New York Public Library Lions to Become Schwarzman’s KittensFINANCE
• As Blackstone’s profit sinks 89 percent, Stephen Schwartzman gets the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street named after him. The naming rights came with a very generous $100 million donation, but we’re not sure we’re ready to go have lunch on the lovely steps of “Schwarzman.” It’ll feel like we’re an undergrad at Penn or something. [NYT]
• Wall Street says “There is a God” as its longtime persecutor, Eliot Spitzer, falls from grace. [NYT]
• Lehman Brothers, the largest underwriter of U.S. mortgage bonds, plans to lay off 5 percent of its workforce, which is about 1,400 people. Meanwhile, Bear Sterns, the second-biggest underwriter of mortgage bonds, lost more than $1.3 billion in market value yesterday as investors worried about the firm’s liquidity. [NYP, NYP]
photo op
It Came From the Steam Tunnels!
Last night’s explosion was an impressive display in itself. But equally impressive was the way it tied up seemingly the entire East Side, with trains not running and people everywhere gawking. This is our favorite picture of the gawkers — the crowd massed in front of the iconic Public Library building, all stopped and looking in the same direction. If this were a still from some fifties-era cheesy sci-fi film, that’s exactly what everyone would look like as they watched the flying saucers land.
Earlier: Grand Central Explosion Kills One, Wounds 30, Inconveniences Thousands
company town
Let Them Read BooksFINANCE
• At a New York Public Library fund-raiser held in his honor, Steve Schwarzman said the place did amazing things for “regular people.” [Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Former Bank of America CFO Alvaro de Molina is the latest big name to join Cerberus. When asked about his title, he said: “It’s Al. That’s not the way they work.” [Deal Journal/WSJ]
• A field guide to summer finance interns for creepy older guys. [Leveraged Sell-out via DealBreaker]