Second Opinion

Losers: Twenty global moguls who have gotten creamed in the recent economic collapse, including Schwarzman (#18), India and Russia's respective richest men, and Buffet. Lawsuits Against PE Firms: In addition to the one Dan reported on today, Apax is also getting sued. By its own co-founder, who claims he’s been denied payment since 2001. After Yesterday’s Beating In The Press: A Permira partner told the FT retail and leisure LBOs will need a “mathematical miracle” to retain any equity value. Rebranding: The automakers want to change the name of their bailout to the taxpayer friendlier “bridge loan,” or even “line of credit.” Are bridge loans and lines and credit given in times of extreme financial emergencies?

Trickle Down Effects: BCE’s stock shot up as a result of the Citi bailout, since the troubled financier was one of the worrisome contingencies of the deal’s closing. Blackstone Is The Turkey Of The Year: Not sure this protest is SEUI-related, since (a) The great carry disparity is basically DOA come January and (b) It’s focused on real estate and mortgages. Get it, Blackstone owns a ton of real estate, through Equity Office and its own real estate funds. What Does it Mean: “When Harvard grads pile into Wall Street jobs, the market is probably overheated and could be heading for a tumble.” Economist’s View: Calculating exactly how much it costs to create a job: $90,323 Read why. Revisited: The whole PE-made-money-on-a-failed-investment thing with Mervyns.

Pirates, Obviously: Private Equity Versus Pirates. Word still out on Pirate Capital. Speaking Of: This is a day old, but in case you missed, it, Somali pirates are in talks to acquire Citigroup. But Never Fear: Gasparino has a plan for Citi. It involves stock price predictions. Moelis: The stock market is ruining attempts to value companies, and therefore deals. Sh*t: How swear words function in the work place.

Romney On The Big Three: He's opposed to the bail out. GE Capital: We know there are layoffs to come, but Aleph lays out what GE Capital is doing to GE's stock. On Mark Cuban: "If the case illustrates anything, it is how far the Securities and Exchange Commission has descended into irrelevance since Christopher Cox became chairman," writes Joe Nocera. Not To Surprising: Where Fortress stands on carry, and other Obama ideas, Footnoted reports. Paulson Wants PE Alongside TARP: But is the feeling mutual? American Banker thinks not thanks to one TARP Provision, according to Dealbook.

Big: America's 25 largest private equity-backed companies. Not the biggest deals or biggest exits or biggest returns, but the largest companies, in terms of revenues, under PE ownership now. Sneak peek, the top two are Cerberus companies, 3, 4 and 5 have KKR money. O, Canada: Last month I wrote that Canadian banks are not only open for business but healthy. Mergermarket takes it a step further, saying they'll be on the prowl for acquisitions. Scoopy: Apax, Oaktree and 3i are taking a look at Taylor Wimpley, the British Homebuilder. If You Missed the Automaker Hearing: Here's a very detailed liveblog. Kedrosky Was Right: The Path to financial engineering isn't quite as attractive to MBAs anymore, the Journal writes.

Fortune: The "Why" behind denominator effect and the booming secondary market. Fingers Crossed: In an attempt to negate any excuses, Cerberus has said it'd forgo profits on its investment if Chrysler could have bailout money. Busy: Several of Citi's directors are transition advisors to Obama, Dealzone reports. Waiting Game: Two thirds of you have stopped investing altogether. And other such survey observations.

Picture it: On NPR, via Andy Kessler, "...have they given up hope, have they just said, 'you know what, sell everything,' and just en mass, people are puking out stocks..." Well They Aren't Busy With Deals: Dealzone notices that buyout pros have been busy on the conference circuit as of late. "You would think maybe that some of the private equity big shots that stole the headlines during the credit bubble would recede a bit from the limelight." Private Goldman Sachs: If Goldman Sachs goes private, and Blackstone Group stays public, I think it'll be like The Parent Trap, where identical twin sisters switch places and go home to the wrong parent, only to miss the way things were and long to return to their real home. Especially after a law professor suggested Goldman's structure, "could be the beefed up private equity approach, plus SOX." Bargain Prices: For shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Unfortunately for me, a lowly blogger's annual salary won't cover the cost of a single share, even at depressed values. Antitrust: InBev shall divest Labatt's as part of its acquisition of Anheuser. The Canadian business formed a JV with the Cuban government 11 years ...

Brilliant: George Soros managed to gratuitously plug his book during the House Oversight Committee's hedge fund testimony, according to Wall Street Folly. Unpopular: No one wants to be a real engineer anymore. The glory is in financial engineering, but Paul Kedrosky thinks that's about to change. Blah Blah Blah: More talking, predictions, thoughtful pontificating, etc, from buyout guys. Sotheby's Must Be Disappointed: The Fuld art collection isn't worth as much as initially thought. Nadir, Indeed: Three-month LIBOR rose for the first time in 23 business days.

Last Night's Party: Was apparently boisterous and fun, with undertones of fear, worry, and depression, according to this D.C. finance blog. Can't wait for tonight, see you all there, New York! The Craigslist Effect: How To Get People To Pay For Classified Ads, a topic explored by Patricia Nakache of VC firm Trinity. Go For It: It's now acceptable, apparently, to release intimidating press releases. Huntsman did it today, telling CS and DB it plans to read their emails in an attempt to prove that Apollo and Hexion secretly plotted to back out of the Huntsman deal. Better than CARP: Ft Alphaville proposes the less funny but more accurate "TERP."

So Says Goldman: Newspapers are dead, Wall Street is dead, alternative energy is dead, and mattresses, forget it. Zombies Are Self-Ambulatory: Dealbreaker has a problem with Bloomberg calling AIG a Zombie. Best Photo Illustration Ever: Accompanied by a pretty good article, too. Michael Lewis marks the (long awaited) end of the Wall Street era, a time he predicted would die soon after he left it, after he wrote Liar's Poker. He was wrong, by about 20 years. The Big Money: Debunks the buzz about a genetically engineered "healthy beer" created by three college students (who happen to be underage).