Sears loss widens

Hoffman Estates,Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp.'s third-quarter loss widened amid declining sales and higher tax expenses.



For the quarter ended Oct. 27, Sears reported a loss of $498 million, compared with a year-earlier loss of $421 million.



Revenue slipped 5.8%, to $8.86 billion, primarily due to the effect of having fewer Kmart and Sears stores in operation and lower domestic comparable store sales for the quarter.



Domestic same-store sales declined 3.1%. Same-store sales slipped 1.6% at Sears chain and fell 4.8% at Kmart.



The latest period included an $11 million income tax expense, while the year-ago period included a $91 million tax benefit.