The Times listed off some of the perks of working on Michael Bloomberg's campaign today, one of which is the opportunity to "hopscotch around the world on two Falcon 900 private jets, where wine and sushi are served." Here's one of the planes where the mayor nibbles on spicy tuna rolls and sips Château Margaux. After the jump: Air Bloomberg on the tarmac in the Bahamas two days after Christmas.
It's been nearly a month since it was reported that Tinsley Mortimer and her husband, Topper, were divorcing. And Tinsley is still missing in action! She skipped the screening of Our City Dreams this week, which was surprising considering it was sponsored by Dior Beauty. (Tinsley, of course, is a Dior Beauty Ambassador). She hasn't been photographed once in 2009; in fact, it's been 52 days since a photo of her has popped up on PatrickMcMullan.com. But she should know that she's very much missed. Indeed one fan of the blonde socialite who commented earlier seems downright despondent about her absence from the social scene:
Recognize these spotlight-loving criminal defense attorneys? Their identities (and some of their more notable clients) after the jump.
As far as media memes go, golddiggers are now like Somali pirates: the not-so-innocent repository for all our fears, fantasies, and ill-informed speculation. There they were, a low-profile subsection of society, going about their business of spending men's money, making themselves look pretty, and disdaining feminism. Now, not only are wealthy suitors in much shorter supply, but suddenly everyone has an opinion on the whys and wherefores of choosing to date rich.
• News Corp. posted a $6.4 billion loss for the quarter after writing down half the value of Dow Jones, which it purchased in 2007. [Reuters, BN]
• The Wall Street Journal is laying off 14 people and will also be closing the newspaper's fashion bureau. [E&P, FWD]
• Rupert Murdoch says he has no plans to buy the Times. [E&P]
• The Grammys are on Sunday; here's what you can expect to see. [CNN]
• Chesley Sullenberger will be on 60 Minutes this weekend. [NYP]
• Congrats, ESPN! Sarah Palin says she named her baby in honor of the cable network's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut. [HuffPo]
If you're a woman between 40 and 60 and you were recently laid off from your finance job, perhaps you'd like to put on a bikini and show the world that you still have a hot bod? More magazine is looking for former Wall Street women to appear in its annual "Real-Women" swimsuit feature. Exhibitionist tendencies a plus! [More.com]
Yes, you really are a bit of masochist for living in New York. According to a new study, a New Yorker would have to make $123,322 a year to have the same standard of living as someone making $50,000 in Houston. Also? A $60,000 salary in Manhattan is equivalent to someone making $26,092 in Atlanta. [NYDN]
Were you searching for a topographical representation of Bernie Madoff's victims? Your search is over. Zero Hedge took the addresses in places like Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach, geocoded them, and then imported them into a mapping application. This is another example of the recession's silver lining: When you take the brain power on Wall Street that was once focused on making money and redirect it to other projects, great things can happen. Just imagine what would happen if you took all these hedge funders and focused them on a cure for cancer! [Zero Hedge]
A terrifying cultural milestone is approaching, one that will further destroy the image of our nation's menfolk, already irrevocably sullied by Michael Phelps' bong-toking and Jeremy Piven's malingering and hairplugs: For the first time in America's history, women will outnumber men in the labor force! Since 82 percent of recent job losses effected men, statistics are likely to soon reveal that more than half the country's breadwinners are of the fairer sex.
• Brooke Astor's former duplex at 778 Park has returned to the market, two weeks after the Corcoran's Leighton Candler took down the listing. Stribling's Kirk Henckels is now offering the sprawling co-op for $29 million, which is $17 million less than it was first offered for when it hit the market last year. [Cityfile, Stribling]
• It looks like the rumor was true: Disgraced Fairfield Greenwich Group executive Charles Murphy has put his townhouse at 7 East 67th Street on the market for $37 million. Sotheby's Serena Boardman has the listing. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
• Motoatsu Sakurai, Consul General of Japan and the former CEO of Mitsubishi International Corporation, has paid $1.9 million for a 17th floor apartment at 450 East 83rd street. [Cityfile]
New York City's unofficial first lady, Diana Taylor, is celebrating her 54th birthday today. Hope Mike got you something nice! Others celebrating: Tom Brokaw is turning 69. Former Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove is 54. Henry Blodget is 43. Chef Marc Murphy is turning 40. Axl Rose is turning 47. Journalist/author Michael Pollan is 54. Natalie Cole is 59. Rich Astley is turning 43. And Zsa Zsa Gabor is 92. Weekend birthdays after the jump.
• Some 3.6 million jobs have now been lost due to the recession. [WSJ]
• BofA chief Ken Lewis purchased 200,000 shares of the bank this week in an effort to convince the world he's bullish about BofA's future. [WSJ]
• Good work, Hank. The Treasury Department overpaid by about $78 billion when it handed over all that cash to big banks last year. [Reuters]
• A hedge fund manager, a brokerage trader and a financial adviser were charged on Thursday for taking part in an insider trading scheme. [DB]
• The feds have also accused two people in the M&A groups at UBS and the Blackstone Group of handing over info to an insider trading ring. [NYP]
• Fraud investigator Harry Markopolos, who testified on Capitol Hill yesterday, says he's turned over evidence of several other big frauds to the SEC. [CNN]
• The markets have been up amid speculation the grim unemployment numbers will force Congress to pass an economic stimulus package. [BN]
Too bad you didn't go into politics. Working on Michael Bloomberg's reelection campaign may be the last cushy job in town. "Aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg hopscotch around the world on two Falcon 900 private jets, where wine and sushi are served. They stay at the Four Seasons in London (about $400 a night), the Intercontinental in Paris ($320) and the King David in Jerusalem ($345). Room service? The mayor pays for it all. Even the laundry. And invitations to dinner parties at Mr. Bloomberg's Upper East Side town house rarely disappoint: Kofi Annan and Nora Ephron are regulars." [NYT]
• Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and his new girlfriend, Helen May, first met during an Outward Bound trip to Machu Picchu in 2005, according to May's husband, Kevin Ward. "I'm just sorry my wife didn't find someone more substantial. There's way less there than meets the eye." [P6]
• Etta James says she "didn't really mean" the stuff about Beyonce; she's still "miffed" at Obama for not inviting her to the inauguration. [NYDN]
• Kelly Cutrone inked a deal with Bravo for a new reality show. [P6]
• Russell Simmons is reportedly dating model Julie Henderson. [NYDN]
• Your prayers have been answered: Hilary Duff is now designing a line of jeans. [FS]
• Estée Lauder is slashing 2,000 jobs. [WWD]
• Fortunoff has filed for bankruptcy. [WWD]
• A Q&A with Alexander McQueen. [NYM]
• Doo-Ri Chung celebrated the launch of her new line, Under.Ligne, last night. [FWD]
• Four places you can drink wine/coffee and get a haircut while you shop. [Pipeline]
• Meet the woman with the biggest breast implants in world. [NYDN]
Kellogg says it plans to drop its endorsement deal with Michael Phelps after a photo of him smoking pot was published in the News of the World last weekend. "Michael's most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg," explained a spokesperson. In other very disappointing Kellogg-related news, if you purchased Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Chocolate Chunk Cookies recently, you probably shouldn't eat them unless want to get salmonella poisoning. [AP]
• It's not all doom and gloom: Terrance Brennan (Artisanal, Picholine) and Floyd Cardoz (Tabla) both have new restaurants in the works. [GS, TONY]
• Donatella Arpaia and Michael Psilakis say they're two months away from opening Gus & Gabriel's Gastropub in the old Kefi space. [NYT]
• A list of the best Brit food in New York. Yes, such a list really exists. [MM]
• John Doherty explains why he quit as chef at the Waldorf-Astoria. [NYT]
• Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn is opening a private dining room. [GS]
• Cheapo Eight O'Clock Coffee beat out Starbucks in a CR taste test. [NYDN]
Diddy's new scent, I Am King, is now on sale, a fact you're probably aware of thanks to the silly ads featuring Diddy exiting a helicopter and waterskiing in formal wear. But if you're curious what it is that Mr. Combs put in the bottle, you're in luck! Very simply put, it's a hydrofluorocarbon gas extraction of blackcurrant mixed with key lime pie and fructose tangerine accords combined with "a tingling candied ozone" effect made up of trioxygen, then boosted slightly with Veramoss, mixed with the synthetic leather formula Suederal, and then topped off with a touch of LMR labdanum, which gives it that super-duper "dark chypre effect." Funny, that's totally what we thought Diddy's formula was, but it's nice to get official confirmation. Anyway, New York Times scent expert Chandler Burr really likes it, you'll be happy to hear: "The fresh-fruit lusciousness floods the senses, floats on the skin. Audacious. Inventive. And olfactorily impressive." [NYT]
The dumpy Hotel Pennsylvania opposite Madison Square Garden is offering a very exciting special in honor of its 90th anniversary: rooms are going for just $11 a night! The catch is that you have to be able to prove you've been married to your spouse for at least 50 years. Perhaps your impoverished grandparents visiting from out-of-town would be interested? "Just make sure to load up on the hand sanitizer and perhaps invest in one of those personal sleep sacks from the SkyMall catalog," advises HotelChatter. [NewYorkology]
