Not only is John Thain out of a job, he's $1.2 million poorer, too. The former Merrill Lynch CEO has agreed to reimburse the company for the extensive renovations to his office suite, which included the purchase of a $87,000 area rug and $35,000 toilet. In his own defense, though, he'd like to point out that the renovations didn't only involve his own office: two conference rooms and a reception area were spiffied up, too. [Dealbook]
How fabulous for Lipstick Jungle: It's all over the news for a reason other than its disappointing ratings and impending death, namely that it's been a victim of a heinous crime. Stage manager Arthur Moreira, perhaps hoping to put some money aside in expectation of losing his job, filched a bunch of clothes and accessories worth $29,555 from the show's wardrobe and put them on Ebay. His cunning plan was foiled when agents for Sylvia Toledano, the designer of one of those hideous Swarovski crystal-adorned minaudieres, saw the purse for sale online. Moreira was arrested on Friday in a "sting operation," and has been charged with 13 counts of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and petty larceny. If only Lipstick's plotlines had been half as interesting!
• It looks like Gwyneth Paltrow's Amagansett property is about to get a bit bigger. A trust in her late father's name paid $2.8 million last month for 2.32 acres of land that just so happens to be adjacent to properties already owned by Gwyneth and her mom, Blythe Danner. [Newsday]
• Apollo Real Estate partner Lee Neibart, who paid $7 million for a 16th-floor condo at 15 CPW earlier this month, has already re-listed the three-bedroom pad. It's now on the market for $8.2 million. [Cityfile, BHS]
• The 13-bedroom, Georgian-style mansion at 152-156 East 81st Street, which was listed for $45 million in October, is now available at a discount. The 12,000-square-foot manse is now a mere $42 million. [Cityfile, Sotheby's]
The Daily News reports that Italian investment group that acquired the Flatiron building is now planning to turn the property into a "world-class hotel." You won't be able to book a room for your out-of-town relatives any time soon, though: The company says the hotel won't open until the building's remaining tenants are bought out, a process that could take up to ten years. [NYDN]
Denise Rich turns 65 today, so if you see the socialite on line to apply for social security benefits, now you know why. Others celebrating: Ellen DeGeneres is 51. Socialite and real estate broker Serena Boardman is turning 39. Nets guard Vince Carter is 32. Eddie Van Halen is turning 54. Model Frankie Rayder is 35. Actress Sara Rue is turning 30. William Morris agent Suzanne Gluck turns 49. Rabbi Marc Schneier is 50. And retired Rangers star Wayne Gretzky is turning 48 today.
No one has been an Internet microcelebrity longer than Hilary Rowland, who began her Web career in 1995. But her hunger for attention could doom an April ski party for startup founders. Oh no!
• Why didn't Anderson Cooper and the "attractive Hispanic man" he flew to DC with sit next to each other on the flight? [Page Six, previously]
• Paul McCartney and girlfriend Nancy Shevell may be getting ready to marry now that Nancy's divorce has been finalized and Paul has gotten approval from daughter Stella. [NYP, NYDN]
• Someone hacked into Kanye West's MySpace and Gmail accounts. [P6]
• Prince Harry and girlfriend Chelsy Davy have split up. [People, Daily Mail]
• Execs from Amy Winehouse's record label have flown to St. Lucia to "drive some common sense" into her. Good luck! [The Sun]
• Score a small victory for John Thain: It appears Bank of America signed off on the former Merrill Lynch chief's decision to hand out $4 billion in bonuses just before the end of the year, a move partly responsible for his ouster. [FT, CS]
• Steel yourself for an ugly week ahead as corporate earnings come in. [CNN]
• ING has announced plans to cut 7,000 jobs at the bank. [NYT]
• Several hedge funds made a fortune as bank stocks crashed last week. [NYP]
• Yes, the nation's banks have collected billions from the government. No, they haven't started lending again. [WSJ]
• A sign of life on Wall Street: Pfizer agreed to pay $68 billion to acquire Wyeth, making it the largest pharmaceutical deal in nearly a decade. [BN, WSJ]
• More bad news: Caterpillar is cutting 20,000 jobs; Home Depot is slashing 7,000; and Sprint Nextel is laying off 8,000 people. [WSJ, CNN, BN]
Ty, Inc. likely hoped controversy would stoke sales of its Sasha and Malia dolls, preposterously claimed unrelated to the president's daughters. But the company overshot: you do not cross the First Lady.
CEO Ann Moore: "You do layoffs, and I don't think you're ever done." Also, "magazine" is kind of a dirty word around the executive office:
Now that American Muslims have been thoroughly demonized in the last presidential election, Pope Benedict XVI seems keen to open another religious rift, between Catholics and Jews.
Combine teen sex, naked pictures, technology and crime, and you've got a hot story. Label it "sexting," and no media outlet will be able to resist for long.
Jakob Lodwick became a millionaire brokering hipster attention on video-sharing site Vimeo. Now, years later, the former dealer can't stop using, and it seems to be driving him crazy.
Sorry, ladies: We're told Jon Favreau, Barack Obama's 27-year-old single speechwriter, now has a girlfriend. With ample clearance.
In your special weekend media column (whoa!): Traders die, generals lie, and the media influence of international oligarchs multiplies:
