WALL STREET

WALL STREET BONUSES RISE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

Wall Street bonuses that give a substantial boost to state and city tax revenues increased to a projected $15.9 billion this year despite declining profits, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi announced yesterday. The bonus estimate averages $100,400 per Wall Street financial-services employee and will exceed last year’s total of $15.8 billion. The bonus average approaches the record high of $101,000 per employee paid in 2000, at the end of Wall Street’s most recent boom. For taxpayers, the bonuses will mean $1.2 billion in state tax revenues and $264.9 million for New York City government, Hevesi said. The increased bonuses come despite a decline in profits from last year. Profits dropped 22% to $13 billion, Mr. Hevesi said. He noted, however, that this year’s estimate would be the fourth-highest profit in history. Wall Street revenue rose 4.6% this year, due primarily to more mergers and acquisitions that offset trading losses, Mr. Hevesi said. About 158,000 securities industries employees received bonuses this year.

– Associated Press

NATIONAL

FANNIE MAE SHARES RISE AFTER BOARD OUSTS RAINES

Shares of Fannie Mae, the largest source of money for the American mortgage industry, rose after the company on Tuesday ousted its chief executive, Franklin Raines, and its chief financial officer, J. Timothy Howard.

The dismissals came after the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Washington-based company’s federal regulator said Fannie Mae made mistakes in accounting for contracts designed to protect its more than $900 billion of securities from swings in interest rates. Fannie Mae said it may have to restate profit by $9 billion as a result.

Mr. Raines’s departure may improve Fannie Mae’s relations with its federal regulator and ease the path of legislation he opposed that would bring stricter oversight of the company’s finances. The former CEO had became a target for lawmakers who want to increase regulation of the $7.6 trillion mortgage market. Fannie Mae shares climbed 2.2% to $71.92 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They dropped 6.3% this year through Tuesday, compared with a 7.5% gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index.

– Bloomberg News

CALIFORNIA COMPANY SELLS CLONED CAT

The first cloned-to-order pet sold in the America is named Little Nicky, a 9-week-old kitten delivered to a Texas woman saddened by the loss of a cat she had owned for 17 years. The kitten cost its owner $50,000 and was created from DNA from her beloved cat, named Nicky, who died last year. “He is identical. His personality is the same,” the owner, Julie, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.Although she agreed to be photographed with her cat, she asked that her last name and hometown not be disclosed because she said she fears being targeted by groups opposed to cloning. The kitten’s creation and sale, however, has reignited fierce ethical and scientific debate over cloning technology, which is rapidly advancing. The company that created Little Nicky, Sausalito-based Genetic Savings and Clone, said it hopes by May to have produced the world’s first cloned dog – a much more lucrative market than cats.

– Associated Press

INTERNATIONAL

EX-MERRILL BANKER FAILS IN DISCRIMINATION, PAY CLAIMS

Stephanie Villalba, Merrill Lynch & Company’s former head of European private banking, failed to prove she was sexually discriminated against and paid unfairly, a British tribunal ruled. Ms. Villalba wasn’t less favorably treated or paid less because of her sex, the employment tribunal in Croydon, south London, said in its ruling yesterday. Still, the tribunal said she was “shabbily and unreasonably treated” when dismissed. The former Merrill Lynch banker will only receive a fraction of the $13 million she sought. Damages awards for unfair dismissal are capped at $105,000. Merrill Lynch, the world’s biggest securities firm, is also fighting a class-action sexual discrimination case in the America involving 900 employees. Mark King, a spokesman for Ms. Villalba’s lawyers, said her legal team would “carefully consider” the judgment before making a decision on how to proceed. A hearing to determine the amount of damages in the case hasn’t been scheduled yet, he said.

– Bloomberg News