Private equity has "performed amazingly well in this very tough economy," opines Steve Pagliuca, managing director at Bain Capital. As Pagliuca explains, private equity does "very, very well in periods of downturn, because you can get more reasonable prices. Many sellers have to sell for liquidity, and so we'll see some opportunities there." When asked which sectors will be active with IPOs, Pagliuca was optimistic about companies in the technology and medical industries.  - Katie Roof