European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes business news traders predict Dollar s upswing currency traders Are predicting a Sharp move Forward for the Dollar in the earning week following news thai unemployment in the United Stales improved by nearly 200,000 non agricultural jobs last month the unemployment news released by the labor department Friday was expected to prompt the Federal Reserve system to raise Short term interest rates making the Dollar More attractive to investor and increasing its value through higher demand. In the Wake of the report Many traders were predicting that a major upswing for the Buck could begin As Early As monday with the Dollar reaching As High As i .73 West German Marks by the end of the week of course that does t fully Lake into consideration Central Bank intervention one German  trader said. Everyone s belief is that a. Long As there s a Large . Trade deficit there s going to be pressure from the Central barks to keep the Dollar lower i think you la still Sec a promising move Forward though certainly to Over 1.70 Marks where and when the Central Banks come in after that is anyone s  some traders however said they doubted the unemployment figures would have any real effect on the Dollar noting that the Commerce department s monthly report on the Trade Defi Cit due out May 17, will be a better indication at How the . Economy is faring. The fed has already indicated that any tight ening of interest rates will be very Small a Lon Don trader said. The Way the Market is fascinated with the Trade figures these Days i just can i see his the unemployment figures Mak ing much of a  while a Federal Reserve move towards higher interest Rales is not assured financial experts predict higher rates As a Means of fighting the inflation thai often accompanies sustained eco nomic expansion. Friday s employment data the Best since june 1974, was the latest in a string of essentially Good economic report cards for the United states. It Fallows a surge in con Sumer spending that produced a 2.3 percent gain for America s Gross National product in the first Quarter of this year. Economists now believe the Gnu the Broa Decsi measure of a nation s economic growth will climb for the rest of the year erasing lingering fears fan impending economic slowdown. A breakout for the Dollar would follow More than a month of sluggish performance in a mar Ket dominated largely by technical trading the buying and Selling of currencies based on their historical performance As opposed to any real demand or Market trend. It s been a trendiest Market for a Long time one Frankfurt trader said. Except for the tech Nical traders the Only movement i be seen has been people getting in and out of Short positions because with the constant threat of the Central Banks stepping in it s become just too risky for them to keep a position very Long. But hey that s Why they Call the Market the biggest Casino in the world he said. The nation s unemployment rate fell to j.4 percent in april As More than �00,000 people found jobs the labor department reported. The number or unemployed americans fell by More than 190,000 to just Over 6.6 million. Nearly All of the decline occurred among adult men with their unemployment rate failing to 4.6 percent. The jobless rate for adult women which had dropped in March was unchanged last month at 4.b percent. Hospital and business services two of the hottest areas of Job growth showed a gain of 55.000. Wholesale work grew by 15,000 jobs while Banks and other financial houses bounced Back with 4,000 new jobs after losing 7,000 the month before the report showed. Yeutter says . Products Price competitive abroad by David Tarrant staff writer a period of painful adjustment May take place in Germany and other foreign countries As the Low Dollar greatly increases Export opportunities for american businesses said . Trade representative Clayton k. Yeutter. We Are today in my judgment Price competitive in literally thousands of products not Only in the manufactured sector but in service As Well Yeutter said this week on a broadcast of world net a Newi program beamed to Europe and other location by the United slates information Agency. There s no excuse for our firms not being Able to do very Well in International Commerce today he said. That applies not Only to Selling in West Germany and other foreign countries but also in terms of re gaining the Market share in the United  Fielding questions from representatives of the association of German Chambers of Commerce and Indus try in Bonn Yeutter in Washington said thai As the United states begins to Correct its massive Trade Defi Cit. West Germany and other foreign countries will face a period of adjustment. If our situation gets better that Means somebody else s situation is going to gel worse unless they make the necessary adjustments he said. That is Why we be been saying if we begin to re place some of Germany s exports flowing into the United states with american products. Clearly Ger Many will need an increase in Domestic demand to fill that  the adjustment will go smoother if political leaders work together during the period of change Yeutter said. Change it always traumatic and it s especially traumatic if it s Loo volatile he said. What s going to be involved of course is a pendulum swinging from one Side Back toward the Middle and perhaps beyond the Middle in having some correction in the Long term basis. If that pendulum swings Loo rapidly we re going to Sec a painful adjustment period in West Germany and a lot of other countries. So the most advantageous situation is to have the pendulum swing slowly he said. Doing his in a pro Dent Way is obvious by the right  a Cutler said that american businesses also must recapture their own markets from foreign competitors. You Don t have to know japanese in order to sell in Kansas City. They ought to be Able to regain the Kan Sas City Market even More readily than the Market in Yeutter also noted that the surge in foreign invest ment in the United states spurred by the Low Dollar was creating a backlash. One proposal in the Trade Bill now pending in con Gress would have put severe restrictions on foreign investments in the United states. The Reagan admin Isle nation strongly opposed the measure which ultimately was dropped. But that s an indication of some growing unrest in the . On the Issue of foreign investment in the american Economy he said. I Don t happen to think we Are Selling the United slates to people outside of the ., and m fact to the putt of photo is. Trude representative Clarion Yeutter degree that i Host foreign investments add to our inter National competitiveness and Many of them do we re the beneficiaries of  the United slates should focus itt attention not on protecting its markets but on opening up foreign markets to american products he said. On other topics Yeutter said concerns about he Quality of american products should begin to Case because american firms have begun improving their efficiency. What has happened is our productively has risen he said total output has risen Raiher dramatically which Means that we be been substituting capital for labor in manufacturing Here in the United  foreign Money Exchange rates will Likely remain volatile for a Long time notwithstanding the efforts of the United states West Germany and other govern ments to coordinate economic policy. We re just going to have to learn to live Wilh some volatility be said. The United states should avoid trying to balance the Trade deficit by pushing Down the value of the Dollar. The Trade deficit has shown slight improvement in recent months cult Essaid. If thai trend continues certainly it cases some of the pressures on the Dollar he said. But if on the Oiler hand we Sec a deterioration in our Trade deficit. Clearly we can expert a further downward adjust ment in the Dollar. But i Hope that does t occur. Frankly it seems to me we would be better off solving our Trade deficit with the Dollar at present lev Els or even higher Levels than to try to vol pc it with the Dollar at lower Levels than prevail today teens spent $53.7 Biffin in 87 new York up american teen agers spent a. Record s53.7 billion last year surpassing 19sg s js2 billion according to results of a nationwide Survey conducted to determine the economic Power of teen agers. Older teens expanded their expenditures on food and snacks spectacularly with the 16 through 19-year old girls spending 108 percent More than in 1980, while their male counterparts were ahead 114 per cent said Lester Rand president of Rand youth poll the Market research company that conducted the sur vey. Spending on food and snacks has grown rapidly in the past few years in conjunction with teen agers expanding social lives a growing tendency among those that Are weight conscious to exercise More and diet less and teen agers increased attraction to food and soft drink advertisements he said. Also since More than half of their mothers work outside the Home teen agers last year received a supplemental 127.4 billion from their parents to shop for food for their families versus the 522.8 billion they received in 1986, the Survey showed. Other Survey findings showed that teen agers accumulated 10.6 billion in savings towards the Purchase of More expensive durable possessions such As cars stereos  recorders televisions and Cam eras. With More than three out of four claiming to urae mothers and fathers to buy products and services for the Home it is calculated that this teen age persuasive Ness concerning parental purchases resulted in the expenditure of si42.1 billion in 1937, the Survey showed