IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Hedge fund job cuts

Hedge funds may cut 20,000 workers worldwide this year, a record 14 percent of the industry's jobs, as investment losses and client withdrawals erode fees.

The dismissals will come on top of the 10,000 jobs that disappeared last year at the investment partnerships, according to estimates by New York-based Options Group, an executive-search firm. Employment peaked at 155,000 in 2007, and has since dropped to about 145,000, the firm said.