Restaurants may catch a break with falling costs

NEW YORK After suffering from cost inflation nearly all of last year, relief from sky-high commodity and energy costs is here, and restaurant bottom lines should stand to benefit from deflated prices by the second half of this year, said UBS Securities analyst David Palmer.

In a note to investors Wednesday, Palmer projected that most chains could see flat year-to-year cost levels by the June-ending second quarter and deflationary levels by the September-ending