Note 9 - Other Real Estate Investments (Detail)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2008	Dec. 31, 2012 Seller Financing [Member] Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] In Default [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Amended [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Amended [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Sold [Member] Impairments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Canadian Retail Operating Property [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Canadian Retail Operating Property [Member] CAD	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Property in Tucson [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Impairments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Leased Properties [Member]	Dec. 31, 2007 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Leased Properties [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] Retail [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2007 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Property in Manchester [Member] Additional [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Property in Manchester [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Property in Manchester [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Retail Store Leases [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Retail Store Leases [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Retail Store Leases [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Leveraged Lease [Member] Sold [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Leveraged Lease [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2002 Leveraged Lease [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Preferred Equity Investments [Member] USD ($)
Equity Method Investments		$ 1,428,155,000	$ 1,404,214,000																$ 287,800,000	$ 316,000,000		$ 81,700,000									$ 4,000,000	$ 0
Number of Real Estate Properties		28						2								397	403	7	504					2	2				19	11	30
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments		112,896,000	63,467,000	55,705,000								1,600,000	1,700,000						43,100,000	35,700,000	37,600,000					900,000	800,000	1,600,000				14,000,000	12,700,000	12,100,000
Equity Method Investment, Realized Gain (Loss) on Disposal																			17,600,000	13,700,000	9,700,000
Number of Capital Transactions																			21	13	9
Number of Agreements									1	3
Number of Preferred Equity Investments		3						2			1				2
Promote Income																																10,000,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate		70,704,000	102,972,000	108,493,000	131,332,000		7,500,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage						8.58%	7.00%							6.08%
Number of Joint Ventures																				3
Equity Method Investment, Other than Temporary Impairment								2,200,000						3,800,000	5,000,000								500,000	2,100,000
Percent of Investments												50.00%	50.00%
Equity Method Investment, Net Sales Proceeds												31,000,000	31,900,000		300,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price		634,478,000	374,564,000											90,000,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Liabilities Incurred		179,198,000	117,912,000											81,000,000
Number of Master Leased Pools		1																				30
Secured Debt (in Dollars)		1,003,190,000	1,085,371,000																	358,900,000										21,100,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Minimum																				5.08%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Maximum																				10.47%
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate																				9.30%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, Start																				Dec. 31, 2008
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date Range, End																				Dec. 10, 2008
Operating Leases, Income Statement, Sublease Revenue																										3,900,000	5,100,000	5,900,000
Operating Leases, Income Statement, Initial Direct Costs																										3,000,000	4,300,000	4,300,000
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, Next Twelve Months																										3.7
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, Current		676,000,000																								2.3
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, within Two Years																										2.9
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, in Two Years		614,000,000																								1.7
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, within Three Years																										2.0
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, in Three Years		545,400,000																								1.3
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, within Four Years																										1.6
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, in Four Years		465,400,000																								1.0
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, within Five Years																										1.0
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, in Five Years		380,300,000																								0.5
Future Minimum Sublease Rentals, Sale Leaseback Transactions, Thereafter																										0.4
Operating Leases, Future Minimum Payments Receivable, Thereafter		1,815,100,000																								0.04
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage																															90.00%
Repayments of Secured Debt (in Dollars)	$ 150,000,000																													$ 32,300,000