Wolseley Cuts 2,000 U.S. Jobs as Housing Clips Profit - 2007-01-22
Wolseley Plc, the world's biggest distributor of plumbing and heating equipment, eliminated 2,000 jobs in the U.S. after the housing slump there dragged down sales profit.
The U.K. company, which obtains half its sales in the U.S., cut 1,500 posts and 22 branches at North Carolina-based building-materials unit Stock, adding to 2,000 jobs already lost.
Read the full story at Bloomberg

Real estate agents hang blogging signs - 2007-01-22
When Ellen Moorman wanted to list her home for sale, she began on the Internet, where, of course, she found scores of home pages for Chicago-area real estate agents. She wasn't awed. Then she ran across Fran Bailey's blog, an almost-daily online journal of her views about the Chicago real estate market. Impressed, Moorman picked Bailey to list her Northwest Side home, and the sale went through Friday.
Read the full story at Chicago Tribune