Yesterday was a mixed day, and today was just a down day. Durable goods were a disappointment in negative territory. Earnings were mixed. The negative bias of the Fed's Beige Book coincides with the sell-off at 2:00 PM but this still just brings in the notion that there is going to be a slow recovery, rather than any massive double-dip recession.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,497.88 -39.81 (-0.38%)
S&P 500 1,106.13 -7.71 (-0.69%)
Nasdaq 2,264.56 -23.69 (-1.04%)

SPDR Homebuilder (XHB) closed at $14.91. Goldman Sachs downgraded the homebuilders to neutral from buy. XHB August and September put option implied volatility was at 39, December at 40; above its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Panera Bread (PNRA) is expected to report Q2 EPS in late July. PNRA August put option implied volatility was at 34, November is at 37, near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term (VXX) closed up 3.72% to 25.93.

Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

There is no question that Sonic Corporation (SONC) has arguably the most distinct business model in the quick-serve restaurant industry. However, is this enough to validate an investment in the franchise?

After lowering its outlook for the fiscal year, from between $0.55 - $0.60 to $0.50 - $0.55 per share, Sonic announced on June 21, 2010 that its earnings for the third quarter were a disappointing $0.18 per share. This figure is lower than what analysts predicted by 1 to 4 cents per share, and even includes a 3 cent tax benefit. Without including special items, this marks a year over year decline of almost 40%.

Sonic Corporation (SONC) is down this afternoon by over 5%. At the time I was checking quotes on the stock, I came up with a price of $8.80. Not too encouraging for shareholders, especially considering that the volume was active.

Shares of the fast-food entity have traded in a narrow range over the last twelve months. The 52-week low is $8.07; the 52-week high is $13.11. The one-year chart shows an all-over-the-place situation; there's no smooth uptrend here. So, we need some fundamental guidance. The third-quarter report was released yesterday after the bell. What do the numbers say?

Readers of this space know that restaurant chains are opposed, for several reasons. However, every once in a while a chain forms that exceeds the segment's lamentable cuisine offerings, and still manages to make a buck.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE), first discussed here on June 25, 2009 at a price of $16.30, is one.

The best financial reason to hold on to CAKE? The U.S.'s 'frugal consumer' era has hit the restaurant sector hard, and there will be restaurant chain casualties, but Cheesecake won't be one. Don't expect anything spectacular revenue-wise from CAKE in FY2010 -- flattish to slightly higher same store sales, and only a slight increase in revenue, with most likely a grand total of three -- count 'em, three -- new restaurants opened under its upscale casual dining format.

Denny's Corporation (DENN), a well-known casual restaurant chain, was up over 8% going into the company's earnings report on Monday. Volume wasn't so impressive, however. Still, now that the release is out, what should we think about the prospects for the stock?

Well, let's briefly review the progress of the shares over the last twelve months. The following chart shows an equity that's had something of a volatile run this past year. The 52-week low is $2.07, and the 52-week high is $3.99. Yep, we're talking about a single-digit price. You've got to be careful when dealing with this spectrum of investing; low-priced equities can be risky.

At least initially, investors were impressed by hamburger chain Burger King's (BKC) beat of Wall Street's third quarter earnings estimate, 30 cents compared to the First Call estimate of 29 cents, with its shares jumping 3.5% to $21.41 on Thursday at mid-day.

Further, investors appeared to cut Burger King some slack, as the winter quarter's severe weather artificially depressed traffic. Chief Executive Officer John Chidsey said sales increased in March and were slightly higher in April, although they were still lower compared to a year ago. Burger King earned 34 cents in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

Seattle coffee icon Starbucks (SBUX) has been on the resurgence in 2010 after consumers fled during the Great Recession. In order to keep the profits percolating, SBUX is looking to roll out a fresh new menu of Frappucinos and iced coffee for the hot summer months.

Growth is crucial for SBUX stock now after it has weathered the worst of the economic downturn. Notable achievements over the past few months include:

• The announcement of the first-ever cash dividend to SBUX stock owners.
• Gains of about 220% in Starbucks shares since the 2009 lows, from $8.24 on March 9, 2009, to the mid-$26 range today.
• Four straight earnings reports topping Wall Street forecasts, with an average earnings surprise of almost 20%.

But despite these strides, SBUX stock is still down about 33% from its 2006 peak at about $40 a share. And the coffee marketplace has become increasingly crowded in the intervening years, so returning to its lofty perch as the coffee queen is no easy task.

This was a day which could have gone either way. The markets recovered this morning despite weakness in overseas markets in reaction to yesterday's S&P downgrading of Portugal and Greece credit worthiness. Today came another S&P downgrade of Spain. Then the FOMC kept rates steady and maintained its "extended period" period for that no to low rate policy.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 11,045.27 +53.28 (0.48%)
Nasdaq 2,471.73 +0.26 (0.01%)
S&P 500 1,191.36 +7.65 (0.65%)

Rollerskates: they give a new meaning to "getting a burger to go," doesn't they?

Carhops on roller skates are making a comeback as Sonic (SONC) forges ahead with plans to revive wheeled waitstaff at its drive in restaurants across the U.S. Sonic is planning a new TV ad campaign that will highlight this nostalgic feature of Sonic stores that many diners may have forgotten -- or that younger customers didn't even know existed -- in an effort to reconnect with consumers.

Though it's a bit later than fast-food rivals McDonald's (MCD) and Burger King (BKC), Arby's is at last rolling out a value menu of its own. The restaurant is adding more lower-priced items to its menu including a small roast beef sandwich, curly fries and a "jamocha" shake -- and operator Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN) is backing them with an expensive new advertising campaign.

It's part of a big push by the higher priced fast-food joint to woo back cost-conscious customers who fled the pricier restaurant for cheaper rivals during the recession. Since Arby's ownership group Triarc bought the Wendy's name in 2008, it has seen its Arby's stores stuck in a steady downward spiral -- sped up by the recession.

But will this latest gambit help, or is Arby's a dying chain?

I've never been to a Sonic (SONC) joint. I'm sure I would love the food; however, I can definitively state that I did not like the company's current earnings report, which was released yesterday after the bell.

For the second quarter, Sonic lost one penny per share. Last year, the business brought in 14 cents per share of positive profit, helped along by a gain of 6 cents attributable to a debt purchase. The current performance was unfortunately below estimates; the market wanted 2 cents of income to show up on the bottom line.

Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), first discussed here on June 25, 2009, at a price of $16.30, has raced ahead. My initial inclination would be to take the roughly 65% gain, but several fundamentals override that stance.

The primary reason to hold on to CAKE? The U.S.'s "frugal consumer" era has hit the restaurant sector hard, and there will be many chain restaurant casualties, but I don't think Cheesecake will be one. Don't expect anything spectacular from CAKE in FY2010 -- just flattish to slightly higher same store sales -- and only a slight increase in revenue, with most likely a net zero increase in restaurants operated.

Oak Street Capital Management and Dash Acquisitions own a combined 6.5% stake in Denny's Corporation (DENN), and recently launched a proxy fight to add three new members to the company's board of directors. Calling themselves the Committee to Enhance Denny's, the group opined in a letter that "Shareholders cannot afford to allow the board and management to have more time to implement an effective strategy. We will not linger on the sidelines at this critical juncture."

Dash Acquisitions president Michael Dash, one of the group's three nominees, has been eating at Denny's a lot lately and he isn't happy. He talked with the Wall Street Journal today -- making him possibly the first major shareholder in a publicly-traded restaurant company to trash the company's food in an interview with a national publication.

Burger King (BKC), which competes for the attention of fast-food junkies along with McDonald's (MCD), Wendy's/Arby's Group (WEN), and Yum! Brands (YUM), didn't do too badly when it came to bottom-line growth in the second quarter. Same-store sales, on the other hand, could have used a little assistance.

Earnings per share calculated out to 37 cents. That was good for a 12% increase. Great to see double-digit appreciation. However, domestic comps went down 3.3%, while total comps were off by 2%. The same-store sales metric is a very important indicator of the overall health of a business that has many locations.