Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Time magazine celebrated the release of its "100 most influential" list last night, a gathering that attracted plenty of rich finance-y types a year ago, back when saying you worked at a hedge fund or investment bank didn't have the reputational value of saying you spent your day…
• Bank of America chief Ken Lewis won't be in a good mood today, that's for sure. Regulators have informed the bank that it will have to come up with $34 billion in new capital if it expects to weather the downturn. [WSJ, NYT]
• For its part, Citigroup may have to come up with $5-$10 billion. [Reuters]
• Remember all…
• JPMorgan Chase reported a $2.1 billion profit in the first quarter, exceeding estimates. Unlike Goldman, though, Jamie Dimon says the bank hasn't decided whether to return the $25 billion it's received in bailout money. [DB, WSJ, BN]
• General Growth Properties, the second-largest mall operator, filed Chapter 11…
As is our custom on Friday afternoons, we gave a quick call over to Steve Schwarzman to check in and see how he was holding up, especially after this bit of news a couple of weeks ago, which had us as alarmed out as anyone. Alas, we didn't get an answer over at 740 Park, so we thought we'd try him down at the Palm…
• Following yesterday's stock market surge, some analysts see a comeback in the making. Believe it when you see it. [CNN]
• Investors pulled $11 billion out of hedge funds in February. [BN]
• Related: hedge funds may slash 20,000 jobs around the world this year. [DB]
• Even the junky little banks that should have…
The answering machine at the Water Mill home of billionaire Steve Schwarzman and his wife Christine.
The Times reports today that Mayor Bloomberg has been secretly expanding his lair on East 79th Street in recent years, since the 7,500 square feet of space on five floors that he already owned wasn't enough, clearly. In "transactions that have gone all but unnoticed," Bloomberg has been buying up space in the…
News that won't be surprising to anyone: The art world is still steeped in gloom, as evidenced by the scene at last night's opening gala for the Art Show at the Park Avenue Armory. The benefit, which used to be sponsored by Lehman Brothers and be a riot of hedge funders dropping millions on pieces to add to their…
Were you concerned that the financial crisis might have put a damper on Steve Schwarzman's birthday party? (He turned 62 last Saturday; we suggested you send him some stone crabs.) It turns out the billionaire's party this year was considerably less lavish than the event he hosted in 2007 when he spent upwards of $3…
Tomorrow isn't just Valentine's Day. It's also Steve Schwarzman's birthday! Did you forget to order him a gift? Allow us to help. BestStoneCrabs.com will send over three pounds of their "succulent Stone Crab Claws" along with "Papa Hughie's Homemade Mustard Sauce," and it comes with cocktail forks and a mallet, too.…
State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver turns 65 today. Rudy Giuliani's ex-wife, Donna Hanover, is 59. Real estate developer Francis Greenburger is 60. Peter Gabriel is turning 59. Robbie Williams is 35. Stockard Channing turns 65. Jerry Springer is 65. And Henry Rollins turns 48. People celebrating their birthdays this…
Steve Schwarzman's Blackstone Group has an explanation for that lawsuit by Financial Times which accused the private equity giant of sharing an account login and password to the FT website. A Blackstone employee tells the Observer that it was all the fault of the London office and the work of eight renegade…
You know we're in a deep recession when even billionaire financiers can't afford to pay for subscriptions to the Financial Times. In what will go down as one of the more bizarre (and unintentionally hilarious) lawsuits we've seen in quite some time, the newspaper filed a lawsuit against Steve Schwarzman's Blackstone…
Unclaimed Funds Database [New York State Comptroller's Office]
Steve and Christine Schwarzman [Cityfile]
• Wells Fargo reported a $2.55 billion loss for the fourth quarter; it also said recently acquired Wachovia lost $11 billion during the period. [BN, WSJ]
• Steve Schwarzman says it's a "wonderful time" for the industry, despite the fact his net worth has dropped by $7 billion in recent months. [BN]
• Andrew Cuomo has…
The World Economic Forum kicks off tomorrow in Davos, Switzerland, but it won't be nearly as exciting as in years past: The financial crisis has led many CEOs and politicians to abandon plans to attend the conference of heavy-hitters. Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein won't be there, although he's reportedly…
♦ Either Mariah Carey is pregnant or she's determined to do whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight. The diva was spotted looking "ebullient" on her way out of an OB/GYN's office in LA, where she was greeted by a cheering entourage and seen clutching "what looked like a sonogram." [P6, Mirror]
♦ Kate Moss skipped…
"Vanity Fair is taking over the Four Seasons Grill Room this morning... The magazine is shooting the power lunch hot spot and its regulars for an upcoming piece on the restaurant’s 50th anniversary. Among the regular customers expected to participate in the shoot are Blackstone Group founders Pete Peterson and Steve…
You won't get a massive apartment for $2.5 million, but you can stamp your name on one of the city's most prominent landmarks for that amount. Two plaques attached to the famed fountain in Washington Square Park were unveiled today. They're dedicated to Larry and Bob Tisch, the late fathers of Jon, Andrew, Laurie,…
♦ Layoff announcements, grim unemployment data, and dismal retail sales figures should lead to another nasty trading session on Wall Street. [CNN]
♦ A group of managers and senior execs from Neuberger Berman won the auction to take over Lehman's money management business. [NYT]
♦ Credit Suisse is laying off 5,300…
