BRIEFLY.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Investor houses rack up profits

NEW YORK -- Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns sent a not-so-subtle message to Wall Street on Thursday when announcing 2006 results -- the word ``record'' appears a combined 37 times in their earnings reports.

Surging stock and bond markets, coupled with an unprecedented level of takeover activity, has turned the big investment houses into corporate cash machines. It is also delivering stratospheric bonuses to top employees, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. doling out a staggering $16 billion this year.

For all of fiscal 2006, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. reported record net income of $4 billion, up 23 percent from the previous year. Bear Stearns Cos.'s profit for the year soared 40 percent to $2.1 billion. Goldman Sachs said Tuesday its full-year profit soared 70 percent to $9.4 billion, and Morgan Stanley Inc. is set to deliver strong results when it reports next Tuesday.

U.S. prods China on currency

BEIJING -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pushed China on Thursday to ease currency controls, appealing for help in shoring up American support for free trade. But a top Beijing official said change already was coming, and complained that Americans fail to understand China.

The exchanges at the start of a two-day gathering billed as a long-range ``strategic economic dialogue'' highlighted the challenge facing Paulson if he wants to mollify American business groups and Democrats in Congress who are demanding changes to rein in China's soaring trade surpluses.

Paulson and others in his high-profile delegation, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, argued that a more flexible currency, more open markets and other changes are in China's own interest and crucial to maintaining free trade.

Mortgage rates edge up slightly

WASHINGTON -- Rates on 30-year mortgages, after falling steadily for a month, edged up slightly this week but still remained well below the levels of a year ago.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.12 percent, up from 6.11 percent last week. Last week's rate had been the lowest level this year except for the week of Jan. 19, when the 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.10 percent.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.86 percent this week, up from 5.84 percent last week.

For one-year adjustable rate mortgages, rates edged up to 5.45 percent, compared to 5.43 percent last week.

Five-year adjustable rate mortgages were unchanged at 5.92 percent, the same as last week.

A year ago, 30-year mortgages averaged 6.30 percent. Fifteen-year mortgages stood at 5.85 percent, one-year ARMs were at 5.15 percent and five-year ARMs averaged 5.77 percent.