Media specialist Beringea celebrated the opening of its Shanghai office this month with a China-themed bash featuring a giant, dancing, cabbage-chucking lion. The ancient ritual dates back to the Tang Dynasty and is believed to bestow good luck on new business ventures. Read more

How long before journalists start door-stepping private equity luminaries in their quest to dig the dirt on the business? Read more

Sofinnova, Genevest and EndoArt’s other venture backers are living off the fat of the band at present, following their $97m sale of the Swiss medical device company. Read more

The champagne event at the SuperReturn conference, sponsored by UBS and KPMG, promised guests the chance to win a real diamond – among the many fakes at the bottom of their champagne glasses. Read more

Since the Vulture has become something of an institution in the private equity world, it is time he got his own motto. Read more

“Making this the decade of the European venture capitalist” was the title of a break-out session at SuperReturn last week. How to do so was less clear. Read more

A new character has entered the private equity lexicon. He is a cousin of the proverbial monkey that regularly beats stock-pickers at their own game. “Now give that monkey some leverage…” said Guy Hands, at SuperReturn, adding that monkeys are cheaper than private equity people. Read more

Team-building in Chamonix, LP schmoozing in Val d’Isere. Private equity investing may be no holiday, but with some careful diary co- ordination you can certainly get some quality time in on the slopes. Read more

If you’ve had difficulty contacting Atlas Venture’s Chris Spray of late, it is because he has recently returned from sailing around Cape Horn and into the treacherous Southern Ocean. Read more

Setting up your own firm isn’t as hard as you might think. Take, for instance, item number 120085952931 on eBay. Read more