Among the stock activity stories for Thursday, Jan. 8, from AP Financial News:

Restaurant chain Sonic Corp. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell 47.5 percent as same-store sales and revenue dropped as consumers cut back on trips out to eat.

Sonic Corp.'s drive-in restaurant chain launched a new value menu on Monday that offers 11 food and drink items for $1 each plus tax.

While the credit crunch is making it hard for some restaurant companies to get loans to build new locations and renovate old ones, other chains are using the slowdown to secure better terms from landlords struggling to find viable tenants.

Sonic Corp. shares dipped Thursday after the drive-in restaurant chain reported a drop in its first-quarter profit and a Wall Street analyst questioned whether the chain's new value menu would improve the company's performance in the upcoming year.

Parents looking for healthy meal choices for their children are likely to find slim pickings on the menus of the nation's top restaurant chains, according to a report released by a nonprofit public health group.