Looks like Steve Rattner has finally landed a job in Washington. Kind of. Bloomberg News reports that the Quadrangle Group co-founder will join the U.S. Treasury as an "adviser" to Secretary Tim Geithner on auto-industry issues. Okay, so it's not "car czar." But it's better than nothing, right? [Bloomberg via Dealbreaker]
One disturbing effect of the recession: It seems people are less inclined to buy plastic bags so they can pick up after their dog. According to the Sanitation Department, Manhattan saw an 88 percent spike in fines for "unattended droppings" last year, with Morningside Drive, Amsterdam Avenue, West End Avenue, Riverside Drive and Central Park West cited as the worst streets. [NYP]
You've seen the slideshows of celebrities on the Oscar red carpet. Here's how various media moguls dressed up for the big occasion. Lots of really boring black tuxedos after the jump.
The hotly anticipated auction of the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé begins today in Paris. Can't be there to in person to ogle the works by Picasso and Matisse? Christie's, which is spending a record amount to promote the auction, has posted hundreds of photos to Flickr. You can take a look around after the jump.
• Morgan Stanley exec Guy Metcalfe is finally on his way to unloading his five-bedroom apartment at 15 CPW, which he bought for $9.35 million in October and quickly re-listed for $16.5 million two-weeks later. After cutting the price to $13.75 million and then dropping it again to $12.5 million, he is now in contract to sell the 3,822-square-foot spread. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Thani of Qatar has lowered the price of his three-bedroom apartment at Trump Park Avenue, which he bought for $6.1 million in 2005 and listed for $14 million late last year. It's now on the market for $10 million. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• It turns out Sting won't be listing his Central Park West duplex for $26 million with Claudine and Raphael De Niro after all. Halstead's Mark Friedman will be handling the honors, and the four-bedroom apartment will be offered for a much more modest $19 million. [NYT]
Sex and the City's Kristin Davis turns 44 today. Dakota Fanning is turning 15. Guitarist Brad Whitford of Aerosmith is 57. Choreographer Elizabeth Streb is 59. Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell turns 44. Actor/director Peter Fonda is 70. Comedian Aziz Ansari is 26. Actress Emily Blunt is turning 26. And Marc Price, the actor who played "Skippy" on Family Ties is 41 today.
• The government is in talks with Citigroup to raise its stake in the beleaguered bank to between 25 and 40 percent. [WSJ, DB]
• Federal regulators plan to review the financial condition of 20 banks this week as part of a round of "stress tests." [NYT, BN]
• Regulators have seized Allen Stanford's companies in Antigua and Barbuda; Stanford has also surrendered his passport to U.S. authorities. [Reuters]
• Shares in UBS have fallen to an all-time low as the bank continues to reel from allegations of tax fraud. [Reuters, DB]
• Even Dubai needs a bailout these days: The UAE said yesterday it will give the once-highflying emirate $10 billion. [WSJ]
• Steve Feinberg's Cerberus is closing down its Hong Kong office. [FT]
• Hedge funder Richard Perry is cutting fees to keep investors happy. [WSJ]
• The SEC is now in hot water over its handling of insider-trading accusations involving former executives at Lehman Brothers. [NYT]
• Ralph Lauren closed out Fashion Week with a predictably opulent show. Anna Wintour turned up with Morley Safer in tow since 60 Minutes is filming a segment on the Vogue editrix. Blake Lively, however, did not appear all that interested in the conversation. [NYT, WWD, FWD, Racked]
• David Lauren appeared at Ralph's show with his leg in a cast. "He just sort of stepped off an uneven sidewalk wrong," explained Lauren Bush. [NYM]
• In the end, good design won out this week, says Cathy Horyn. [NYT]
• Hamish Bowles says Marc Jacobs' and Alexander Wang's shows were "two bright spots in his week." Also: He could really use a nap. [NYO]
• Did you feel the depression this week? "Serotonin levels are down." [NYT]
• A bit of advice from Barneys' Julie Gilhart: "Bet on leggings." [NYM]
• Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland will handle the hosting duties on the new Bravo series, The Fashion Show. Fern Mallis will serve as judge. Yay. [Variety]
• Karl Lagerfeld knows what people want: Behold the Chanel Segway. [Pipeline]
• London Fashion Week started today. Enjoy! [Vogue UK]
It seems lots of laid-off bankers are interested in dressing up as clowns and entertaining small children at their birthday parties. At least that's what Gary Pincus, the owner of a company called Send In the Clowns Entertainment, tells the Times: "We get a lot of calls from Wall Street guys who are looking to work with us. They want to change their careers. I told them to call me when our season gets going in March." Mark your calendars! [NYT]
• The renovation of the Old Homestead steakhouse is almost complete. The private party space will be filled with works by Julian Schnabel. [Eater, TONY]
• Via Quadronno may be opening a Tribeca location. [Zagat]
• Tenjune owners Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm, along with real estate developer mogul Michael Hirtenstein, are taking over the old Lotus space. [P6]
• at65 cafe, the new restaurant in Alice Tully Hall, opens on Sunday. [Eater]
• Suba's last day in business is February 28th. [GS]
• Some advice on how to buy decent wine on a budget. [WSJ]
20 Pine isn't the only condo disaster unfolding downtown. Things are even worse at Rector Place, the 304-unit building that is not only heading into foreclosure now that developer Yair Levy has defaulted on his mortgage, but is also facing an shut-off of heat and electricity. The Real Deal has the latest dose of bad news: Fifty buyers in the Battery Park City building now allege Levy has been using it to house hotel guests and college kids visiting from abroad. [The Real Deal]
Magnus Berger and Tenzin Wild's The Last Magazine threw a party last night to celebrate its second issue and the end of Fashion Week. Guests included Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Richard Chai, Michael Stipe, Gabi Asfour, Byrdie Bell, Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld, Zoe Kravitz, Daisy Lowe, Stavros Niarchos, Natasha Poly, Derek Blasberg, Julia Stegner, designer Robert Geller, PC Valmorbida, Justin Portman, and Jamie Burke. [PMc, Wireimage, GoaG, SF]
The Orlando Sentinel reports that as late as last week, Merrill Lynch was still sending employees down to the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, supposedly to take part in "training events." We're going to go ahead and assume this news won't win Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis any points with Andrew Cuomo, who's already investigating the $4 billion in bonuses paid to Merrill employees just days before completing its sale to BofA. [Orlando Sentinel via Clusterstock]
A few months ago, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter announced that he planned to dial down the magazine's legendarily lavish, celeb-studded Oscar party for 2009. "The party will be a much more intimate affair than in years past; we're going to scale back the guest list considerably," Carter proclaimed, adding that it would be "a cozier, more understated event," and would have "familiar decor," since the magazine would be "recycling" many of the "elements of years past." Carter was certainly communicating the right message given the gloomy economy. But we hear Graydon's claims of recessionary modesty have been greatly exaggerated.
Rachel Bilson shopping on the Lower East Side ... Kate Beckinsale talking to David Spade outside her hotel ... Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen shopping at Barneys ... Katie Holmes carrying coffee on a walk downtown ... William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman walking on Madison after leaving lunch at Nello's ... Kirsten Dunst hailing a cab ... Justin Timberlake leaving an office building ... Nicole Richie carrying her baby Harlow around Chelsea Piers ... Claire Danes holding hands with Selma Blair on Bank Street ... Agyness Deyn walking with a friend downtown ... Angelina Jolie waving to photographers outside an apartment building ... Paris Hilton going to dinner at La Esquina ... and Ally and Tommy Hilfiger leaving the Waverly Inn.
Olivia Palermo turned up a few minutes late to the Mulberry show at Soho House the other day and missed the first few minutes of the presentation. But the company quickly came up with a solution! "The young star was able to get her own private viewing of the new collection. According to an insider, 'she was so gracious and happy that she could catch the full show.'" We never thought we'd see Palermo's name in such close proximity to the words "gracious" and "happy," but there's a first for everything. [InTouch]
• Project Runway filmed its season finale under the tent in Bryant Park today. When—and if—you'll ever get to see it remains up in the air. [NYT]
• It's predicted the broadcast of the Academy Awards on Sunday will be among the lowest-rated Oscars on record. [AdAge]
• The Post has apologized for its chimp cartoon the other day. [E&P]
• The New York Times Co. has slashed its dividend to zero. [NYP]
• New York and AMI are joining Hachette Filipacchi and dropping out of the Magazine Publishers of America. [NYP]
Business is booming for shoe repairers and tailors as cash-strapped customers "shop in their closets" and get stuff fixed and altered instead of buying new. "I've never seen it like this," says one shoe repairman, "it's wonderful." Cobblers esteemed, bankers demeaned—it's like biblical times all over again. [Time]
