Top News
Obama to Link Tax Cuts, Hiring - -The Obama administration is moving toward using the revenue from expiring tax cuts for the wealthy to finance about $35 billion of tax cuts for small businesses and workers.
BP Moves Forward With Plans for Oil Well - -BP has placed a new blowout preventer at the top of the well that unleashed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and it is moving forward with a procedure to bring about its final demise.
U.S. Plans to Deploy Broader Mortgage Aid - -The Obama administration on Tuesday will launch its most ambitious effort at reducing mortgage balances for homeowners that owe more than their homes are worth.

Real Estate
 Capital Freeze Thaws for Real-Estate Funds - -Real-estate funds saddled with boom-time properties are getting relief from Wall Street firms and other investors hoping to capitalize on their need for cash.
New Resorts Owners Roll Dice - -Morris Bailey and Dennis Gomes are paying $35 million for Resorts Atlantic City, at a time when gambling revenue is declining and customers are being siphoned off to Pennsylvania venues.
Citigroup Gets Burned in the Caribbean - -The bank is selling its mortgage on the Viceroy Anguilla to Starwood Capital Group at a hefty discount, the latest example of capitulation by a bank that has nursed a troubled real-estate project for years.

Buying & Selling
 Five Mistakes Home Buyers Make - -Even in this market, buyers can get tripped up. Here are a few do's and don'ts for first-timers.
S'mores, Anyone? - -Three homes with outdoor fireplaces for under $3 million in Hawaii, Chicago and Georgia.
Paul Fireman Lists Nevada Ranch - -Paul Fireman's ranch is one of the largest in the West, with an asking price of $50 million. Plus, Bret Saberhagen's home lists, and a Beverly Hills home asks $9.5 million.

Second Homes
 The Shrinking Second Home - -Developers of high-end vacation homes are building smaller, less expensive houses in resort communities as home sales slump in major markets across the country and inventories of unsold homes rise.
My Not-So-Exotic Garden - -After 10 seasons spent "futzing" with his garden, columnist Bart Ziegler feels a growing insecurity.
Politically Incorrect Gardening - -Purists insist the best way to take care of the Earth is to grow only the native plants that nature has provided in your region. Our columnist is unconvinced.

Home and Garden
 'Hellstrip,' Gardening's Final Frontier - -The often-neglected strip of grass between the street and the sidewalk is getting a makeover.
S'mores, Anyone? - -Three homes with outdoor fireplaces for under $3 million in Hawaii, Chicago and Georgia.
Paul Fireman Lists Nevada Ranch - -Paul Fireman's ranch is one of the largest in the West, with an asking price of $50 million. Plus, Bret Saberhagen's home lists, and a Beverly Hills home asks $9.5 million.

Commercial Real Estate
 New Resorts Owners Roll Dice - -Morris Bailey and Dennis Gomes are paying $35 million for Resorts Atlantic City, at a time when gambling revenue is declining and customers are being siphoned off to Pennsylvania venues.
Citigroup Gets Burned in the Caribbean - -The bank is selling its mortgage on the Viceroy Anguilla to Starwood Capital Group at a hefty discount, the latest example of capitulation by a bank that has nursed a troubled real-estate project for years.
Corio's Turkish Strategy Stumbles - -The Dutch company's expansion has yielded disappointing results due to the weak economy, competition and the difficulties of exporting Western shopping concepts to a country steeped in different traditions.