Erin Griffith

A Q&A with an Anonymous Facebook Employee: "I'm not sure when exactly it was deprecated, but we did have a master password at one point where you could type in any user's user ID, and then the password. I'm not going to give you the exact password, but with upper and lower case, symbols, numbers, all of the above, it spelled out ‘Chuck Norris,' more or less."(The Rumpus) Walking Away: Voluntary defaults by homeowners are a new phenomenon. It's being called irresponsible. Businesses - in particular Wall Street banks - make such calculations routinely. What's the difference? New York Times sums up the debate nicely. (NYT) That's Mr. Comptroller to You: John Liu, New York's new comptroller, is being called a prima donna, thanks to some new presidential-like formalities he's implemented. (Ny Post) Wonder Women: The 49 Most Notable Female Internet Heroes of 2009. (The Next Women) Indefensible? The Street.com says that defense companies' best days are over. (The Street) Servicey: Best places to power lunch in New York. (Clusterstock)

Here are some potential M&A ideas, rumored or official, to jumpstart your deal pipeline. Our sources are various news reports and the Buyouts “Seeking Buyers” list. For prior lists, see below. The CEO of Jumptap Inc., a mobile advertising company which competes with the recently acquired Quattro Wireless, said it “has been approached by potential buyers and is open to being acquired if the price is right.” The company is not actively seeking a buyer. Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. continues to explore strategic alternatives that include a sale of the company and equity financings amid a proxy war with a “concerned shareholder.” Sierra is a renewable energy company focused on the exploration and development of clean, sustainable geothermal power based in Vancouver, British Columbia and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Phoenix Technologies, a software company based in California, hired GrowthPoint Technology Partners to “explore strategic alternatives” for its FailSafe, HyperSpace and eSupport businesses.

Here's a look at the last week's worth of scoops, data, and analysis from the peHUB team. Catch up on what you missed before it goes behind our paywall... All First Reads | All Second Opinions Exclusive: Larry Schloss To Be Named NYC Chief Investment Officer Mmmwaahahaha: VCs Carefully Plot Their CES Strategies Ex-FCC Chair Kevin Martin Launching PE Firm PE Fundraising Falls 61%, Lowest Total Since 2004 DoE Lays Out New Rules for Geothermal Drilling Ten VC Predictions for 2010: Outrunning The Bear PE Deals Down 43% in 2009, Lowest Year Since 2002 VC-Backed IPOs Up, M&A Down in 2009 Indian VC/PE Investment Drops in 2009 Hello There, Handsome Devils Venture Capitalists Climb "Pill Hill" Schwarzman Not Exactly Helping PE's "Gun Slinger" Image Former AIG Investments Coming To A Fundraising Market Near You The VC-Backed IPO Pipeline Events of the Valley Behind the Screens: Q&A with the Technical Lead of Zynga's Mafia Wars Tax Story: VC Carry vs Founder Equity Cressey & Co. Creeps Toward Lowered Target With Latest Close Q&A on Riverside's Big Fundraise

Aww: Steve Schwarzman loves romantic comedies. So much so that he hired a "seat saver" for him and his wife at the movies. (Dealbreaker) Why Should MBA Students Twitter? Here's one B-school-goers take. (B School Voyage) Thank Ayn Rand: Stumbled upon a blog called "The Mess That Greenspan Made," which today outlines how Bernanke is making the mess even worse. (The Mess That Greenspan Made) Corporate Pigs: The 15 most hated corporations in America include PE-backed Hertz at number 3. (24/7 Wall Street) Patriotism Test: Moody's has been mulling a fascinating question: should they introduce a formal rating of "social cohesion" into sovereign debt indices, when they judge whether a government is likely to default on its debt - or not? (FT) Earning Their Keep: M&A Bankers are worth the money. (Deal Journal)

As usual, we have a week's worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor's Ratings Agency and Moody's Investors Service. This week is a big update coming off of the holiday, with five upgrades four downgrades and a withdrawal. Downgrades include companies owned by GTCR Golder Rauner, Kohlberg & Co., Genstar Capital, and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Company: Cellu Tissue Holdings Sponsor: Weston Presidio Action: Moody's upgraded the company’s probability of default rating and the senior secured notes rating of the company to ‘B1’ from ‘B2’. S&P raised its corporate credit rating on Alpharetta, Ga.-based Cellu Tissue Holdings Inc. to 'B+' from 'B'. Highlight: From Moody’s: The upgrade to B1 reflects steady margin expansion and earnings growth since the fiscal year ended February 28, 2007, resulting in EBITDA generation considerably higher than previously expected. From S&P: "The upgrade reflects the significant improvement in Cellu Tissue's EBITDA in the last three quarters, due to its acquisition of Atlantic Paper & Foil in mid-2008, benefits from capacity expansion initiatives to meet higher demand for its converted tissue products, and sales price increases," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Andy Sookram.

Hubris Soars, Crisis Wasted: Bloomberg Op-ed on bonuses, reform-- The past year was filled with opportunities to fix the structural problems of the U.S. financial system-to little avail. Meanwhile, big banks are once again reaping extraordinary profits. (Bloomberg) Coller Capital Study: Return expectations, and enthusiasm for PE firms are down. (All About Alpha) Replacing Dodd: Tim Johnson of South Dakota is in line to become the chamber's Banking Committee chairman next year. (Bloomberg) Awwww: The Newark security breech from this weekend was caused by a man who slipped into a secure area to give a woman one last goodbye kiss. Hope that kiss made his ladyfriend happy because it pissed off a LOT of others. (Reuters) Merger Fail: Time Warner's merger with AOL may have been the worst merger of the century but there are plenty of contenders for that tile. (Telegraph) Have Funds, Will Travel: Is it possible to be a nomadic private equity pro? (Private Equiteer) Carried Interest: You knew it was only a matter of time. Well, that time is now. (WSJ)

More than a year after its spin-off from AIG, the insurance giant’s investment management unit is nearing the close of its sale to Pacific Century Group, an Asia-based private investment group. Barring any issues winning regulatory approval in 32 countries and LP and client consent, the firm, called PineBridge Investments, hopes to close the deal at month’s end in January or February, CEO Win Neuger said. The firm has told me the name reflects "the company’s rich heritage and roots on Pine Street in New York’s financial district."* At that point, the firm’s private equity business will finally to hop back from the sidelines. “We went for a year when not many people wanted to talk to us,” said Neuger. But the AIG stigma has finally lifted. “The number of meetings and calls from people wanting to do business with us is back to historic levels,” he said.

Former FCC chairman Kevin Martin is launching a private equity firm alongside Brian Bailey, who recently left his position at Carousel Partners, according to a source familiar with the situation. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Carmichael Partners will make equity investments in family-owned and closely-held private businesses. Bailey was previously a senior advisor at Carousel Capital alongside four managing partners who remain at the firm: Charles Grigg, Bill Hobbs, Jason Schmidly and Nelson Schwab. He previously had spent time at Forstmann Little & Co., The Carlyle Group and CSFB. In an email to colleagues, Bailey explained that Carmichael Partners will invest in a small number of companies in order to actively manage them. This would be attractive to families and founders wishing for an equity partner who can help grow the company while preserving its culture, he wrote.

Why Corporations Provide Little Venture Capital: The corporate share of the venture capital pool has declined to less than 8% for every year since 2001. One problem: revolutionary change (BW) Don't Get Excited about 2010: Here's quick tour of gloomy pronouncements from some of the most bearish folks out there. (Paul Kedrosky) Laid Off? Planning Your Next Move? Whatever You Do, Don't Go To Graduate School. (Business Insider) Not Laid off? Really Busy? Here are some Online Dating Tips for Busy Executives. (Business Insider)

Sometimes all you need is a little momentum. That's one way Riverside Partners pulled off one of the most successful fundraising drives of the year. When the Boston-based firm entered the market with its fourth fund in March (after some heavy pre-marketing), it was prepared for the worst. But with the help of placement agent Atlantic Pacific Capital, the firm yesterday closed at its hard cap of $400 million in just under eight months (add to that an extra $6 million of GP commitments for the total figure). I spoke with general partner David Belluck about how his firm went about raising a fully subscribed fund in the bleakest market of the decade. Get our Q&A after the jump...