It may be cold and dreary today, but it's all warm and fuzzy inside the Plaza! Okay, maybe not, but Russian financier Andrei Vavilov and El-Ad Properties have settled their respective lawsuits. (Vavilov, as you may recall, paid $53.5 million for a triplex in the building and then filed suit to get his $10.7 million deposit back; El-Ad countersued shortly thereafter.) Terms of the settlement are confidential, but Vavilov's lawyer says his client is "very pleased with the outcome." Nice to hear someone has something to be happy about today! [City Room]

• Fourth-quarter profits at the New York Times Co. were down nearly 50 percent compared to a year ago; the company also announced that it has retained Goldman Sachs to sell its 17 percent stake in the Red Sox. [NYT]
• More on Condé Nast's decision to close Domino. [NYT]
• Because there isn't enough choice with the 364 different iterations of HBO you already have, another premium cable channel is headed your way. [WSJ]
• How al-Arabiya got the first post-inauguration interview with Obama. [Time]
• Hurry up! There are only two spots left for the Super Bowl on Sunday. You can make the $2.4 million check payable to NBC. [THR]

Armin Amiri's Socialista was shuttered last month, the result of a crackdown by the Department of Health, a hang-up over the club's liquor license, and, according to Amiri, a lack of enthusiasm on the part of his investors, who include Harvey Weinstein and Sting. The good news? Socialista's closing will give Amiri more time to focus on his acting career! He says he's already landed a part in a new movie called The Imperialists Are Still Alive. Given the amount of money that was invested in Socialista and eventually lost, we're going to go ahead and assume The Weinstein Company won't be producing. [NYO]

One place you may not want to stick your parents on their next trip to town: The Hotel Carter off Times Square, which TripAdvisor.com has named the dirtiest hotel in America for the third time in the last four years. What did the hotel do to earn the distinction? The leaking ceiling, stained sheets, and bedbugs didn't earn it any points. Then there was that time a couple of years ago when a housekeeper found a woman's corpse stuffed under a bed. But who cares about an occasional dead body when the rooms there are only $130 a night? [NYDN, TripAdvisor]

Citigroup created a storm of controversy earlier this week when it was revealed that the ailing bank planned to go ahead with the purchase of a $50 million corporate jet. It looks like the public reaction—which included a condemnation from President Obama and members of Congress—and the bank's decision to abandon the deal are being heard loud and clear across corporate America. We can report that Starbucks, which faced harsh criticism two weeks ago after it was revealed that the coffee giant had purchased a $45 million Gulfstream 550, is now looking to sell the plane, less than a month after taking delivery of the aircraft.

Casting even more doubt on whether Nicole Kidman actually incubated her baby for nine months, doctors in Australia are warning that Botox can cause birth defects after it emerged that the mother of a child born deaf and blind had used Dysport, a Botox competitor also made of botulinum toxin, in her first month of pregnancy. Okay, so choosing between a smooth forehead and the joy of bringing new life into the world is a tough decision, but no one ever said being a woman was easy. Now, who's going to break the news to Mary Rambin? [SMH]

WWD reports that Condé Nast has decided to shut down the shelter title Domino. The staff was informed of the news this morning. [WWD]

The coolest person to be friends with right now? Michelle Obama, of course. But unless you attended Harvard Law with Michelle or Oprah intervenes on your behalf, it's unlikely you're going to suddenly strike up a friendship with the First Lady. Allow us to present an alternative: Call up Sheena Harrell. She's a part-time Michelle Obama lookalike and if you get Sheena to show up to a party, your guests will think you're much more important than you really are. Plus she also happens to be a Christian minister and motivational speaker, and while her religious faith may prevent her from becoming the life of the party—and may make her a less-than-ideal fit for a Bar Mitzvah—her motivational skills should be useful if you're trying to get people to participate in a silent auction. Not planning an event but still want to lead people into thinking you're tight with the White House? Ask Sheena to be your friend on Facebook.

The women who bravely gave up their anonymity to appear in today's Times story about the "support group" they belong to, Dating a Banker Anonymous? Presumably they did so knowing that they would catch some flak from ignorant people who just don't appreciate the unique trauma of having "your monthly Bergdorf's allowance" halved, and should be applauded all the more for that. After all, have you walked in their $450 shoes from last season?

• Al De Molina, the chief executive of GMAC Financial Services, and his wife Donna, have sold their three-bedroom pied-à-terre at 110 Central Park South for $4.5 million. They paid $4.295 million for the apartment in June 2007. [NYO]
• Former Con Ed CFO Joan Freilich and her husband Sanford, an investment analyst, have paid $4.65 million for a three-bedroom apartment at 111 West 67th Street. [Cityfile]
• Alvin Rosenthal, brother of the late Leona Helmsley, and his wife Susan, paid $1.995 million for a two-bedroom apartment at 1025 Fifth Avenue. [NYO]
• The 6,250-square-foot townhouse at 24 West 11th Street, which was purchased by developer Aberdeen Townhomes for under $7 million in 2007 and subjected to a spectacular renovation before hitting the market in September 2008 for $17.5 million, has undergone a price cut. It's now on the market for $14.95 million. [Cityfile, PDE]

Have you heard what's happened to the Beatrice? They're, like, letting anyone inside these days. C-list celebs! Girls dressed in H&M and Forever 21! Sleazy guys! Even autograph-seekers! This recession really is ruining everything! [NYO]

Hope you didn't rent an apartment on the Upper West Side using a broker from Citi Habitats. Thousands of pages of bank statements, credit reports, tax returns and driver's licenses were discovered along Columbus Avenue afternoon yesterday, just waiting to be picked up by would-be identity thieves (and Eyewitness News reporter NJ Burkett, of course). Citi Habitats says the document dump occurred "during a refurbishing" of the company's offices at 465 Columbus Avenue. Feel free to recycle that excuse when your bank calls to inquire about the 27 flat-screen TVs purchased in your name at the Best Buy in Paramus. [ABC7 via TRD]

Bon anniversaire, monsieur le président! France's Nicolas Sarkozy turns 54 today. The most popular man at the New York Times, Mexican billionaire—and NYT investor—Carlos Slim Helú, is 69. Elijah Wood is 28. Actor Alan Alda is 73. Comedian Mo Rocca is turning 40. Nick Carter is turning 29. Sarah McLachlan is 41. Joey Fatone is 32. The rapper Rakim is 41. And power-hungry, homophobic pastor Rick Warren is celebrating 55 years on God's green earth today.

Ken Sunshine sure isn't having a good week. The celebrity publicist famous for working with A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake has been helping former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain defend himself this week. Sunshine's work on Thain's behalf hasn't gone so well, of course: Thain had trouble mustering much of a defense during his chat on Monday with Maria Bartiromo, and the CNBC hostess clearly avoided holding Thain's feet to the fire. You'd think Sunshine could have arranged for things to go down a bit more smoothly! It turns out that Maria is a Sunshine client, too, and he was the one who set up the big "exclusive." [WSJ, Page Six]

• Tory Burch appears to have lost her shot at winning the title of Mom of the Year: On a flight from Miami to NYC, the designer/society staple was spotted lounging in first class while her kids and nanny had to make do with coach. [P6]
• Olivia Palermo still seems to think her gig on MTV's The City is going to help her become a "serious actress," poor thing. [P6]
• Tom Cruise was photographed touching Katie Holmes' stomach, so obviously she must be pregnant, no? [OK!]
• Paris Hilton is in London this week. And she's providing lots of entertainment to the British public. She's already announced that she has no plans to choose Amy Winehouse as her new BFF, she doesn't know who the country's prime minister is, and she isn't planning to date Prince Harry out of "respect" for Chelsy Davy. [TS, DM, Hello]

• Wells Fargo reported a $2.55 billion loss for the fourth quarter; it also said recently acquired Wachovia lost $11 billion during the period. [BN, WSJ]
• Steve Schwarzman says it's a "wonderful time" for the industry, despite the fact his net worth has dropped by $7 billion in recent months. [BN]
• Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed former Merrill chief John Thain. [WSJ]
• Wall Street bonuses dropped 44% in 2008. [BN]
• Bank of America's board of directors is now feeling the heat. [NYT]
• It was Tim Geithner who convinced Citi to scrap plans to buy a new jet. [FT]
• Lunch with T. Boone Pickens: now up for auction on Ebay. [DB]

Marisa Noel Brown, the daughter of disgraced hedge funder Walter Noel, and her husband, Matt, may be looking to extricate themselves from their lavish Upper East Side townhouse. Marisa and Matt (who worked for his father-in-law's Fairfield Greenwich Group before Bernie Madoff came along) purchased the home at 12 East 78th Street for $13.5 million in 2008. They took out a hefy $9 million mortgage to do it, and have since spent millions more renovating the townhouse with its "pale gleaming Indiana limestone" facade. (The inside now has much more "open space" and a "lot of light.")

What has Candace Bushnell been up to this week? So glad you asked! The Sex and the City creator was in Palm Beach on Tuesday to speak about orgasms at the "It's A Bling Thing" luncheon at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. (Bushnell says she's not sure she's ever had one, in case you were curious.) Want to have Candace appear at one of your charity events to talk about her vagina for an hour? Keep in mind that you may be asked to fork over a $15,000 speaking fee. [Page2Live]

• Copies of Michelle Obama's Jason Wu-designed inaugural dress are on the way. Serial knockoff artist Allen Schwartz says the $300-350 gowns will be in stores by March/April, just in time for prom and bridesmaid season, naturally. [USA Today]
• Alexander Wang is launching a men's collection. [SF]
• Michael Kors has a lawsuit on his hands. [LAT]
• Target is cutting 600 jobs. [WWD]
• Did the Times out Jason Wu last week? [NYM]
• Fashion feud of the day: Anna Wintour and Sienna Miller. [SL]
• Brooke Shields has signed on to be a spokesperson for Coppertone. [SW]
• Surgery to correct "moobs," or man boobs, is now the most popular plastic surgery procedure for men in the UK. And now you know what you get your chubby husband for his birthday. [DM]

We never really considered that John Thain and Jocelyne Wildenstein had much in common. One's a former Wall Street star who has seen his career accomplishments overshadowed by lousy decisions during the financial crisis. The other is a woman who spends her days visiting plastic surgeons and spreading cream across her freaky, cat-like face. But a reader sent us this picture with the title "one and the same," and we do see a bit of a resemblance, strangely. Maybe it's just because they're both shining examples of excess? Who knows. But you can click on the photo above to see close-ups of the two and decide for yourself.