• Famed hedge fund manager Art Samberg has announced plans to shut down his firm, Pequot Capital Management, after an investigation into possible insider trading at the firm was revived. [NYT, WSJ]
• One person sweating bullets about Pequot's collapse: Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, who was tied to the mess when it first surfaced in '06. [BI]
• Citigroup is negotiating with the SEC to settle claims it misled investors by not disclosing the extent of its troubled portfolio of mortgage assets. [WSJ]
• Top Obama officials are pushing to create a "banking czar" job. [WSJ]
• The government program designed to help banks get rid of the bad loans on their books "is stalling and may soon be put on hold." [WSJ]

• "There's only so much due diligence you can do," hedge fund manager Arki Busson explained to Bloomberg News when asked how he managed to get suckered by Bernie Madoff. This is especially true when you spend most of your time chasing models and actresses. [BN]
• Bernie Madoff's lawyer says his client will agree to "tightened bail requirements" to stay out of jail. Maybe he could be confined to his bathroom instead of his entire apartment? [BN]
• Bank of America started handing out pink slips yesterday as it plans to cut 35,000 employees following the merger of BofA and Merrill Lynch. [NYP]
• Bill Ackman's Pershing Square lost 12 percent in 2008. [BN]
• The SEC has reopened its investigation into insider trading allegations at Art Samberg's Pequot Capital. [WSJ]
• Wilbur Ross would like to buy a bank if you've got one to sell him. [CNN]

Last night was the social event of the year for the finance community: It was the annual gala of the Robin Hood Foundation, the poverty-battling non-profit backed by banking heavyweights. The usual suspects from the worlds of hedge funds and private equity were in attendance, as were a smattering of celebs too classy for the Sex and the City premiere, including Jay-Z, Conan O'Brien, Russell Simmons, Tom Brokaw, David Byrne, and Cindy Sherman. Performances by Shakira, Sheryl Crow, and John Legend had noted hoofers like Henry Kravis, Steve Cohen, and Art Samberg tapping their feet underneath their tables.

Art Samberg