Sears has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The once giant retailer needs $300 million and a speedy chapter 11 sale to keep its 687 Sears and Kmart stores open and 68,000 employees at work.

How independently-owned Sears stores such as the one on Columbia Avenue in Lexington will be affected is not clear.

Sears owes its lenders and bondholders more than $5 billion. Interest payments alone are costing the retailer $440 million a year.

About 200 vendors have stopped shipping goods to its stores, Sears said in court papers.

Toys “R” Us folded when vendors stopped shipping products just before the holidays last year.

At their peak, Sears and Kmart operated more than 2,300 stores. That has dwindled to fewer than 700.

5% home mortgage rates ahead

Some of us remember when you thought a 12% home mortgage was a deal.

Mortgage rates hit their highest rate in 7 years last week at nearly 5%.

That could deter many home buyers. It’s another setback for the slumping housing market.

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.9%. It’s the largest weekly jump in 2 years, according to mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac data.

Banks, mortgage lenders and real-estate agents say that all but the most highly qualified buyers making large down payments face 5% rates.

Who’s new

• Lou Kennedy, president, CEO and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation in West Columbia has been elected chairman of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce for 2018-19.

She joined Nephron Pharmaceuticals in 2001 and accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2007.

Along with her husband Bill, Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the University of South Carolina School of Pharmacy. She serves on a variety of business and civic boards.

• Lexington Medical Center is pleased to welcome Peter A. Bailey, MD, to the hospital’s network of care. Dr. Bailey is accepting new patients at Lexington Family Practice Otarre Pointe in Cayce.

Real estate market

A 7,400-square-foot medical office building located at 3630 Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia was purchased by CNA Development, LLC for $1.32 million.

Tommy Johnson, Hunter Suggs and Thomas Beard of Colliers International represented Palmetto Cooperative Services in the sale of 21,000 square feet of industrial space at 7618 N. Woodrow Street in Irmo to Compuzone, Inc. for $700,000.

The Publix supermarket located at 5441 Platt Springs Road in Lexington, SC will welcome customers and continue passing on the Publix spirit at its grand opening scheduled for Wed., Oct. 31, 2018, 7 a.m.