RETAILING

Sears to Close Up to 100 Stores, Report Says: Sears, Roebuck and Co. plans to close up to 100 of its smaller stores, eliminating as many as 5,000 jobs, the Chicago Tribune reported. Sears also plans to shrink its money-losing “Big Book” mail-order catalogue, which dates to the company’s beginnings in 1886, the newspaper said. Sears officials would neither confirm nor deny the Tribune’s report. They said the company continues to seek ways to lower costs after eliminating more than 48,000 jobs in its struggling retailing unit since 1990. Several retailing analysts said they expect Sears to announce store closings in early January.