The state Department of Real Estate has begun an audit of the records of Re/Max 2000, the Gilbert-based franchise that abruptly closed 13 offices right before Christmas, leaving 350 agents without a broker.

"We've begun an audit to ensure the trust accounts were maintained correctly, that there hasn't been any comingling of funds," said Jerome Jordan, the department's assistant commissioner of operations.

Auditors want to ensure that the company was not using money in property-management or escrow trust accounts to pay for things not allowed under state law. .

Chico's Managers Betting on Comeback

CLOTHING STORE STOCKS have endured a remarkable fall from favor on Wall Street. The 51 of them in SmartMoney's database lost an average of 42% of their value over the past year. Chico's has done worse. It's down more than 60%.

Management finds the recent discounts irresistible. Since December, eight executives and two board members have bought shares with their own money, spending more than $1.5 million at prices ranging from $10.54 to $9.42. The chief executive alone went in for $1 million worth at $10.24.

Coliseum posts operations profit for December

BLOOMINGTON — A Chicago concert, hockey games and “Sesame Street" helped the U.S. Cellular Coliseum post a $3,503 operations profit for December.The report released Thursday showed a small profit, allowing the city and Central Illinois Arena Management to chip away at the Coliseum's operational loss, which stands at $116,000 so far in the fiscal year that began May 1, 2007. Those figures do not involve money needed to pay on the Coliseum's construction and equipment debt.“We are happy with it," said Mike Nelson, co-owner of the Coliseum management group. “The Chicago concert did well for us."The Chicago concert had attendance of 2,623 people, and the concert promoter is considering two additional events at the Coliseum. Two family shows for “Sesame Street Live" also brought in 3,161 people.Meanwhile, the Third Day concert, with an attendance of 2,966 people, was a little disappointing.

Fallon says Boswell's time is up

Fallon blamed the inaction on about 30 Democrats, including Boswell, who "are voting too often with George Bush and too often against the priorities that most people want." Fallon said voters made it clear during the Iowa caucuses they want change. He added that the excitement that led to a more than doubling of Democratic caucusgoers was spurred by populist candidates like Barack Obama and John Edwards and such momentum could help a progressive like himself. "The status quo is not doing very well right now," said Fallon, who supported Edwards until he dropped out of the race and now backs Obama. JoDee Winterhof, a spokeswoman for Boswell's campaign, said Iowans want leaders who can get things accomplished in Washington, and the congressman "has a record of getting things done." While voters also may be seeking change, Winterhof said it's likely not the kind offered by Fallon, who supported Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election.

GOP Debate Analysis: Florida Now a Two-Man Race ...

Tonight's debate was surprisingly unremarkable. At this early hour, it appears to me the primary outcome of tonight's debate is that Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee have failed to do what they needed to do to catch up to the two front-runners in Florida. Other headlines include the fact that the candidates attacked Hillary Clinton more than each other, and that they all agreed President Bush's stimulus package probably doesn't go far enough.Still, to me, the big story is that this race seems to finally be winnowing down a bit, and it now seems that we are really looking at a two-man race between John McCain and Mitt Romney.If one had to assign a winner tonight, Mitt Romney would probably get the nod. Unlike prior debates where Romney was ganged-up on, Romney didn't come under attack tonight -- in fact, nobody really came under attack tonight. The topics also seem to have benefitted Romney more than the other candidates. The debate focused more on the economy than it did on any other topic, and I think he is more adept at talking about this topic than is his primary opponent, John McCain. He also did a good job of going after the Clintons -- something that McCain should have actually done more of. Romney was ahead in the last Florida poll I saw, and since nothing that happened tonight is likely to radically upset the apple cart, he wins tonight merely by maintaining the status quo.Rudy Giuliani perhaps had the most to lose -- and did. He absolutely had to score a knockout tonight; he didn't come close. I'm surprised that Rudy would allow this debate to start and finish without taking a gamble and forcing some drama. His back is literally against the wall, but he acted as if he acted as if it was still September of '07. I don't think he even mentioned that he turned around the 17th largest economy in the world. In the early debates, Rudy was so commanding. His debate recent debate performances serve as a microcosm of what has happened to his campaign over the last several months.Mike Huckabee did fine, but he needed to have a great night; he did not.And lastly, while John McCain mentioned the Surge several times tonight, he failed to make the electability argument -- that he is the one Republican that can beat the Democrats in the General -- tonight. In my estimation, this is a tragic mistake, as he failed to make one of the most compelling arguments in favor of his candidacy. John McCain did fine tonight, but failed to make this important closing argument.I think the bottom line is that it now seems very safe to say Florida is a two-man race between Romney and McCain. .