Retailing

Mastercard Rejects Sear’s Bid for Membership: Mastercard International said it rejected a bid by Sears, Roebuck & Co. subsidiary to issue Mastercards, noting that Sears Discover card is a “significant competitor.” If the application had been approved, Mountain West Financial, a banking subsidiary of Sear’s Dean Witter Financial Services Group, would have been able to issue Mastercards. Sears’ Discover, like Mastercard, is a general purpose revolving credit card.