IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Sears slides

Sears Holdings Corp, the biggest US department-store company, reported that second-quarter profit that fell more than analysts estimated after shoppers trimmed spending on appliances and clothing.

Profit excluding some costs will rise in the second half of the year, Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears said yesterday in a statement. Net income decreased 62 percent to $65 million, or 50 cents a share, from $173 million, or $1.15 a share, a year earlier, Sears said.