ($79.33 to $48.56)

• Wal-Mart Stores: $78.34 ($81.99 to $65.28)

• U.S. Bancorp: $51.85 ($56.61-$42.17)

• Garmin Ltd: GPS maker has research office in Lawrence: $52.18 ($55.74 to $46.05)

• Black Hills Corp.: Natural gas provider with regional HQ in Lawrence: $70.34 ($72.02 to $54.76)

• Bank of America: $23.84 ($25.80 to $14.81)

• Schlumberger Limited: Oil field company with Lawrence production plant: $62.88 ($87.84 to $62.56)

• UMB Financial Corp.: $66.71 ($81.55 to $57.31)

• Commerce Bancshares: $54.73 ($60.61 to $47.64)

• Capitol Federal Financial: $13.51 ($17.04 to $13.21)

• Westar Energy: $51.50 ($57.50 to $49.21)

• State Street Corp: A parent company of Boston Financial Data Services, which operates a Lawrence office. $93.78 ($96.26 to $68.16)

• DST Systems: A parent company of Boston Financial Data Services: $51.40 ($62.95-$47.26)

• Sears Holdings: $8.55 ($14.65 to $5.50)