Defunct brokerage Lehman Brothers Inc., which hasn’t paid hedge funds after four years in liquidation, is nearer to making them whole after reaching a "critical milestone" in settling a $38 billion dispute with an affiliate, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Brokerage trustee James Giddens, who is facing payment demands by New York hedge fund Elliott Management Corp., said the brokerage approved a $7.5 billion customer claim by Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE), plus income of $600 million, with another approved claim of $500 million by the affiliate. The brokerage will get a general claim against LBIE of $4 billion, he said in a statement yesterday.
