The first quarter's fees came in at about $8.7 billion compared with $13.4 billion in the first three months of 2007. January and March clocked in as the slowest months for takeovers since November 2004, as M&A activity declined significantly to $656.2 billion in the first quarter, well off from the $971 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Fees from private equity firms were especially thin, according to Deal Journal, which reports that fees from previous big spenders Blackstone Group LP and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners fell to less than $5 million in the first quarter, according to Dealogic. In the same period of 2007, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners shelled out $208 million, and Blackstone spent $198 million. - George White
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The credit crunch continues to hit investment banks where it hurts the most -- in their wallets. 
