RECORD BONUSES ON WALL STREET.

Byline: Dunston Prial Associated Press 

Wall Street's wheelers and dealers will receive a record $13 billion in bonuses this year, but most won't be bragging about the new Rolex or their African safari. Brokers and traders are much more secretive than they were in the extravagant 1980s, although many remain obsessed with how they stack up against their peers.

``No one talks about it because there's a secretiveness to it, since you don't want anyone to know how well you're doing or vice versa,'' said one Wall Street trader who spoke on condition of anonymity. ``But certainly it's a topic that's never far from most people's minds.''

Sure, people are still taking expensive time share rentals on Long Island's tony Hamptons and one can occasionally spot a fur coat on a 20-something trader walking down Wall Street.

But, that's a far cry from a decade ago, when the term conspicuous consumption was commonly used to describe the flamboyant spending habits of Wall Street's 'Masters of the Universe' who collected BMWs and snorted cocaine with rolled up $100 bills.

Since the crash of October 1987, the U.S. stock markets have been on a dizzying climb, fueled by a booming economy. The 12-year bull market is about to set a record for the longest such run in U.S. history.

Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the technology focused Nasdaq composite index passed psychologically important milestones of 10,000 and 3,000, respectively, earlier this year, and both continue to trade near record levels.

So it's little wonder Wall Street's investment banking firms expect to report record profits of nearly $13 billion in 1999. That translates into $13 billion in bonuses an 18 percent increase over last year, according to both the Securities Industry Association, a trade organization, and the New York City Comptroller's office.

Profits and bonuses have climbed steadily throughout the decade, with exceptions only in 1994 and 1998.

Market observers say 1999 was a good year for everyone on Wall Street. Nearly every facet of the industry had record breaking years from initial public stock offerings of Internet firms that soared 400 percent in a day, to mergers and acquisitions, to the brokerage and stock trading arms.

``It's unusual to have all of the areas doing good or great. Usually you have a couple of clunkers. But it didn't happen this year,'' said Alan Johnson, a New York-based compensation consultant.

All of which means the bankers and brokers who complete the deals and trade the stock are going to be well compensated.

``The younger bankers and brokers are clearly making more money than they've ever earned before, so they're spending freely. But they're not bragging about it,'' said Alan Ackerman, senior vice president at Fahnestock & Co. and a 40-year Wall Street veteran.

``Many people are numbed by the money they're making,'' Ackerman added. ``Money has come easily to many on Wall Street this year. But there seems to be less flaunting of wealth and income.''

Indeed, Ackerman said Wall Street appears to have taken on a more charitable disposition in the 1990s. ``There appears to be a bit more graciousness on the street, more giving,'' he said.

Evidence of that can be seen, perhaps, in an announcement this week by Goldman Sachs that its employees had donated $439 million to charities. The one-time donation came from the sale of Goldman stock that was granted to partners and employees when the company went public earlier this year.

And members of the philanthropist community say many Wall Street big wigs -- contrary to their popular image -- give frequently to charity, if for no other reason than charitable donations can be written off as tax deductions.

``I would assume most charities will see increases in the amounts of donations this year,'' said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a Washington D.C., publication that follows nonprofit organizations.

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Chart: Bonuses abound