Second Opinion

Dear Sirs: Maurice Greenberg is not happy about the price being paid for AIG's toxic assets. He wrote a letter to Edward Liddy to tell him so. You Knew It Was Coming: Madoff gear on eBay. And Even Better: Madoff speaking in 2007, where he outlines how fraud is nearly impossible. Best line at minute 5:30: "It's impossible for a violation to go undetected, especially for a long period of time... That doesn't mean there aren't abuses..." (Infectious Greed) So About That Argument: That a bankrupt automaker would discourage people from buying cars. Looks like that's out the window, according to a poll.

Mark Cuban: Hates the FroHawk, for no specific reason. Sovereign Loss Funds: Council of Foreign Relations blog tries to model Abu Dhabi and other SWF losses. "So much for forecasts that sovereign funds would emerge as a huge forces in global markets..." Why We Should Save Predictions For The Psychics: The Economist apologizes for its wrong predictions for this year. Before going on to make another round of bold calls for next year. (Dealbook) Something Fishy: Big Picture is very skeptical the Madoff family had nothing to do with the Ponzi scheme. Speaking of Madoff, here is the longest victim list I've seen. Nevermind, here's another one. Charles Ponzi: Dealbook outlines a century of Ponzi Schemes, including Mr. Ponzi, the OWCG (Original White Collar Gangsta).

Layoffs at Blackstone: Seventy jobs, 7% of employees, affecting most of the business units. (Bloomberg) Do You Really Need an MBA: Surprisingly, MBAs in PE are not as common as you'd think, according to PEdatabase. Check out their mildly unscientific study, which shows only 39% of private equity CEOs and only 42% of Partners have an MBA. (Private Equity Database) Bloggers Influenced The Palin Pick: So why can't they influence a billion-dollar merger? Between Google and The New York Times... (Dealscape) Bigger than Enron: Angry clients stormed the Madoff Headquarters this morning, Clusterstock has the Google street view image.

Which VCs to Avoid: Some interesting, almost Seinfeld-ian reasons for an entrepreneur to walk away from a VC investor. Including "Avoid an investor who does not carry an iPhone." Seriously. (The Venture Company) On Recessions: "It is the economic equivalent of Lent." (Financial Times) More Surveys: European PE/VCs say PE's affect on employee relations is relatively positive (ignore the misleading headline). (AltAssets) Whatever: Spouse 2.0 Day, a Hallmark-ian celebration of the husbands and wives of start-up founders, is being documented in every conceivable 2.0 manner, naturally. It's clever, but something about the line, "Your family at home is essentially a start-up as well..." feels like this pseudo-event is reallllly stretching it. (Bits) Rewrite the PE Rulebook: So says Jonathan Foster of Current Capital, a guest columnist at Dealbook. In his article he lays out the basic tenets of classic PE investing and suggests the industry return to simpler times. (Dealbook)

Lists: Business Pundit compiles a list of the top business schools as ranked by BusinessWeek, FT, UT Dallas Research Rankings, US News & World Report, Entreprenuer, and Princeton Review. Listlessness: The business books of the year. Note that none of the books covering the crisis are out yet.... Viagra, Deal From Hell, Titanic and Warfare: The words of Samuel Zell, who has uttered many, many quotable comments regarding Tribune and newspapers. We Knew It: Investors in PE and VC firms are renegotiating their commitment contracts. Thanks Permira, for kicking off this chain of events.

Fall Into The: There's an enormous Gap between the Big Three's self-image and reality, according to Daniel Gross, and driving to Washington and having detailed plans isn't enough to convince him otherwise.. Not Enough Grand Prospect Hall Ads: CNBC is laying off 80 people according to the Post. As If PE Were a Barometer: BusinessWeek is predicting November job losses could be the worst in 28 years. Panic: How Wall Streeters are dealing with the crisis, according to Vanity Fair. Via Abnormal Returns. Blame Game: The credit crisis can be traced to "insidious MBA" schools. "They believe business school can encourage the "culture of me", or individuals solely out for their own self-interest."

Elliot Spitzer Has A New Job: He's now an online columnist for Slate. This is sure to generate giant eyerolls and tons of begrudging readership. Brilliant marketing move for the online magazine, I say. Winner: Neuberger Berman has sold to, itself! Management and senior employees won the auction. Realogy: What its basement level bond prices mean for the company's solvency. Leaked: Kleiner Perkins accidentally published 588 iFund Applications online. Shouldn't VC guys have their sh*t together on tech-y stuff like this? Either way, big oops. Truckin: The Big Three CEOs had to drive to their hearings this time, after outrage over the whole private jet debacle. Dealzone suggests some roadtrip tunes.

Broken PIPE Dreams: The Deal looks at PE's relationship with banks, and it's a negative one. But Everyone Else Is Having Problems Too: The Harvard Crimson highlights the impact the economy is having on other Ivy League colleges and their endowments. Annnnd I Can't Help Myself: The Crimson's top story made me chuckle: members of Yale's marching band have been reprimanded for erecting a faux Berlin Wall covered in profanity and tearing it down with a missile evoking a phallus during a game. Speaking of Ivy League: Harvard's investment portfolio "looks like it was chosen by someone who watched a few episodes of CNBC's Squawk Box and heard that the hot new investments were emerging markets, commodities, and private equity." Ouch. Also On Slate: Daniel Gross names the world's worst banker, and its not Fuld or Cayne.

We Are Aware: BusinessWeek takes its turn going at Sun Capital and Cerberus for Mervyns. Why is this suddenly news again? However, it's a good in-depth look from another perspective on what sorts of measures desperate companies really take. The author wraps it up with signs of regret over the LBO. Speaking of Sun: We saw the firm divest a few of Kellwood's brands, including Hanna Andersson, a brand the company had only bought a few years ago. But we didn't realize it sold the businesses to another Sun portfolio company! Is that even legal? Stocking Stuffers: Alan, Ben and Henry stress balls. Squeeze the Banker. Safe Haven: When it looks like even private equity is getting in on the layoff act, there's one place that's safe. It's law firms. The place everyone jokingly "escapes" from.

Bonus Weekend Edition. Welcome back to those of you who, like me, didn't work on Friday. Hollow Bullishness: The Economist isn't impressed by the "butch subculture" of private equity and predicts the industry will have to "admit its sins." On The Other Hand: Carl Icahn explains his attraction to secondary debt (who isn't at these prices) and points one positive of PE. Meanwhile: A predicted $130 billion-plus in LP stakes is expected to change hands on the secondary market in the next two years, according to FT. Neuberger: More bumps in the road for the NB sale, according to Megan Davies at Dealzone. Stay tuned tomorrow to see if any last minute bids appear on the deadline of the 45-day post-bankruptcy auction process.