European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday july 12. 1986 the stars and stripes pages fed cuts discount rate to 6 percent Washington a the Federal Reserve Board moving to stimulate a sluggish Economy on thursday announced a reduction in the discount rate from 6.5 percent to 6 percent. The change which will bring the key rate to its lowest level in almost nine years took effect Friday. It was expected to open the Way to a reduction in other key lending rates throughout the nation. The discount rate is the fee the nation s Central Bank charges for Loans to financial institutions. In announcing the action the fed said the move was taken within the Frame work of the generally accommodative stance of monetary policy that has prevailed for some  the fed announcement also noted that the reduction conformed to recent declines in interest rates in other areas and was being made at a time of relatively Low inflation. At the White House spokesman Peter Roussil said we Welcome the Federal Reserve Board s reduction in the Dis count rate which is in line with the de Cline in Short term rates that has occurred in recent  the Cut the third half percentage Point reduction this year had been widely anticipated by Market analysts with Many expecting it to be even larger. I Don t think it s a cure All for All our economic problems but it s a Good Nec Essary step at this Lime said David Wyss senior financial economist for data resources inc. Of Lexington. Mass. Senate majority Leader Bob Dole r kan., who had publicly urged the fed to take such an action earlier this week praised the move. It s the first step in stabilizing and hopefully stimulating to Day s sluggish  Dole said. But some economists said they doubted the reduction would have that much immediate Impact on the econ omy. The problem is that the one sector of the Economy that usually responds first to interest rate cuts housing has been benefiting already from the big drop in interest rates said David Levy head of a private forecasting service based in Chappaqua . Overall it s a help. But the Economy has still got a risky path ahead of it. Even with this Cut Levy added. The last Cut from 7 percent to 6.5 percent had come april 18 a move made in concert with the Central Banks of Japan and West Germany which also lowered their rates. That move drove the . Discount rate to its lowest level in eight years. The rate was last As Low As 6 percent in late 1977 and Rose to a High of 14 percent in 1981. The discount rate is the . Bank s most direct Way to affect other interest ales in the Economy. Reductions in the Rale usually pave the Way toward drops in other rates throughout the Economy including the prime rate the rate commercial Banks charge their most credit worthy corporate borrowers. On March 7. The Central Bank dropped the rate from 7.5 percent to 7 percent. Both the Reagan administration and Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul a. Volcker in the past have indicated that they would prefer to lower the key interest rate in coordination with similar moves by . Allies particularly West Germany and Japan. However in testimony last month to the House banking committee Volcker indicated that the United states would not necessarily wait for those nations tract. West German officials have recently indicated reluctance to go along with an interest rate Cut at this time. However economists said action by Japan s Central Bank might follow thurs Day s fed announcement. The fed announcement said the action appeared appropriate in the context of a pattern of relatively slow growth. Caer claims he poisoned jello by the associated press general foods corp. On thursday asked jewel food stores in Chicago and Kroger stores in Detroit to remove certain jello Gelatin products from shelves after a caller claimed he had poisoned three boxes with cyanide. The Anonymous male caller in a tape recorded Mes Sage said he put sodium cyanide in three boxes of sugar free jello and placed them on shelves in a Kroger store in the Detroit area and a jewel store in the Chicago area the company said. The message which did not identify the particular stores concluded better take this Senous. This is no  we Don t know whether or not the warning was Realor a hoax general foods spokesman Kenneth Defrin said from the company s Headquarters in White Plains . This is unconfirmed at this  we Are retrieving As much product As quickly As we can to test for tampering he said. The caller said the three boxes were of the .6-ounce size and came from lot no. 4318d3. He did not specify a flavor. General foods asked Kroger stores in the Detroit area and jewel stores in the Chicago area to remove from their shelves All .6-ounce size sugar free jello regardless of lot number. Kroger said it was taking that action at All of its 57 stores in Michigan said Paul Bemish a Kroger spokes Man in Cincinnati. Jewel decided to pull All sugar free Jcu of regardless of size or lot number from its stores in Chicago and its suburbs said spokeswoman Kathleen Cox. Piling App Toto philadelphian dump their trash thursday at a temporary dump on the 10th Day of a strike by about 15,000 municipal workers. The temporary site has been open nearly a week. Utah finds Poison in cocaine 1 killed Salt Lake City a narcotics officers Are trying to Trace the source of cocaine laced with cyanide that killed one drug user and May be responsible for causing four others to fall ill. Local narcotics agencies Are checking confiscated stocks of the drug for traces of the Poison it. Bernard Bailey of the Salt Lake county sheriffs narcotics division said  cocaine and cyanide were found in each of the five victims bloodstream he said. Authorities Don t believe that the victims were the targets of an angry drug dealer. "1 would be hesitant to think that because or the widespread difference in what we know of these people we cannot connect them socially at All so i d Nave to discount that at this time Bailey  have no leads apart from the presence of cyanide and Bailey has appealed for information from the Public promising anonymity and conditional amnesty. R we re really at a loss Bailey said prob ably should t say this but anyone who has information. I would give them amnesty for the period of time it takes to wrap this thing  it. Marty Vuyk of the metropolitan narcotics strike Force said testing for cyanide will begin on cocaine Hellas evidence or purchased by undercover agents in recent months and on All cocaine purchased after wednesday. The Federal drug enforcement Agency which is expected to enter the investigation soon will see if the problem has surfaced elsewhere in the nation said Steve Lough the Dea s resident agent in charge in Salt Lake City. The first incident was May 30, when a 28-year-old Man suffered seizures in his Home apparently after snorting cocaine said West Valley City police Detec Tive Ron Edwards. The Man found by his wife was dead on arrival at a Hospital. The death initially was attributed to heart failure but the medical examiner discovered on june 20 that potassium cyanide was in the Man s bloodstream and blamed that for his death Edwards said. Potassium cyanide in its powdery form resembles cocaine Edwards said. In another Case a woman had a seizure and went into a coma after apparently using cocaine at a univer sity of Utah fraternity party in june Bailey said. A blood test revealed cocaine and cyanide in her system. The woman was sent Back to North Carolina where she remains in a coma authorities said. There have been three other cases the most recent on monday when a 21-year-old Man was hospitalize for a cocaine overdose. He has recovered out tests showed cyanide and cocaine in his bloodstream. The hospitals declined to give investigators any other information about the four non fatal incidents pending issuance of an investigative subpoena from the Salt Lake county attorney s office Bailey said. Such an order is being sought. Sands or time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. July 12, 1946 All 73 defendants accused of murdering american prisoners at Almedy Belgium were found guilty by a . Military court at  court is expected to announce the sentences july 30 years ago today. July 12, 1956 the senior researcher of the Brit ish Empire cancer Campaign or. Percy Stock say there is a statistical connection Between Beer drinking and cancer. Stock released his report at an annual meeting of the cancer Campaign in Brighton. 20 years ago today. July 12, 1966 a tiny solid state Battery that can yield 1.5 volts of electricity was unveiled by the Cali fornia Institute of technology in Pasadena Calif. The Battery was hailed As a potential breakthrough in i Cro miniaturization. 10 years ago today. July 12, 1976 former first lady Pat Nixon has survived what doctors called the critical three Days following her stroke but remained in serious condition at Long Beach memorial Hospital in California