Erin Griffith

Lists: For The Newly Unemployed, Six words that make your resume suck. (Squawkfox) Lists: Six Errors on the path to financial crisis. (Dealbook) Lists: 25 Most Promising Green Businesses (Business Pundit) Seriously?: PE Firms are the least creative businesses ever when it comes to names. We have yet another similar-sounding set of firms, according to PE Database. Yet Another: Woe as me story about Blackstone and Fortress and their troubles as public entities. But this time there's definitive details that the companies could do MBOs with the proceeds of their IPOs! (WSJ)

CMS Mezzanine, a new mezzanine fund managed out of Wynnewood, Penn., has raised $40 million toward its latest fund, a source familiar with the situation said. The firm held a first close for the $40 million in December and hopes to hold a final close on $50 million in the coming months. CMS Mezzanine in managed […]

Yep, that's a photo of a police officer posting security outside the banquet room at this year's Wharton PE conference in Philadelphia. The security move is clearly a result of last year's infamous SEIU protests, where they burst into the room during an appearance by Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein, who reportedly told them to "take a remedial course in English before you go any further." There doesn't appear to be any need for security at this point since (A) Obama is in office, meaning the carried interest debate might be over, and (B) SEIU hasn't protested private equity since July of last year. When I asked the officer why she was here, she burst into laughter (and so did the event's photographer standing next to her). Me: Were you two just talking about that?

Starting at noon, I'll be live-blogging a keynote speech given by Leon Black. I have three questions for the guy--we'll see if I'll actually get to ask them. (1) Will Apollo give money back to its investors? It does not need the $15 billion fund it just closed. (2) How much does Apollo expect to write down from fund four? (3) Has Apollo's sixth, or even seventh, fund bumped up against its 2% maximum for secondary sales? UPDATE: The liveblog is over, and for those uninterested in scrolling through comments from Dan, myself and others, follow the jump for a summary of the highlights.

I'm at the Wharton Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference, liveblogging a keynote speech by Philip Yea, the Chief Executive of 3i Group.

The Printed Blog: That’s right, there’s a start-up out there that seeks to reprint blogs on paper and distribute them with local ads. I can think of about a million things wrong with this idea, but hey, you never know. At this point any kind of innovation in print media is better than none. (NY […]

Mid-market lender Madison Capital has laid off 7 employees, or 10% of its staff, Senior Managing Director Chris Williams confirmed to peHUB. The layoffs occurred yesterday on the heels of news that Dymas Capital, another Chicago-based middle market lender, had laid off 10 employees. Six deal pros remain at Dymas. For its part, Madison Capital reduced its headcount to the the same level it had in fiscal 2007, Williams said. "Throughout 2008, we ramped up to meet the activity levels we were experiencing. The first quarter of 2008 was a record time for us. The deal flow has slowed down so we have taken ourselves back a level." The firm now has 55 to 60 people.

Yesterday I wrote about the AICPA’s recent draft issues paper, which tackles ways for LPs to implement FASB 157. The story highlighted the opinions of a few unnamed LPs, who expressed frustrations with the paper’s guidelines, and several others left lengthy comments. (View that, along with the actual paper, here.) But that’s just one side of the coin. There are others who think these dissenters are just unhappy with mark-to-market in general, and that the ultimate outcome of the paper’s “considerations” would be a positive. In a few quarters, LPs will have more accurate holding values for LP portfolios, they say. One advisor I talked to said that LPs are angry because it means more work for them.

Five Reasons to Worry About Google: Signs of mortality as the company nears its Q4 earnings report ... (Motley Fool) Presidential Ratings: From Truman to Bush. (WSJ) Combs His Face Backward: Trump could be preparing to file for bankruptcy, a fabulous Chapter 33, Dealbreaker writes. But keeeep attending those "get rich selling real estate" classes, kids. Fabulously I'm sure: Today Bush found out how his stocks and bonds portfolio performed over the last eight years. (Page six) This Is The Dawning Of: A new era for venture capitalism and entrepreneurship? The Deal's Matthew Wurtzel asks. (Dealzone)

While I’m on the first-time fund beat, I may as well mention Yukon Partners, a new mezzanine fund that’s seeking $300 million for its debut fund, according to a source familiar with the situation. It's being raised by former Norwest Mezzanine partners Michael Hall and William Dietz. peHUB reported their departures were a surprise, but "orderly and amiable" last February. Out of any alternative asset in the market, mezzanine (alongside distressed and energy investors), is most likely to find investors with an appetite.