It's going to take more than a major economic crisis to keep women from their Botox appointments, say dermatologists who have seen absolutely no slowdown in business. The same goes for high-end skincare products, which have witnessed an increase in sales compared to the same time period last year. How could this be possible, you ask? "Women have a basic belief that they save on the things they have to buy in order to spend on the things they want to buy," opines an ad exec who works on beauty accounts. "It's like men and booze." And even easier to conceal: Whereas it's obvious what a man's been spending his money on when he arrives home slurring and smelling like a bar, a woman might have thousands of dollars worth of injections but no one has to know. "Most husbands," says plastic surgeon Robert Guida, "don't pay attention to what their wives look like."

Hollywood gossipmonger Nikke Finke hasn't wasted any time weighing in on Tina Brown's new Barry Diller-back website, The Daily Beast. Her one-sentence assessment? "It sucks." [Deadline Hollywood]

Citigroup's lawsuit against Wachovia and Wells Fargo is now public: Citi is asking for a whopping $60 billion (including $20 billion in compensatory damages and $40 billion in punitive damages) for breach of contract and tortious interference. Of course, the suit may be moot if the Fed brokers a deal between the three banks, as it has been suggesting. But if you're bored today and you're not interested in looking through Sarah Palin's tax returns (or you're interested to see what you get when you hire 80 lawyers to work round the clock for an entire weekend), the lawsuit is after the jump.

Sarah Palin's tax returns are online. The Alaska governor and her husband reported $166,000 in income last year, including $17,000 in prize money which Todd Palin earned racing snowmobiles. [Slate]

So what are the biggest differences between Stay, Vikram Chatwal's newly-opened hotel in Times Square, and the old Quality Inn it replaced? Not many, apparently! Early reviews for Chatwal's new property aren't all that positive, which may be because Chatwal's renovations of the old Quality Inn stopped on the first floor. Only the lobby and the restaurant were thoroughly renovated, while the rooms just got a quick change of decor, like new "curtains and stuff," according to a front desk clerk. That's certainly one way to save costs in this economy.

Good news for anyone with father issues or just a general disdain for Michael Lohan: America's worst dad is putting himself on the auction block to fight the highest bidder in a charity boxing match. The bidding starts at $5,000 and interested applicants have to meet certain height, age and weight requirements. (There's also an interview involved.) But we doubt Michael will have a hard time finding people willing to pummel him, especially if Samantha Ronson is allowed to compete. [NYO]

♦ Not surprisingly, ratings for SNL this past weekend exceeded expectations. Some 10 million people tuned in for Tina Fey's Sarah Palin skit. [WSJ, THR]
♦ Michelle Obama will appear on Jon Stewart on Wednesday. [HuffPo]
♦ Beverly Hills Chihuahua took the top spot at the weekend box office with $29 million. [Mojo]
♦ Joe Hagan takes a long look at the Times-owning Sulzbergers in this week's issue of New York. [NYM]
♦ AdAge has released its list of the 10 best magazines. [AdAge]
♦ Campbell Brown is working out nicely for CNN: Ratings are substantially higher than they were for Paula Zahn and she's beating Keith Olbermann most nights, too. [NYT]
♦ Ratings for Desperate Housewives continue to decline. [TVDecoder]
♦ HBO's Entourage has been renewed for a sixth season. [THR]

For decades, women have battled to win equal pay for equal work, and social scientists have endlessly tried to account for why, despite the great strides made against sexual discrimination, men still earn more. But finally, a solution is at hand. It's a little drastic, sure, but we think you'll agree it's worth considering: If you want the same wage as a man, just have gender reassignment surgery! According to a just-published study, female-to-male transexuals enjoy an immediate boost in earning power, whereas male-to-females see a dramatic plummet. Plus, think of all the money you'll save on make-up and manicures!

Lehman CEO Dick Fuld spoke before the House a few minutes ago and answered questions about the demise of his firm as well as assumed reponsibility for making mistakes that resulted in Lehman's bankruptcy. ("With the benefit of hindsight, I can now say that I and many others were wrong," said Fuld.) He also faced tough questions about his compensation package at the hands of Rep. Henry Waxman. A brief clip of the Waxman-Fuld showdown is above.

Chelsea Clinton walking in flip-flops with a cup of espresso in hand ... Penn Badgley and Ed Westwick filming scenes for Gossip Girl outside the Palace Hotel ... Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes laughing with friends in Times Square ... Tom Cruise and daughter Suri leaving their apartment ... Rachel Bilson making an in-store appearance at Macy's in Herald Square ... John Mayer leaving his apartment with a big bag ... Madonna's kids Lourdes and Rocco arriving at the Kabbalah Center ... Tim Robbins and Brian Williams outside the Letterman show ... Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel getting in an SUV after Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky's wedding at Le Cirque ... Angelina Jolie outside Lee's Art Shop on West 57th Street with her kids, and later leaving Nobu with Brad Pitt.

Something to bear in mind when you're deciding how much to spend on an engagement ring: Etiquette and tradition notwithstanding, courts usually say that the ring should go back to the buyer in the event that the wedding gets called off. Not that some people are deterred from clinging on to a valuable bauble, though, like Sharon Bush (left), W's former sister-in-law, who famously refused to return the 11-carat, $243,040 canary diamond ring that the late investor Gerald Tsai proposed to her with, even after he filed suit to get it back.

Jim Cramer turned up on the Today show this morning and dropped his usual TV persona—that of a raving maniac—to weigh in the market and offer up a little advice. So what does Jim suggest you do now that the economy is in a tailspin? "Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now, this week," he tells Ann Curry. Of course given his track record, you may want to consider doing precisely the opposite and pouring all of money in the market this afternoon. [MSNBC via Dealbreaker]

This should come in handy if you've been trying to understand how Alexis Bryan, George Gurley, Bee Shaffer and Sam Shaffer are all connected to Anna Wintour: Page Six magazine has assembled the Vogue editor's family tree. [Page Six]

Most private equity titans are sitting in their stately offices high above the city nervously eyeing the declining stock prices on their Bloomberg flat-panels on their desks. Not Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder of the Blackstone Group. Steve simply decided to skip the mess altogether and jet off to his house in St. Tropez. He isn't sitting in his beachside mansion fretting about the millions he's losing on an hourly basis either. Over the weekend he and his wife Christine were spotted at Club 55, where the couple were apparently "trying to ignore the dire economic news." Here's hoping generous helpings of tuna carpaccio and Beluga caviar helped ease the pain.

♦ Regis and Joy Philbin have put their Greenwich estate on the market for $5.4 million. They purchased the 5,919-square-foot mansion in 1992 for $2.5 million. [Big Time Listings, Sotheby's]
♦ Citigroup exec Leonard Ellis and his wife Nicole paid $6.84 million for a condo at 101 Warren Street, the Tribeca building developed by Ed Minskoff. [Cityfile]
♦ Celebrity hairstylist Serge Normant is selling his penthouse apartment at 161 West 16th Street. The 20th-floor spread, which features a wrap around terrace, is listed for $4.499 million. [Real Estalker, Sotheby's]

Elisabeth Shue celebrates her 45th birthday today. Actor Jeremy Sisto is 34. Singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet turns 44. REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin is 57. Novelist Joseph Finder is turning 50. Comedian Jeff Davis is 35. And Newsweek's Jonathan Alter is 51.

The Sopranos has been off the air for more than a year now. But that hasn't stopped HBO from squeezing every last penny out of the extraordinarily successful series. The latest marketing gambit: A line of Sopranos wines is now being introduced, with bottles running between $14.99 and $33.99. The vino will be the subject of a national media campaign timed for the holidays. Because nothing looks better on a festive Thanksgiving table than a bottle of wine featuring a bloody handgun. [Luxist]

Jerry Levin will go down in history as the man who presided over one of the most misguided mergers in history, the combination of Time Warner and AOL in 2000. Levin left the company in 2002 and later settled in California with his second wife, Laurie Ann, the founder of Moonview Sanctuary, a center that specializes in treating people with trauma, addiction and chronic pain. The former Time Warner chief eventually joined the center's faculty and helped Moonview branch out with courses designed to help executives improve their "focus and performance." Well, it seems Levin is branching out again. And just in time!

♦ Rachael Ray's reps are denying reports that Ray has throat cancer, although they do admit she's having surgery for a cyst on her vocal cord in December. [People]
♦ It was a busy weekend for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. With hoards of paparazzi in tow, the couple made an appearance at the premiere of Changeling, where Angelina showed off her newest tattoos (the coordinates of the places where each of her kids was born) and told reporters that she and Brad are planning to have even more kids. [NYDN, OK!, previously]
♦ Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky tied the knot on Friday night at Le Cirque with Billy Joel performing in front of guests like Denise Rich, Joan Rivers, Barbara Walters, and Donald Trump. [NYP, Us]
♦ A fire at Geraldo Rivera's home on Friday didn't singe his mustache, but it did damage the two 1954 Jaguars in his garage. [P6]

♦ The legal battle between Citigroup and Wells Fargo raged over the weekend as both banks sought the upper hand in their bid for Wachovia. A Fed-led settlement which would divide Wachovia's assets may put an end to the dispute. [NYT, WSJ]
♦ Bank of America has agreed to settle government claims related to Countrywide Financial. The total price tag could exceed $8.6 billion. [WSJ]
♦ Dick Fuld will make his first appearance in weeks when he speaks before a House committee today. [NYP]
♦ Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire ImClone Systems for $6.5 billion. [Reuters]