<div id="subtitle">Owner of Argos, Homebase reports steep sales declines over holiday period</div><div><p>The owner of Argos catalog company and home-improvement chain Homebase Thursday said sales fell sharply in the 18 weeks through Jan. 3 as consumers cut spending on big-ticket items amid the economic downturn.</p ...

<div><p>NEXT is understood to be planning a round of job cuts in the new year as the fashion retailer prepares for what is expected to be a grim 12 months.</p><p>Last week Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said he expected underlying sales to be negative all next year ...

<div><p>Home Retail Group, which controls Homebase and Argos, has crashed into the red.</p><p>The retailer slumped to a first-half loss of £437m after writing down more than half a billion pounds from the value of Homebase. The write-down, which had been flagged, is an admission ...