Don't cry for the Blackstone Group

Today's [2 January 2008] has a front page headline that the the LBO venture capital group Blackstone is walking away from an us$1,8bn deal: the purchase of the mortgage lender PHH who has done wonders for the banking world in the subprime meltdown.
As an LBO, Blackstone whose chairman Steven Schwartzman spent millions to fete his own 60 birthday in lavish style which mimicked the decadence of the Roman empire, and who took Chinese billions for a non voting share of its ownership, suddenly has no money of its own. Don't you believe it. But as an LBO outfit, it uses other people's money from banks to buy and sell companies for a profit. This time the smart money from investment banks is at a premium and not readily available. Thus, Blackstone's axing what it thought a very profitable plum to mine cheapend mortgages which is turning into junk.
Well guys, you cannot do business as usual till liquidity and what's more, trust have returned to the markets. Of course you can sally forth into ventures but at the risk of using your own fat purse. You won't, since you're greedy thieves.