• It looks like Gwyneth Paltrow's Amagansett property is about to get a bit bigger. A trust in her late father's name paid $2.8 million last month for 2.32 acres of land that just so happens to be adjacent to properties already owned by Gwyneth and her mom, Blythe Danner. [Newsday]
• Apollo Real Estate partner Lee Neibart, who paid $7 million for a 16th-floor condo at 15 CPW earlier this month, has already re-listed the three-bedroom pad. It's now on the market for $8.2 million. [Cityfile, BHS]
• The 13-bedroom, Georgian-style mansion at 152-156 East 81st Street, which was listed for $45 million in October, is now available at a discount. The 12,000-square-foot manse is now a mere $42 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]

The Daily News reports that Italian investment group that acquired the Flatiron building is now planning to turn the property into a "world-class hotel." You won't be able to book a room for your out-of-town relatives any time soon, though: The company says the hotel won't open until the building's remaining tenants are bought out, a process that could take up to ten years. [NYDN]

Denise Rich turns 65 today, so if you see the socialite on line to apply for social security benefits, now you know why. Others celebrating: Ellen DeGeneres is 51. Socialite and real estate broker Serena Boardman is turning 39. Nets guard Vince Carter is 32. Eddie Van Halen is turning 54. Model Frankie Rayder is 35. Actress Sara Rue is turning 30. William Morris agent Suzanne Gluck turns 49. Rabbi Marc Schneier is 50. And retired Rangers star Wayne Gretzky is turning 48 today.

• Why didn't Anderson Cooper and the "attractive Hispanic man" he flew to DC with sit next to each other on the flight? [Page Six, previously]
• Paul McCartney and girlfriend Nancy Shevell may be getting ready to marry now that Nancy's divorce has been finalized and Paul has gotten approval from daughter Stella. [NYP, NYDN]
• Someone hacked into Kanye West's MySpace and Gmail accounts. [P6]
• Prince Harry and girlfriend Chelsy Davy have split up. [People, Daily Mail]
• Execs from Amy Winehouse's record label have flown to St. Lucia to "drive some common sense" into her. Good luck! [The Sun]

• Score a small victory for John Thain: It appears Bank of America signed off on the former Merrill Lynch chief's decision to hand out $4 billion in bonuses just before the end of the year, a move partly responsible for his ouster. [FT, CS]
• Steel yourself for an ugly week ahead as corporate earnings come in. [CNN]
• ING has announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs at the bank. [NYT]
• Several hedge funds made a fortune as bank stocks crashed last week. [NYP]
• Yes, the nation's banks have collected billions from the government. No, they haven't started lending again. [WSJ]
• A sign of life on Wall Street: Pfizer agreed to pay $68 billion to acquire Wyeth, making it the largest pharmaceutical deal in nearly a decade. [BN, WSJ]
• More bad news: Caterpillar is cutting 20,000 jobs; Home Depot is slashing 7,000; and Sprint Nextel is laying off 8,000 people. [WSJ, CNN, BN]

Got some info to share with us? Please direct it here. Many thanks!

• Kanye West's very colorful line of Louis Vuitton sneakers made its grand debut in Paris yesterday. [WWD, SW]
• Jason Wu talks about Tuesday night's inauguration ball excitement and what he was eating (a pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Domino's) just before Michelle appeared on stage. [NYT]
• Taiwan is understandably proud of their hometown hero. [WWD]
• Barneys could fetch $300-400 million if it sells, a far cry from the $942 million Istithmar paid for the retailer in 2007. [NYT]
• Been waiting to see Bruno hit the big screen? Wait a little longer. [FWD]
• Posh sucks her thumb on the February cover of Russian Vogue. [VogueUK]
• Sao Paulo Fashion Week ended today; leave it to the Brazilians to power through the grim times with smiles on their faces. [AFP]

Cityfile today publishes a long post saying, essentially, that the ongoing rumor war between Anna Wintour and Conde Nast is the product of both sides using the media during tough contract negotiations. Let's look back:

Michael Bloomberg wants you to keep as much money in your pocket as possible. To that end, he's proposing that people now be able to share cabs. So now instead of spending $40 on a cab from the airport and entertaining yourself with that silly video screen in the back seat, you'll only have to pay $20—but you'll spend half an hour hearing about how cool Cancun is from the overly cologned real estate broker sitting 12 inches from you. Genius! Unfortunately, there seem to be a few unanswered questions about Bloomberg's plan to implement "sharing lines" at various locations around the city:

• Ties are no longer required at the '21' Club. [Eater]
• The team behind Mansion is filing for bankruptcy; promoter Joey Morrissey will be taking over the space and renaming it M2. [P6]
• Kurve has five days to pay $52,253 in back rent or it faces eviction. [Eater]
• Martha Stewart says East 10th Street is the new Restaurant Row. [NYP]
• Payard pastry chef Chris Wise is moving to Philippe. [GS]
• Experts say 12,000-18,000 restaurants in the U.S. will close this year. [WSJ]

Despite the fact it's a subject that is undoubtedly very close to his heart, we regret to inform you that Barry Diller will no longer be providing the public with advice on where to park their RVs or pitch their tents: Diller's IAC announced today that it's selling off its campground information site ReserveAmerica. Makes sense to us: We can't imagine Diane was ever any good at hunting down deer and finding sources of fresh drinking water. [Crain's]

Hope you weren't counting on rounding out your inauguration memorabilia collection with some Obama-branded smack. Earlier this week, cops in upstate New York broke up a drug ring that was selling baggies of heroin with "Obama" stamped on the glassine wrappers. Expect to hear all about Obama's nefarious ties to drug gangs on right-wing talk shows for the next week or so. [TSG]

A tipster just alerted us to a bit of stunning Dick Fuld news: The disgraced ex-CEO of Lehman Brothers transferred ownership of his $13.75 million Jupiter Island mansion to his wife, Kathy, on November 10th. Could Fuld be worried about the flurry of lawsuits from incensed shareholders and creditors? Possibly! According to Martin County, Florida property records, the home was previously owned by the couple jointly. Until, that is, Fuld transferred it to his wife for the princely sum of $100 on November 10, less than two months after the firm went under. The evidence (and a correction) after the jump.

It's Friday afternoon, which means you're probably already thinking about booze. Why not sample a "current-events-inspired" drink this weekend? Vanity Fair has the recipe for the Madoff-Made-Off Mojito. You'll need rum, Grand Marnier, mint leaves, freshly squeezed lime juice, and a splash of champagne. Just don't forget to stir gently. [VF]

It's a new year, the dawning of a new political era, and on Monday your calendar should be marked for the most important shift of all: the start of the Chinese lunar year! The Year of the Ox, according to Feng Shui gurus, won't bring an end to the world's woes, nor an easy ride for Barack Obama's first months in office, even though he was born in the Year of the Ox, which apparently means he's patient, hardworking, stable and tenacious. Then again, other Ox leaders have included Richard Nixon and Margaret Thatcher, so make of that what you will.

• Dark days at the Times: The newspaper's in "advanced discussions" to sell a "substantial portion" of its Renzo Piano-designed headquarters. [NYT]
• Disney is merging its ABC TV network with ABC Studios. [WSJ]
• WNET-Thirteen is cutting budgets and laying off staff. [NYO]
• In Style publisher Lynette Harrison Brubaker is leaving the company. [WWD]
• Katie Couric will go primetime next Wednesday. [NYT]
• The final inauguration ratings are in. [AdAge]
• Is Condé Nast just publishing the same story in its various magazines? [FB]
• The Tribune Co. has sold off the Cubs for $900 million. [Chicago Trib]

There's been no shortage of Anna Wintour rumors the past couple of months. Back in November, the word circulated that the Vogue editrix was thinking about retiring; two weeks later, there was gossip that Condé Nast chief Si Newhouse was planning to replace her with French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. More recently, there have been outlandish suggestions that Barack Obama is considering Anna as a possible ambassador to France or England. What gives? Who's been spreading the rumors? It turns out that the juicy bits about Anna are all connected: They're related to tense behind-the-scenes negotiations between Wintour and Newhouse over her new contract and were disseminated to the media by both sides as part of a devious whisper campaign.

Here's another $15,000 or $20,000 down the drain for Bank of America. Shortly before John Thain resigned from BoA yesterday, he met with Ken Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive, for what was described as a 15-minute meeting. "Ken Lewis flew to New York today to talk to John," a bank spokesman explained. We also hear that Lewis arrived in NYC aboard one of the bank's private jets. A quick tip for CEOs looking to trim expenses during these recessionary times: Try using the phone every once in a while.

Here's some pleasantly surprising news: Publicist (and legendary hard-ass) Nadine Johnson is feeling "tremendous positive energy." It's all because Barack Obama was inaugurated this week, so don't expect it to last very long. Until then, though, you'll be happy to hear that Nadine is steering clear of "negative forces" and bringing "integrity, real value and compassion" into every "action, thought, and behavior." The full transcript of Nadine's surprisingly cheerful comments, which appeared in the newsletter of long-suffering social network ASmallWorld, after the jump!

The best thing about this apartment at the crumbling, scandal-plagued Plaza? The furniture and Kate Moss portrait by Chuck Close, of course! Unfortunately, your $13.75 million (or $35,000 a month) only buys you the apartment, not the furnishings. Daydreaming is still free, though; you can look at a few more pics of this primo pad after the jump. [Luxist]