bloggingbuyouts

CNBC's Charlie Gasparino was reporting early this morning on the ongoing Citigroup (NYSE: C) restructuring saga. Gasparino noted that new CEO Vikram Pandit has set a deadline of "May" for its full scale business unit review.

What is interesting is that Gasparino noted that the company is apparently not likely to unload its brokerage unit. There have been reports prior to this noting that a sale or spin-off of that unit may ultimately be in the works.

We already know about layoffs coming, but the question is just how much. So far Pandit's turnaround plan has yet to take hold and shares have not run up since Chuck Prince finally got the axe.

Jon Ogg is a partner and editor in 247WallSt.com.

This week, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein, paid $21.3 million for a copy of the Magna Carta. In an offbeat way, is this a sign of optimism for the private equity space?

Well, today Rubenstein gave an interview with CNBC. Basically, he thinks there are some compelling investment opportunities – especially in energy, healthcare, and financial services. What's more, he's bullish on emerging markets. He's not only excited about China but even Africa and the Middle East. For example, in Africa, Rubenstein thinks there are opportunities for mining and minerals, financial services, and telecom.

Although things may be remain somewhat slow in terms of deal activity, at least in the U.S., Rubenstein thinks sellers may be in denial on valuations. Also, to get deals done, private equity funds will probably need to pony up more equity. But, with the huge amounts of capital in these funds, that shouldn't be hard to do.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) weighed in on the debate on private equity taxation Friday afternoon, according to the New York Times [registration required]. And earlier on Friday, I had my own chance to debate this issue on CNBC with Wall Street Journal Assistant Managing Editor Alan Murray.

Clinton wants private equity firms to pay the same tax rate as working families, rather than the 15% they currently pay. At a rally in Keene, NH, she said, "Our tax code should be valuing hard work and helping middle-class and working families get ahead. It offends our values as a nation when an investment manager making $50 million can pay a lower tax rate on her earned income than a teacher making $50,000 pays on her income."

If she is elected president, Senator Clinton said, she will work to reform the tax code to ensure that carried interest "is recognized for what it is: ordinary income that should be taxed at ordinary income tax rates."

In my CNBC interview, I pointed out that private equity was being singled out because it was flaunting its wealth and its low tax payments -- in other words it was demonstrating that it did not understand how to play politics. Murray suggested that Congress ought to do "what's right" and challenged me to describe a principle for taxing private equity.