France's First Lady Carla Bruni, who's never met a spotlight opportunity she didn't like, is eagerly joining her husband Nicolas Sarkozy in praising the Obamas. Mrs. Sarkozy said in a TV interview that she "can't wait" to meet Michelle Obama: "To see this couple go to the White House is just magnificent." The Italian-born former model/actress also told a French newspaper that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's comments about Barack Obama's "tan" made her "pleased to have become French." [People, TFP]

Just which elite private school the Obamas pick for daughters Malia and Sasha Obama has turned into "one of the most closely watched contests in Washington," according to The Atlantic. Sidwell, Georgetown Day and Maret are considered the likeliest options, and Sidwell is the frontrunner since it has a history of presidential offspring (Chelsea Clinton and Tricia Nixon) and Hunter Biden, the vice president-elect's youngest son, happens to go there. The chance they'll send them to public school? "A long-shot scenario." [Atlantic]

30 Rock's Tracy Morgan is 40 today. Mets GM Omar Minaya is 50. Nobel Prize-winning economist (and NYU professor) Robert Engle turns 66. Society staple Lauren duPont is 38. Doubleday publisher Stephen Rubin is 67, as is CUNY chancellor Matthew Goldstein. Actress Heather Matarazzo is celebrating her 26th. Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo is 39. The rapper Eve is 30. Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown is 60. Film producer Roland Emmerich turns 53. Brittany Murphy is 31. And Sinbad turns 52 today.

♦ Madonna's neighbors in her Central Park West building aren't happy that she has turned her seventh-floor apartment into a music studio. (It was originally supposed to be an office for Guy Ritchie.) Now she stays up all night blaring music and practicing for her shows. [NYDN]
♦ Alex Rodriguez is thinking of following Madonna on tour next month when she plans to make stops in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. [R&M]
♦ Is Jennifer Aniston secretly leaking pregnancy and marriage rumors about herself to the tabloids as a way to steal attention away from Brangelina? [MSNBC]
♦ Friends of Padma Lakshmi want everyone to know she is not a gold digger. She's a "hard-working, self-made woman" who just happens to only date extremely wealthy, older men. [P6]
♦ Peaches Geldof and Max Drummey's 97-day-old marriage may already be on the rocks. [The Sun]

♦ Citigroup is in talks to buy a regional bank, says the WSJ. Which bank it is they're planning to acquire isn't clear. [WSJ]
♦ The bailout of AIG that was originally going to cost $85 billion and was later revised to $123 billion? Yea, well, now it's $150 billion. [WSJ, Bloomberg]
♦ October was another down month for hedge funds: Since the beginning of September, the average fund has shed 10 percent. [NYP, Bloomberg]
♦ The man who may go down as the hedge fund industry's big winner in 2009: Jim Chanos, whose Ursus fund is up 50 percent so far this year. [NYP]
♦ Asian stocks rallied on Monday after China announced a $586 billion bailout package. [Bloomberg]

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♦ For his spring campaigns, Marc Jacobs is eschewing celeb-muses like Meg White and Posh Spice: He's cast Israeli model Raquel Zimmerman for his Collection ads, British model Daisy Lowe for Marc by Marc, and Ryan McGinley for men's. [WWD]
♦ Are you a pregnant Project Runway fan? Then march (or waddle) over to the West Village tomorrow to meet Christian Siriano when he unveils his maternity line, Fierce Mamas. [The Cut]
♦ Plans for a Barneys store in the meatpacking district are definitely underway. The most likely location is on West 13th Street. [The Daily]

♦ A peek inside Elsa, which will be the only bar in the East Village to serve beer out of an antique sewing machine (as well as sell bespoke suits) when it finally opens next Tuesday. [Eater]
♦ Tickets are still available for this year's Chocolate Show on Pier 94, which started today and continues through the weekend. [GS, Metromix]
♦ Grub Street has put together a guide to restaurant recession specials across the city. [GS]

You may not be able to sneer at Rush Limbaugh as he makes his way down Madison Avenue for much longer. He said on his radio show this week that he's considering selling the Upper East Side apartment he purchased in 1994, since "it may now become stupid to own any property there." Condolences to the pharmacy department at Zitomer's on the loss of a dedicated customer! [NYO]

It's getting rough out there for retailers. Sales at Neiman Marcus plunged 28 percent in October, and business was down 17 percent at Saks compared to the same month a year ago. This explains why if you've gone shopping recently, you may have noticed the salespeople get a little aggressive when you walked in the front door. You thought those "Can I help you with that?" interruptions were bad before? Just wait until the saleswoman at the overpriced Nolita boutique is having trouble paying the rent on her Williamsburg apartment because she's not collecting any commissions.

Remember that pretty, red dress that the adorable Malia Obama wore on Tuesday night when her dad took the podium in front of 125,000 adoring supporters in Chicago's Grant Park? It didn't take long for the Oakland-based company that manufactured the dress, Biscotti Inc., to be besieged with callers interested in purchasing the red silk, bubble-hemmed number that retails for $110. Unfortunately, the company didn't have any more in stock and said they didn't even have the fabric in stock to make more. They've since figured out a solution. They located just enough fabric to make 200 more of them, says Biscotti's co-owner Bernadette Reiss, and they company will have them completed in three weeks, just in time for the holidays. How can she guarantee such a quick turnaround? They'll be made in Vietnam, naturally. [WSJ]

Let the procession of post-election Obama books begin! Michael Calderone of Politico.com reports that Newsweek reporter (and frequent Keith Olbermann guest) Richard Wolffe just signed a deal with the Random House imprint Crown. The book, Renegade: The Education of Barack Obama, is scheduled to be published in June 2009. [Politico]

Yesterday we shared with you New York City's most expensive apartment rentals, just in case you haven't been killed in the market these past few weeks (or maybe you won the Powerball a few weeks ago?) and have been looking to upgrade to a fantastic apartment without making a long-term commitment. Today we've rounded up the 20 most expensive apartments for sale in the city. Pick up an overpriced co-op on Park Avenue for $30 million and you'll sleep better at night knowing you played a key role in boosting the city's ailing economy! (At the very least, you'll know you paid for a few years of private school for some lucky real estate broker.) One note: This list only includes "official" listings, which means apartments that are only rumored to be for sale (such as Richard Ullman's $75 million penthouse at 15 CPW or Courtney Sale Ross' duplex at 740 Park) aren't represented. But there's plenty of overpriced property to choose from regardless!

Here's an ominous sign: Google is now apparently looking to sublet space in its New York offices at 111 Eighth Avenue. $80 a square foot! Prices negotiable! Contact CB Richard Ellis for more! [SAI]

A group of Oxford researchers have compiled a list of the "Top 10 Most Irritating Expressions in the English language." Awesome! Now we know what we need to stop saying so we don't alienate everyone we know. The number one offender? "At the end of the day." Click through for the rest of the list is below, although we must admit we were a little disappointed to see that "for all intents and purposes" didn't make the cut.

It's a Zen-worthy philosophical riddle: If all the boldfaced names who turn up to a store opening deny that they themselves would dream of wearing the clothes, does that neutralize the PR value of their presence? At the launch of Juicy Couture's Fifth Avenue flagship last night, the guest list was a publicist's wet dream—or would have been—if The Transom hadn't asked people what they thought of the label.

It couldn't be any more fitting news considering News Corp. announced profits plunged 30 percent last quarter and the company is now contemplating a massive round of job cuts: Tom Stooddart's pic of a depressed-looking Rupert Murdoch for Time nabbed fourth place in the prestigious National Portrait Gallery's annual photo contest. [Animal NY]

♦ More pain at 4 Times Square: Condé Nast is shuttering Elegant Bride. [Jossip]
♦ Despite the fact Portfolio fired 32 staffers last week, a spokesperson confirms the mag is going ahead with a soirée at the 21 Club later this month. [Page Six]
♦ Not surprisingly, Fox News has landed the first post-election interview with Sarah Palin. Greta van Susteren will sit down with her in Alaska over the weekend; the interview will be broadcast on Monday. [THR]

With banks refusing to lend money to nearly everyone, it's no surprise to hear that business is booming at pawn shops. "In many cases now, we're not just the bank of last resort," says Jordan Tabach-Bank, the CEO of a pawn shop in Beverly Hills. "We're the bank of only resort.'' Jewelry and Rolexes, art works by Picasso, Warhol and Basquiat, and Ferraris and Porsches are being dropped off by those desperate for quick cash to pay for mortgages, debts, health care, and plastic surgery. One of the enticements of bartering your worldly goods? Discretion: "We're like bartenders,'' says Tabach-Bank. "People spill their guts to us even if it's embarrassing to them. They know we won't talk.''

Mary-Kate Olsen smoking during lunch with boyfriend Nate Lowman ... Jeremy Piven hailing a cab outside Balthazar ... Robin Williams leaving his hotel ... Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss crossing the street with a Starbucks cup in hand ... Brad Pitt getting in an SUV outside the Michael Kors boutique on Prince Street and later stopping off at Mercer Kitchen ... Kim Raver, Brooke Shields, and Lindsay Price filming scenes for Lipstick Jungle ... Katie Holmes walking to a yoga class and later carrying Suri into their East Village apartment building ... and Ed Westwick walking on the Upper East Side.