Dineequity

DineEquity shares fall on lower profits Glendale-based DineEquity Inc., parent company of Applebee's and Glendale-based IHOP restaurant chains, reported lower quarterly profits last week. Its shares fell as much as 13%, the company reported. The company has been struggling with declining sales, and it does not expect a significant improvement this year, the company said. DineEquity has been paying down debt and selling restaurants to franchisees as it tries to turn around its Applebee's business.

Glendale-based DineEquity Inc., the owner of IHOP Restaurants and Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, threw its weight against proposals for health-care reform Wednesday, sending representatives to Washington to lobby against the White House-backed bills. DineEquity, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, has argued that health-care-reform bills awaiting reconciliation votes in Congress could weigh down businesses with added expenses, stifling growth and prompting layoffs.

GLENDALE — The U.S. House of Representatives delivered a rebuke to President George W. Bush on Monday in rejecting a $700 billion proposal to bail out struggling financial firms as a historic stock market collapse sent shock waves from Wall Street to Glendale. The 228-205 vote on the Bush-backed bill included nays from Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Brad Sherman and a yes vote from Republican Rep. David Dreier. “There was a great difference of opinion about the best way to deal with this,” Schiff said.