peHUB First Read

* Alan Patricof: Our long, hard fundraising slog * Andrea Belz: Is venture capital becoming an academic pursuit? * John Nichols: Is the financial reform bill "socialist?" Not according to socialists. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London rises early, European shares climb on earnings optimism and the Nikkei slips on China concerns. * The past year's ten best European PE pros * NY Fed report on the shadow banking system (.pdf) * Family offices increase private equity exposure, post-crisis * Tax break: BP apparently plans to write off the $10 billion or so it's spent on the Gulf oil leak * A New York man claims he owns 84% of Facebook, and gets a court order to stop the social network for transferring shares. And this guy knows courtrooms. Last year he was sued by NY AG Andrew Cuomo for failing to deliver some $200k worth of pre-ordered wood pellets. Maybe Facebook could just get into the home heating biz, and everyone would win...