Sears announced this morning that it is exploring strategic alternatives for its credit and financial products business.

"Sears' Credit and Financial Products business is extremely attractive and highly profitable," said Alan J. Lacy, chairman and chief executive officer. "It continues to perform well and is on track to deliver on its 2003 financial plan. However, we believe the tremendous value and earnings power of these assets are not reflected in today's market valuation of Sears. By selecting the right strategic partner for this unique business, we believe we can create significant value for our investors. This strategic action will support our sharpened focus on strengthening and growing Sears' profitable Retail and Related Services business, while further streamlining our organization, reducing leverage and returning cash to shareholders," said Lacy.

Visa USA this morning announced their 2002 performance.

Visa USA today announced that it processed $989 billion in consumer and commercial volume in 2002, an 8.1 percent increase over 2001, to maintain its position as the nation's leading payment brand and largest consumer payment system. The latest results bring Visa's domestic payment card industry volume share to 51.3 percent, larger than the combined share of all other U.S. payment brands. Debit continues to fuel growth across the payment industry and now represents 6.4 percent of payment share in the U.S., an increase of 23 percent over 2001. In line with the growing popularity of debit, Visa's overall volume dollar growth was driven by the Visa check card, which now represents a third of Visa's volume.