WALL STREET

Goldman Sachs Caps Most Profitable Year Ever

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. capped the most profitable year ever for a Wall Street firm, almost doubling fourth-quarter earnings on trading, underwriting, and investments in Asia. Net income advanced 93% to $3.15 billion, or $6.59 a share, in the three months ended November 24 from $1.63 billion, or $3.35, a year earlier, the company said yesterday in a statement. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was $6.17 a share. Goldman set aside $16.5 billion to pay compensation and benefits for its 26,467 full-time employees for the year. That sum — equal to all the firm’s revenue in 2000 — works out to an average $622,000 per employee.

— Bloomberg News

Lehman Awards Fuld, 5 Others $35.9M in Stock

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. awarded Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld and five other top managers a total of $35.9 million in stock for 2006, the first of the billions in bonuses to be paid as Wall Street closes out it most profitable year ever. Mr. Fuld, 60, received 141,543 units of restricted stock, valued at $10.9 million on the December 8 grant date, New York-based Lehman said yesterday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Fuld got $14.9 million of restricted stock last year as part of a $34.5 million pay package.

— Bloomberg News

Fed Maintains Interest Rate at 5.25%

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept the benchmark American interest rate at 5.25% and suggested a softer growth outlook while continuing to note inflation risks. The Federal Open Market Committee called the cooling of the housing industry “substantial,” one of the few changes in language from its previous statement in October.

— Bloomberg News

Trade Deficit Narrows As Oil Prices Drop

WASHINGTON — A big tumble in oil prices drove the American trade deficit down at the fastest rate in nearly five years during October. The American shortfall in international trade of goods and services decreased to $58.87 billion from $64.26 billion in September, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The 8.4% contraction was the biggest since December 2001 and pulled the deficit much lower than the $63 billion level Wall Street expected. Not only did America buy less foreign oil — 311.76 million barrels versus 316.59 million, the average price of a barrel of crude fell a second straight month, sliding by $7.05 to $55.47.

— Dow Jones Newswires

TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft Puts Out Three Software Patches

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. put out three software patches yesterday that fix problems carrying a “critical” rating, the company’s highest threat level. All three could let an attacker remotely run code on a victim’s computer. The patches close holes in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser, its Windows Media Player program and its Visual Studio 2005 development software. Four other patches, for vulnerabilities deemed “important,” also were released for Windows and its Outlook Express e-mail program.

— Associated Press