Few major publicly traded companies are headquartered in Erie.

In fact, only three come to mind -- Erie Insurance Group, Rent-Way Inc., and Spectrum Control Inc.

And -- if things fall the right way for one of those companies -- the list could soon be down to two.

Rent-Way -- the Erie rent-to-own company that was once a Wall Street darling -- could be up for sale.

If that is true -- and we should find out more later this morning -- then Erie's economy is soon to suffer another significant blow.

You might not approve of Rent-Way's business model (rent-to-own businesses are villified for charging poor customers big money for furniture, appliances and electronics), but the company has been an important anchor for Erie's economy.

It employs about 160 at its corporate headquarters in Erie -- and it has been a staple in many local stock portfolios. If it is bought by another company (Rent-A-Center and Aaron's Rents come to mind), you can bet that those 160 jobs will be going elsewhere.

Much has been made of recent manufacturing job losses, and for good reason. But the loss of Rent-Way would be equally as significant for Erie's economy. Professional jobs are in short supply here -- and the loss of a name-brand white collar company would only cut that number.

In many ways, though, Rent-Way's Erie presence has already been diminished by the accounting scandal that rocked the company back in 2000.

Before then, Rent-Way was one of the country's fastest growing public companies and it had designs on becoming a $1 billion-a-year business. Its founder and then-CEO, William Morgenstern, was a major local force, throwing his riches at indoor football teams, economic development efforts and local charities.

Morgenstern, who was found to have no role in the accounting scandal, has since left Erie -- taking his money and ideas to North Carolina.

And the company itself has been treading water ever since.