On Thursday morning, Citigroup (NYSE: C) announced that it is going to lower the number of U.S. retail outlets, limiting the banks to six major metropolitan areas. The Wall Street Journal reports that the bank will also limit its lending mainly to wealthy customers. Citigroup chose to take this step in order to control the amount of its consumer lending, limiting its transactions to credit cards and jumbo mortgages.

According to the report, Citi will release its plans in October, when we should learn that the bank will be a presence mainly in New York, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. That said, it turns out the plan could be contingent upon approval from the U.S. Government. The report notes that some Citi executives are concerned the government may not issue approval.

The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) has watched its stock price tank from a 52-week high of more than $15 to its current price of $2.20 as the company's massive debt load has been made more ominous by the precipitous decline in advertising brought on by the weak economy -- on top of all the other problems facing newspapers. In 2005, the stock traded at better than $75 per share.

So now McClatchy is looking to sell the Miami Herald, according to The New York Times. But the Times added that its sources "said they knew of no serious offers for the paper, reflecting the evaporation of major investors' interest in buying newspapers."

Shocking! I can't believe that people aren't lining up to buy a newspaper that makes its money by selling advertising in one of the cities hardest hit by falling real estate prices.

You really have to question the intelligence of the company's board of directors and management: The company has paid out enormous dividends while acquiring companies like Knight Ridder at outrageous prices. Now they're looking to dump one of their most prestigious properties at a fire-sale price. And yet the dividend remains.

It's time for the dividend to go, along with everyone who's had anything to do with the company's strategic direction. It might be too late to salvage shareholder value, but they should at least find someone who knows what he's doing to give it a try.

If you live in Philadelphia's Society Hill, Atlanta's Grant Park, or Dallas's University Park, (and if you're the type who doesn't pay much attention to what's going on in the world), you might be tempted to ask, "Housing slump? What housing slump?"

That's because you live in one of the most lucrative neighborhoods in the U.S., as listed by Forbes. Neighborhoods in 15 major metropolitan areas made the list because they experienced the greatest increase in home sales prices since 1990 -- between 300% and 4,000%. Many were downtrodden areas that benefited from an influx of development. A few others were already among the most upscale neighborhoods in the nation, and have thus far resisted the recent housing slump. For example:

• Bucking the Florida real estate downturn is Miami Beach's City Center, with its mega-mansions with built-on docks. The 2006 median home sales price was $1.64 million, up 1,532% since 1990.
• Chicago's Wicker Park benefited from an influx of young urban professionals and rehabbers. The 2006 median home sales price was $575,525, an increase of 1,870%.
• San Francisco's Western Addition neighborhood is among the fastest growing in U.S. The 2006 median home sales price was $1.38 million, an increase of 522% since 1990.
• New York's uptown neighborhood around 149th Street and Riverside drive features large brownstones and federal townhouses. Its 2006 median home sales price was $774,708, up 4,391%.

See the article at Forbes.com for the complete list.

I have to say, I had no idea Miami condo prices were down this badly. According to a CBS report that someone was kind enough to post on YouTube, new condos sold at a recent auction for 50% their original list prices -- as little as $150,000 for a loft.

One bedroom/one bath condos went for an average of $176 thousand at the auction, down from the last year's price of $350. Two bedroom condos originally priced at $600 could be had for an average of $295.

In a recent episode of the 'The Millionaire Inside' on CNBC, real estate expert (and author of the amazing book The Automatic Millionaire) speculated that some people would get very rich buying real estate in the current market. But more than a few developers have become very poor by getting into the last bubble too late.

For those of you who just can't stand the thought of running out and filling up your car with gasoline, I have a little bit of good news: gasoline prices fell again last week. According to the Energy Information Administration, the national average fell by a little over 8 cents a gallon last week.

This marks the third week in a row that prices have fallen, lowering the national average to $3.08 for a gallon of regular unleaded. While it is encouraging to see prices falling to a four-week low, prices are still up 91 cents from the start of the year.

U.S. refinery production has been the root of the problem, and although America's refineries are still running at sub 90% capacity, gasoline prices have been slightly offset by increased motor fuel imports. Analysts are expecting that more refineries will be coming back online during the remainder of this month, and if we continue to see above average fuel imports, then gasoline prices should continue to retreat.

When I logged onto Amazon.com to check out the new releases in business books, this headline jumped off the page: Real Estate Sale: Save up to 39%.

The headline was followed by this: Whether you're a real estate professional or a first-time home buyer, find all the guides you'll need for becoming a landlord, finding a mortgage, selling properties, and investing in one of the most time-tested and popular strategies for building wealth, all at up to 39% off for a limited time.

Among the deals:

• Flipping Properties: Generate Instant Cash Profits in Real Estate, which is 33% off.
• How to Be a Quick-Turn Real Estate Millionaire, which is 35% off.
• Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads, which is 35% off.
• Why We Want You to Be Rich, which is 37% off (this book would be a ripoff at 99% off, in my opinion).

Granted, most books are on sale at Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). That's why I love it. But it does seem a bit unusual that they're advertising especially deep discounts on real estate books. One possible conclusion: people aren't buying them. If we go with the theory that the bull market in real estate was in fact a speculative bubble, this makes sense.