KMART OFFICIALS MAINTAIN SILENCE.(BUSINESS)

Byline: SARAH FREEMAN Associated Press

DETROIT -- Kmart Corp. remained silent Wednesday, refusing to release any information regarding its financial future even as its credit ratings and stock price took deeper blows.

Eric Beder, a senior vice president and retailing analyst for Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. Inc., called Kmart's silence ``spooky.''

``Nothing scares investors more than a vacuum of information,'' Beder said. ``No one knows what's going on except for the people in Troy, Mich., and they're not telling anyone else.''

Amid the speculation, Kmart's stock tumbled for a sixth straight day to under $2 a share. The shares closed at …