WOODSTOCK – Physically and emotionally, the past 14 months have taken their toll on John Reichert.

CRYSTAL LAKE – For 25 years, the Crystal Lake Deli kept the same owners and the same name.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Making a change after 52 years can be difficult, but things seem to be going well for Susie Fox.

A Navistar spokesman said Thursday that although negotiations with Lisle have continued, other potential suitors for the truck and diesel engine manufacturer.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Rick Lonigro gives parents a unique way to show pride in their children through his new Sports Spirit Signs business.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Corporate America Family Credit Union is conducting “Project Backpack,” a school supply drive running through mid-August.

WOODSTOCK – Woodstock Christian Life Services has changed its name to Hearthstone Communities, the group announced.

SCHAUMBURG – Fifth Third Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, is working with Freddie Mac to present the 2010 “Lending the Way” Housing and Economic Outlook Tour.

HARVARD – The Harvard State Bank has been named an ICBA 400 community bank performer by the ICBA Independent Banker magazine. The magazine honored Harvard State Bank for posting one of the best year-end earnings in 2009 among ICBA banks with $250 million to $500 million in assets.

LAKE IN THE HILLS – Leslie Mueller had found a perfectly enjoyable hobby. For eight months, she had been making soap in the basement of her Lake in the Hills home.

CRYSTAL LAKE – After a nearly three-year absence, Julie Ann’s Frozen Custard is scheduled to return to Crystal Lake next month.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Vivien Taylor’s clients always leave her with a sense of how to improve their lives.

CRYSTAL LAKE – AptarGroup said Tuesday that it posted record quarterly earnings for the second quarter of 2010.

Before Bear Stearns collapsed. Before Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy brought the markets to its knees. Before the Great Recession had been coined.

Next month, for the first time, parents throughout Illinois will get a state-sponsored break on their back-to-school purchases.

PEORIA (AP) – Caterpillar’s second-quarter earnings shot up 91 percent with the heavy machinery manufacturer reporting robust sales of equipment for industries that range from mining and infrastructure to energy.

Although the federal homebuyer tax credit has expired, McHenry County continued its streak of year-over-year home sales gains with its ninth consecutive month of gains in June.

LAKE IN THE HILLS – T&R Communications Inc. opened 10 years ago, when Rob and Vicki Anthony decided to open their own business from their home. At the start, the company worked on phone and data systems, but it has evolved over the years to handle all kinds of electrical needs for home and businesses.

WOODSTOCK – Ron Sommers has watched the summers roll by the past 16 years, with families and kids out of school racing to his Golf and Games business for a round of miniature golf, some time in the batting cages, or dropping some quarters in the arcade games.

McHENRY – Stateline SHRM’s August meeting will feature speaker Michael Hahn discussing “Beyond Compliance: The Consultive Approach to HR.”

CRYSTAL LAKE – When Home State Bank opened its doors in 1915, its first bank president also was the mayor of the city.

CRYSTAL LAKE – The spring of 2009 was not a particularly enjoyable time for auto dealership owner Sam Oginni.

CRYSTAL LAKE – McHenry County College will offer an ICD-10 course this fall, designed for billers, coders and other health professionals who have a working knowledge of the fundamentals of coding.

McHENRY – The third Chipotle Mexican Grill in the county will open its doors Wednesday, in an outlot of the Kohl’s Center in McHenry, alongside Cartridge World and Jimmy John’s.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Two generations and nearly 60 years of selling cars in Crystal Lake came to an end Tuesday as John Reichert sold his Chevrolet dealership to Dennis Alf of St. Charles Toyota and Scion.

WASHINGTON – The biggest reform to the financial industry since the Great Depression is headed to the president’s desk for his signature, and its completion shows a significant impact from area legislators.

CHICAGO – The state unemployment rate dipped almost a half-percent in June, down to 10.4 percent, matching the largest monthly decline since October 1983, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

CRYSTAL LAKE – When Woodstock resident Ahmed Abatorab was looking for a franchise to operate, he was hoping to find one with name recognition.

McHENRY – Staples is accepting school supply donations through Sept. 18 at its McHenry location at 2525 N. Richmond Road to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township.

McHENRY – Gary Lang Auto Group will host its 13th annual Classic Car Show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

With July coming to a close and August ready to begin the wind down of summer, the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Industry has begun to focus on Victorian Christmas.

Management consultant Peter Drucker dedicated a lifetime to identifying principles that drive business excellence. Years have passed, but many of his principles still ring true today.

Keeping your cool can be hard to do when the market goes on one of its periodic roller-coaster rides. It’s useful to have strategies in place that prepare you both financially and psychologically to handle market volatility. Here are five ways to help keep yourself from making hasty decisions that could have a long-term impact on your ability to achieve your financial goals.

Wayne Amore, the marshal for this year’s Fiesta Days parade, made a statement that hit home with me during Thursday’s Concert in the Park.

It was the good old days for McHenry County, although it really was less than two decades ago.

Dear Dave,

Every year, near the end of June or early July, my husband and I take a motorcycle trip to some destination in the United States. This year’s trip was down to New Orleans and Bourbon Street. If you listen to Harley-Davidson advertisements, or know anyone who rides a motorcycle, it is never the destination, but the ride and experiences along the way that is important.

If your investment portfolio consists of only equities, you might want to diversify. Stocks and other equity securities are an important part of your investment mix, but you might also want to consider some fixed income investments such as municipal bonds.

Most experts agree that the recession has caused a definite shift in consumer behavior and that consumers now think twice before parting with their hard earned dollars. Even “discretionary thrift” – affluent consumers economizing even though they do not have to – is a trend developed in the past three years of the pre-recession consumer boom that experts feel will continue. 

The spring of last year began a rough time for the auto industry, and area dealerships in particular.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks had a fitting end to a choppy July as prices seesawed their way to a narrowly mixed finish. But despite the turbulence, this was still the market's best month in a year.

Drugmaker Merck & Co. on Friday reported a 52 percent drop in second-quarter net income, due to big merger and restructuring charges and lower income from partnerships.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina hopes to be picked as the site for a new plant planned by heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. that will employ about 500 employees and contract workers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The recession was deeper than the government previously thought.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The recovery lost momentum in the second quarter as growth slowed to a 2.4 percent pace, its most sluggish showing in nearly a year and too weak to drive down unemployment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked a bill to increase small business lending Thursday, dealing a setback to President Obama's jobs agenda.

NEW YORK (AP) — Motorola Inc. on Thursday reported a sharply higher profit for the second quarter and stabilized its long revenue decline as it strategy of focusing on smart phones like the Droid bore fruit.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hyundai Motor Co.'s second-quarter profit soared 71 percent to a record high on a double-digit jump in global sales, including strong performance in the United States, China and emerging markets.

TOKYO (AP) — Sony bounced back to profit last quarter and raised its full-year earnings forecast, fueled by stronger demand for its PlayStation 3 gaming consoles, personal computers and televisions.

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. added an upbeat note to a strong quarter for the airline industry by reporting a $112 million profit for spring and early summer.

NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday its second quarter income nearly doubled to $7.56 billion as oil prices increased from last year.

Fed survey: Recovery slows in some places

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) — Avis Budget Group Inc. said Wednesday it has offered $1.33 billion in cash and stock for rival rental-car operator Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc.

SEATTLE (AP) — Jeff Bezos isn't just confident you'll want a Kindle e-book reader. The CEO of Amazon.com is bracing for a future in which you'll also want ones for your kid heading to college, your spouse in a book club and perhaps even Grandpa.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of economic activity has slowed or held steady in parts of the country, revealing a choppy path back to health.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Comcast Corp. reported an 8.6 percent drop in second-quarter earnings Wednesday partly because of costs related to its pending takeover of NBC Universal, yet it saw improvements in advertising and demand for pricier television services.

NEW YORK (AP) — CVS Caremark Corp. said Wednesday it struck a large pharmacy benefit management services contract with health insurer Aetna Inc., but shares fell in premarket trading after the pharmacy chain reported weaker earnings and trimmed its profit forecast.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell broadly in June as the fragile recovery continued to slow.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Boeing Co.'s second-quarter profit fell 21 percent, as revenue dropped in both its commercial airplane and defense units.

Execs named for

TAYLORVILLE (AP) — A plan to build a clean-coal power plant in central Illinois has won a $417 million federal tax credit.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. says its Chevrolet Volt electric car will cost $41,000 when it goes on sale in November. The price is about $8,000 more than its closest rival, the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, which has been under fire for not developing a concrete plan for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says it will hold a conference in next month to discuss their future.

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans' confidence in the economy eroded further in July amid worries about a still-stagnant job market. The report raised concerns about the economic recovery and the back-to-school shopping season.

NEW YORK (AP) — The parent company of United Airlines says two top executives are leaving the company once it combines with Continental Airlines Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The behind-the-scenes maneuvering that culminated in the 2007 leveraged buyout of Tribune Co. bordered on fraud, according to a report filed by an examiner appointed in the media company's bankruptcy case.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Supervalu Inc.'s first-quarter net income fell 40 percent as rising competition cut into the grocery chain's sales.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kraft Foods Inc. says it will more than double the amount of whole grain in many of its Nabisco crackers, becoming the latest food maker to respond to consumer and health advocates' demands for improved nutrition from packaged foods.

Ford introduces

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points for the third straight day Monday after traders got some unexpected good news about the economy.