Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's largest private-equity funds, reports a steep third-quarter loss as the financial crisis lowered the value of its investments. The company, which makes it money buying distressed companies and then selling them for a profit, says its quarterly loss widened to $340.3 million from $113.2 million a year earlier. Blackstone had negative revenue of $160.25 million compared with positive revenue of $526.7 million a year earlier. It says lower values of holdings across private equity, real estate and alternative asset management caused the steep drop.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, chief executive, says Blackstone continues to operate "in a challenging and volatile environment. He says the company's liquidity remains strong despite the market volatility.