Stocks in the news: Sears Holdings, Rio Tinto, Heinz

Some of the companies making major headlines today:

Sears Holdings (SHLD) reported Thursday that it lost money in its second quarter, dragged down by store closings, severance and pension plan costs and lower sales. Excluding items Sears had a loss of $20 million, or 17 cents per share. Revenue 10% to $10.55 billion on the stronger dollar and same-store sale declines. Analysts forecast profit of 35 cents per share on revenue of $10.73 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Shares slumped over 12 percent in pre-market trade.

Rio Tinto (RTP) posted first-half underlying earnings down 54 percent, inline with market forecasts, as metals prices and demand collapsed. But Rio said it was more confident about the future after cutting 15 percent of its workforce, cutting production at higher-cost operations and paying off nearly 40 percent of its debt.