European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 24, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Paga 18 the stars and stripes business news Banks kept Dollar from going lower concerted intervention by inc group of seven Ci-7 Central Banks Kepi the Dollar from dipping below 1.65 West German Marks in the Pas week after disappointing figures on the Ameri can Trade imbalance threatened to drive the Bucklo lower Levels. The figures measuring America s Irac performance in the month of february showed an ii percent jump after several months of improvement rising id s13.8 billion. The Dollar by j l. Kominicki quickly reacted to inc news dipping slightly bul then leveling olt Early in the week. Obviously the traders Are not very Happy with thai an american banker said Friday everyone expected the Dollar to really go Down after last week s disappointing Trade figures but it did t. The reasons arc massive Central Bank intervention and the fact that some or our Fel Low citizens have been doing a Little shooting in the persian  such political strife tends to strengthen the Dollar he said since the currency has tradition ally been considered a Safe Haven. That More traders did not flee Imo Dollar positions is considered a sip of How bearish the Market has become traders said a lot of people got caught with i hair pants Dawn last week one Frankfurt dealer said. They All jumped into Short positions on dollars after the Trade figures were released expecting it logo Down further. They re now running the risk of having to pay those dollars Back with More expensive dollars so there s a lot of hesitancy in the Market right now. Nobody wants loge burned  added a London trader the Central Banks have made it patently Clear that they plan to manipulate the currency markets to achieve stability which is after All in the interest of the world Economy. Let & face it having the Dollar go up would negate Why it went Down to get the Rad balances of the United states West Germany and Japan in order of course that s totally contrary to inc inter ests of foreign currency traders. We Don i care what the values arc we just wan to Sec some movement he said with a weaker Dollar and lingering reports thai Oil prices will go higher the British Pound Rose to break the $1,90 Mark in the first half of the week. Everyone has turned to Sterling a British trader said. With the Dollar in the doldrums it s inc Only currency Fiat seems to be doing anything so that s where everybody wants to  traders on both sides of inc Channel Jar Cdcil an extremely stable Dollar for the next several months. In Germany the Dollar will remain in very narrow trading ranges i Frankfurt economist predicted. Don t Copeci any movement outside the i.6s to 1,70 Mark  adding strength to that prediction one Amer ican Bank in Frankfurt has been telling its customers that while it cannot justify any Short term Rise in the Dollar it docs no expect the currency to go Down. In a lighter vein the author of a commentary floated on one of the financial information serv ice wires that european Banks subscribe to claimed to be Able to predict the Dollar s move ment Friday for the re i 27 seconds Competition being what it is however the writer declined to share the knowledge. Ii Obi by a Hirs will expand service to Aid citizens overseas by  Arrington Doke Sutu Rykr Frankfurt the internal Revenue service plans to offer stateside based toll free Telephone a help next year to americans in Europe and Canada to encourage More taxpayers to file returns an irs offi Cial said Friday. Donald e. Burgh Chi. 59, is inc tax administration Agency s new assistant commissioner International. The 37-year irs Veteran stopped in West Germany Las week to announce the Agency s St Ppd up emphasis on service to americans overseas. About 39 percent of the roughly 3 million Ameri cans living overseas generally file a returns each year a percentage Bergherm termed As suspiciously Low despite Large numbers of american children living overseas and spouses filing joint returns. Overall the irs estimate., does l coiled j80 Mil Linn that is owed annually. That s where the loll free Telephone tax help comes in. Notwithstanding the sophisticated taxpayer who evades paying taxes Burgh com said one fihe practical assumptions is if the american taxpayer is provided information forms technical guidance and assistance there will be a much higher level of compliance. That goes on the theory thai some non compliance is based on not understanding or not knowing. And i agree that s not the total picture the whole picture for inc irs is changing Der germ said due in part to congressional pressure to downplay inc enforcement aspect of lax administration in favor of emphasizing taxpayer assistance. Service Fler Ghorm conceded is not up to the level i d like and we re making Van improvements on it one improvement will be the introduction of the loll free service which Bergherm predicted will Start in january 19b9. Start up costs Are estimated Aisi Mil lion with annual operating costs projected at about j2 million. To initiate the service the irs is delaying some project such As a study of form redesign. But Der germ emphasized that costs of operating the new service probably will be offset by increased revenues. Although the exact mechanics of the Telephone serv ice have not yet been completed taxpayers will be Able to Call to a Central irs service office where staffers can Call up taxpayers tax accounts on a computer and go pcs blk to by Kim Gwng assistant  Dorut e. Bem Herm Over the information with them line by line. Other lax information also will be available. For now the service which will be based in an undisclosed location near Philadelphia Only will be available to americans living in Europe and Canada. As soon As we fed we have thai running in an effective and efficient Way Well expand. Probably to Mexico and South America Burgh com said while the Agency is stressing it taxpayer Atti Sunic programs the compliance or enforcement Factor won t be totally ignored. "1 wan to fully exploit the serv ice pan. Before we move strongly on inc compliance Side. But 1 will Tell you that we Are prepared to move on the compliance Side As Well cur germ said new truth in advertising rules May give investors extra boost new York not Mutual fund investors will Sec some Welcome changes May i when new truth in advertising rules Lake effect. Currently Mutual funds other than Money Market funds can compute their performance any Way icy choose As Long As the method docs not violate Federal securities Laws which allow wide latitude some funds sold options to increase their yields. Some funds cite annual yields others quarterly returns the wildly disparate data have made it hard for investors to compare the funds. Figuring How much the investment services would Cost has been even More difficult. By Law Mutual funds must disclose All fees and expenses. But those figures often have been Scal tired throughout dense prospectuses Anil buried in Fine print. The securities and Exchange commission finally put its fool Down the result said Kathryn b. Mcgrath director of the secs division of investment management is new Niles that provide belter and More accurate information to investors to help them avoid being  the rules Are far reaching affecting what fund Man agers can say in both advertisements and prospectuses. But some aspects of fund shopping May remain murky for Many investors financial advisers say. The rules will clarify choices for investors but there s no 100 percent perfect Way to do any of this Mcgrath con ceded. One of the biggest changes will involve funds that choose to mention yields in their ads. Under the new rules icy must use a 30-Day yield figure based on an Industry wide formula. Virld measures income. What it docs not include Are declines in the underlying value of fund shares so High yields can sometimes obscure losing investments. To take that into account ads that cite a yield also must disclose the fund s Liat return income plus changes in Jhc Market value of he investment for the past one three five and 10 years some critics say inc 30-Day time period is not an appropriate measure Given the lengthy maturities of some fund portfolios. In fact experts caution investors not to be lulled into a false sense of Security. While yield and performance arc important parts of an investment decision people should t judge funds solely by those numbers because they relate to the Pasi said Susan Penry Williami a partner with Spengler Carlson Gubar Brodsky & Frischling a new York Law firm. Review the fund s prospectus for dues to its future performance experts say. Find out who is managing the fund what the fund s objectives Are if the level of risk open to the fund manager is acceptable does the fund offer desired services investors who want to project their annual income from a Mutual fund investment still have to dig through the prospectus. The Sec won t permit funds to advertise Ichii past records on distributions the Cash payouts to investors which Are computed in very different ways and often include a return of principal. On the other hand evaluating what the investment Wili Cost should be much easier. The prospectus Wilt include a new fee late that outlines All shareholder expenses. Mutual fun it take their Oil ill a variety of we yrs commis Sions when investors buy in known As front end Sain Load redemption fees imposed when investors sell be fore a specified period and annual Wpc i like manage ment pc Sand marketing expense. To help people make comparisons the funds must pre pare an example based on an investment of 11,000 and an assumed annual growth of percent. The example then shows the total projected fees and expense if Sham in the fund Are sold after one. Three five and 1 oscars