Briac

* Bill Gurley fisks Tom Friedman's proposal for a government-backed "venture capital bank." Gurley is a venture capitalist with Benchmark Capital, and is right on the money with his analysis. My only (tiny) criticism is that Gurley should acknowledge that certain VC-backed cleantech companies are having a tough time getting later-stage capital, because they had expected to project finance market to be open. But that still doesn't negate Gurley's thesis, since some private firms (Blackstone, CMEA, C Change) are now rushing in to fill that void. * Andrew Leonard with some thoughtful comments on the mortgage bailout proposal. This would be as opposed to Rick Santelli's overhyped rant, in which he actually said that Chicago Merc Exchange traders represent a "cross-section of America." Hey Rick, you need to get out more. * Pete Lattman writes that Warburg Pincus may be having (good) Mellon flashbacks, vis-a-vis MBIA's plan to split itself in two. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point even lower, European shares hit six-year low in early trading, London drops, Japan's Topix index hits quarter-century low and Hong Kong also falls. * Chris Flowers says he was "shocked" by Merrill Lynch's losses, even though he had been advising BoA on the purchase.

* You can now buy a mattress with a built-in safe. At least someone's figuring out a way to make money in this mess. * Matt Richtel reminds Barney Frank (ok, not explicitly) that bonuses are not just pile-on for Wall Street fat cats. * Morning Call: U.S. futures rise, European shares keep dropping, the Nikkei inches ahead and Hong Kong (barely) breaks a small losing streak. * Nouriel Roubini: Laissez-Faire Capitalism Has Failed * Sean Hannity on Tuesday promoted Stanford Gold & Boullion on his radio show. Yes, that Stanford. In fact Hannity says it's a "member of the Stanford Financial Group, their name's as good as gold." Priceless. * A blog that keeps track of corporate bankruptcies. * New film about a fake global bank was financed by a real global bank.

* WaPo has details on why Geithner's "plan" was so lacking in details. In short: He changed course at the last minute, and therefore didn't have time to put together more than an outline. He also didn't have time to consult outsiders, as we've reported ad naseum. * A private equity recruitment primer. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point up, European shares slide as banks give back gains, the Nikkei keeps falling and Hong Kong finishes up 1.4 pct. * Get all of today's latest private equity news. * GodTube is one of the many VC-backed startups indirectly caught up in the Allen Stanford swindle. * The SEC killed Wall Street on April 28, 2004.

* Obama drops plans for a car czar, in favor of a task force. No word on if Steve Rattner will be on the task force, or how he'll explain his Washington dalliance to prospective LPs in the new fund Quadrangle Group is trying to raise. * The credit markets are beginning to move from dead to critical (next stop, stable). * U.S. futures signal drop, European shares hit two-week low, the Nikkei hits a four-month closing low and Hong Kong shares dop 3.8 percent. * Alta Partners cashes out of Icagen, a drug company in which Alta was once the largest shareholder. * Two Yale law students fight back against online defamation. * Venture debt firm Hercules Technology shuts its San Diego office. * TechStars opening a satellite in Boston, which should help fill the gap left by Y Combinator's departure. * Order your pitchfork-wielding Madoff desk toy today.

* This is not a joke: UK venture capitalists are asking the government for a £1 billion bailout, in order to prop up the nation's tech and life sciences startups. They'd like it in the form of a fund-of-funds, if possible. I wonder if the VCs would also be willing to accept the compensation caps that could/should be attached. * Biting the hand that feeds: Members of the House Financial Services Committee received around $1.8 million in contributions during the 2008 election cycle, from the very bankers they were pillorying yesterday. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point lower, European shares slip early on banks and oil, the Nikkei hits a two-week closing low and Hong Kong shares fall 2.3 percent. * Facebook valued itself at $3.7 billion as of last June, according to court records. * An LP to LBO funds: Just because companies are cheaper than before, doesn't make them cheap.

* Alaska Airlines is asking the government to investigate whether or not PE-backed airline Virgin America meets U.S. carrier standards, in terms of local vs. foreign ownership. In other words: "We can't compete with Virgin's prices or customer service, so maybe we can find an equity table item that kicks them out of key airports." Whiners. (disclaimer, I'm flying Virgin from BOS-SFO this weekend) * North Carolina-based VC shop The Aurora Funds has shed a number of staffers, as part of what it calls "maintenance mode." * Morning Call: U.S. futures points toward rebound, European shares open lower, London stays flat and Hong Kong shares snap rally. * Is the fat lady singing for PE-backed Muzak? * War of Words: McGraw Hill drops Barry Ritholtz's book, Bailout Nation, just weeks before release. Ritholtz says the publisher was uncomfortable with the book's criticism of McGraw Hill subsidiary Standard & Poor's. McGraw Hill says the book couldn't stand up to scrutiny.

* Tim Geithner's press conference is at 11am, and we'll be live-blogging it here at peHUB. The NY Times has more details here, including how Geithner prevailed in his opposition to provisions like more stringent executive comp caps and dictates on how recipients could spent the money (such as actually making them lend). I'll be looking to see how detailed Geithner is vis-a-vis private investor participation, particularly in terms of government-backed guarantees. There is real buying interest among private investors, but there also seems to have been a relative lack of communication between such folks and the Treasury staff (described twice to me yesterday as "insular"). Perhaps that indicates that today we'll see broad strokes rather than tight specifics... * The Private Equity Council, a trade group representing the largest U.S. buyout firms, says that its members have adopted a set of UN-backed "principles for responsible investment." * Morning Call: U.S. futures point down, London slides, other European shares drop on banks and commodities, the Nikkei slips on choppy yen trades and Hong Kong keeps rising. * Cisco's cash pile keeps growing, which is good news for software, hardware and security companies looking to be acquired.

What follows are ten VC deals culled from recent Regulation D filings with the SEC. They have not been otherwise disclosed: * SolFocus Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of solar concentrator photovoltaic systems, has raised $19.28 million in additional Series C funding, according to a regulatory filing. The round total is now $66.78 million, from firms like Apex Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and NGEN Partners. It is unclear if additional capital will be raised, or if the round is closed (it had been targeting between $60m and $70m). SolFocus previously raised nearly $100 million in its Series A and Series B rounds. www.solfocus.com * diaDexus Inc., a South San Francisco-based developer of a blood test for the prediction of cardiovascular disease, has raised around $9.2 million in Series F funding, according to a regulatory filing. Listed shareholders include Scale Venture Partners, GlaxoSmithKline

* Equity Office Aftermath: The commercial real estate deal of the century has turned into a sinkhole, particularly for those who bought from Blackstone. * Last week, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak took an operating role with VC-backed Fusion-io as chief scientist. Apparently it's only a part-time job, because he'll also be Dancing with the Stars. * Morning Call: U.S. futures dip, European shares stay flat, the Nikkei falls on bank worries and Hong Kong shares rise for the fourth-straight session. * Did Wells Fargo really save money by canceling its Las Vegas bash? * Will retail ever fully recover?

* Most mega-buyout firms are still loathe to reduce their bloated fund sizes, but TPG Capital continues to do right by its investors. After making a small cut to its general fund last month, TPG has now chopped 25% off of a $6 billion vehicle focused on distressed financial opportunities. Its explanation, in part, is that U.S. government involvement in troubled industries leaves less opportunity for private equity. * VC-backed Cash4Gold is allegedly bribing critics to lay off (or at least lower their Google exposure). Wonder if it's offering greenbacks or gold bouillon. * Morning Call: U.S. futures are up, FTSE up in mid-day trading, the Nikkei rises on a softer yen and China stocks fuel a Hong Kong rally. * BlackRock launches an alternatives fund-of-funds for pensions. Has someone over there been on sabbatical for the past 12 months? Ditto for this piece on Fannie Mae.