Free Republic

Sears Holdings Corp. reported a steeper-than-expected loss for its first quarter with the beleaguered retailer, blaming a cooler spring for falling sales.The operator of Sears and Kmart stores also said it’s considering strategic options for its service-agreement business, such as selling it off, to raise cash. Service agreements are when customers pay an extra fee when buying an appliance and the company agrees to fix or replace it if it breaks within a certain time. The steep loss drove Sears’ shares down more than 11 percent in after-hours trading. …