Galleon Group, the hedge fund founded by Raj Rajaratnam, the man at the center of the insider trading scandal that has rocked Wall Street in recent days, is shutting its doors. (Apparently, investors get a bit nervous when they see the CEO of the hedge fund they've invested in get hauled away in handcuffs and quickly ask for their money back.) Galleon is now reportedly looking to sell off the firm's assets, so if you're looking to pick up a hedge fund on the cheap, you probably should email to Raj as soon as possible. Oh, and yes, we tested out Raj's email address a few minutes ago and it still appears to be operational. So you're all set on that front. Do be sure to let us know how your negotiations go, though. [NYT]

Weep for literary culture. After Salman Rushdie's ex-girlfriend accused him of still pining for his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi in Page Six yesterday, Rushdie has responded in kind today. We are all trapped in the eighth grade, which never ends.

They call dogs man's best friend because all the gay guys love them. At least that's what this married celeb has found. Other things stars love: drugs, cheating, and getting women pregnant. Really, they're all dogs.

This year, Conde Nast hired McKinsey, folded several magazines, and instituted across-the-board budget cuts and layoffs. Clearly, the fancy days are over. Right? No, says the company. This is just a temporary blip.

Perhaps you've noticed that there are about 48 books about the financial crisis that have magically appeared on bookstore shelves in the last few weeks? (And there are a bunch more to come, don't you worry.) Naturally, you can't possibly be expected to read all of them. (Let's face it. You'll be lucky if you make it through any of them, especially since several of the tomes clock in at 500 pages or more.) Fortunately, Moe Tkacik has summed them all up in a tidy 2,200 words, which means you might just sound like you know what you're talking about the next time the financial meltdown comes up in conversation. [Daily Intel]

Uma Thurman leaving her townhouse in the West Village ... Jude Law in the East Village shopping for Halloween costumes with his kids ... Hilary Duff shooting scenes for The Business of Falling in Love on Sixth Avenue ... Rihanna leaving a recording studio ... Hugh Jackman hanging out with his wife and daughter in the West Village ... Cyndi Lauper filming scenes for Celebrity Apprentice outside Burger Heaven on Lexington Avenue ... Maria Menounos watching a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden ... Tatum O'Neal walking to the set of Sweet Lorraine ... Darryl Strawberry talking on a cell phone outside his hotel ... Ed Westwick standing outside the Empire Hotel ... Lindsay Lohan leaving a building in the Garment District ... and Sarah Jessica Parker leaving her West Village townhouse with son James en route to the airport.

Pretty blond fashion PR women can get away with anything—except being charged with surreptitiously hacking the voicemails of multiple romantic rivals in a fit of jealous insanity. That's not a good "PR Play," it turns out. Sorry, Ali Wise.

For nearly a century, Harry Winston's exquisite diamond designs have inspired the most discerning jewelry connoisseurs. From international royalty to Hollywood elite to the leaders of industry, a discerning clientele has long recognized Harry Winston as the ultimate diamond jeweler. Inspired by the glamour and style of New York, Harry Winston opened his doors in 1932, and soon transformed diamonds into art, revolutionizing modern jewelry design in the process. New generations of talented Winston designers and craftsmen continue to create infinitely beautiful jewels of unsurpassed style.

• Nearly five years after putting his New Jersey home up for sale for $30 million, Eddie Murphy has slashed $15 million off the asking price of 5-acre estate in Englewood. The 25,000-square-foot Colonial-style mansion, which features a bowling alley, theater, racquetball court, indoor pool, elevator, carriage house and recording studio, can now be yours for $14.99 million. [NYDN, Sotheby's]
• Fashion designer Adam Lippes is trying to sell his penthouse at 37 West 12th Street. According to the listing (which describes the apartment's owner as "a young rising star of NYC fashion"), the two-bedroom pad was designed by Eve-Lynn Schoenstein and David Schefer and has been featured in Elle Decor. It's currently on the market for $5.75 million. [Cityfile, Corcoran]
• More than a year after art dealer Daniel Wildenstein sold his family's mansion at 11 East 64th Street for $42.5 million, the 29-foot-wide townhouse has reportedly gone back on the market for $37 million with Carrie Chiang. [NYO]
• Michael and Amanda Salzhauer have sold their 10th floor apartment at 860 Park Avenue for $7.7 million. Michael is a principal at the real estate firm Benjamin Partners; Amanda is the daughter of Steve Roth, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, and his wife Daryl. [Cityfile]

Kim Kardashian officially turns 29 today, even though she got paid $50,000 to celebrate the big event in Las Vegas last week. Judith Sheindlin, better known as Judge Judy, turns 67. Saturday Night Live co-producer Marci Klein is turning 43. Actress Carrie Fisher is 53. Patti Davis, daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, turns 57. Jade Jagger, social scenester and daughter of Mick and Bianca, is turning 38. Former Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy is 57. Liliane Bettencourt, heir to the L'Oreal fortune and the second richest person in France, is 87. And Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu turns 60 today.

• Yesterday, Broadway actress Pia Glenn slammed Salman Rushdie, saying her ex-boyfriend was "dysfunctional" and was still obsessed with his ex-wife, Padma Lakshmi. Today, it's Rushdie's turn to hit back. Not has he "long ago turned the page and moved on" from Lakshmi, he says, he would also like you to know that Glenn is "a large, radioactive bucket of stress," "an accomplished liar," and also happens to be "broke and unemployed." So we're guessing a reconciliation is totally out of the question here? [P6]
• Expect to see an angry video by Tricia Walsh-Smith posted to YouTube any minute now. A state appeals court rejected the rage-filled divorcée's motion to undo her pre-nup to theater mogul Philip Smith yesterday. [P6]
• A California teenager has been charged with burglarizing Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge's homes and making off with $170,000. [People, NYDN]
• Is Ali Wise's PR career over now that four women have accused her of voicemail hacking? That's what the Post suggests today, with a source telling the paper that "Wise is now radioactive in the industry." Then again, if there's anything we can learn from Lizzie Grubman's not-so-pretty past, it's that people who work in PR tend to be a very forgiving bunch. [NYP]

Bernie Madoff's life behind bars sure sounds, uh, colorful. A new lawsuit against the fraudster, which includes details from a recent visit to Madoff at a federal prison in North Carolina, says that he "shares a cell with a 21-year-old inmate convicted of drug crimes" (Madoff has the lower bunk); "eats pizza cooked by an inmate convicted of child molestation"; goes "walking around the prison track at night" for exercise; and spends his free time hanging out with "former Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico and Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of spying for Israel." [NYP]

These Anchorman moments are an epidemic. WABC 7's Bill Ritter got his tongue tied up on Tuesday night's broadcast calling Bernie Kerik a "former New York City top cock." Check out the video.

A cushy country club style prison was not in the cards for Bernie Maddoff, to the delight of just about everyone who hoped his quality of life would take a major nosedive. We've got the details and it's not pretty.

Accustomed to being paid for doing absolutely nothing, reality television performance artist Heidi Montag refused to attend her own sister's birthday without compensation. What's the union rate for siblings?

A man comes within inches of getting smashed by a runaway bus. The bus left 19 cars wrecked in its path of destruction along the streets of Perm, Russia. Check out the incredible video.

A finance slave chained to their desk last week was so distraught over the poor boy-in-the-balloon-that-wasn't they went to the Bloomberg help desk. Daily Intel's Chris Rovzar, who first posted it, says it's the email-forward of choice in financial circles.

Thousands in Detroit lined up upon rumors of stimulus checks being handed out, leading Glenn Beck to compare progressives, who he blames for creating a reliance on government assistance, to "slave owners." We've got the video.

Carol Bartz has "come down with something," Yahoo's chief financial officer tells Wall Street, so the CEO was absent from a third-quarter earnings call. Whoops: Profits tripled this quarter, but Bartz's illness is a ready-made metaphor for Yahoo's falling revenue.

Are you watching Shark Tank? You should be. Ever had an idea for a business you wish someone would throw suitcases full of money at? These folks do. Let's watch together as they sink or find themselves swimming in cash.