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Publication: European Stars and Stripes Sunday, January 22, 1989

You are currently viewing page 17 of: European Stars and Stripes Sunday, January 22, 1989

   European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes business news intervention finally halted Dollar s rally it took a lot of Effort but european an american Central Bankers finally managed to put at least a temporary halt to the Dollar s january rally on thursday and Friday. Rapid fire intervention during which the West German Bundesbank . Federal re serve and As Many As eight other european Cen trial Banks sold off a ton of dollars and bought Marks did the trick. The Well coordinated action had knocked the Dollar Down to about 1.8450 Marks by midday Friday. The Buck had hit highs More than three pfennig above that earlier in the week. The Central Bankers Success came at the endow a week in which it looked for a time As if the by Randy Mcclain Dollar would break through the 1.90 Mark level. The real drama began to unfold thursday when the Bundesbank attacked the Buck by Rais ing two key interest rates it uses to make Loans to commercial Banks. The West germans hiked their discount rate from 3.5 percent to 4 percent and raised their Lombard rate from 5.5 percent to 6 percent. It was the second time in the Pas month that the influential Lombard rate had been increased but this time interest rate hikes alone weren t enough to rein in the Dollar. The Market was already expecting the Bundesbank to take action and when the interest rate moves came out it just caused the Dollar Tofall a few blips and then the Market brought it Back said one currency trader at an american Bank in Frankfurt West Germany. The Dollar s resiliency forced the Federal re serve to get into the act when trading opened in new York later thursday. The fed managed to drive the Buck Down to about 1.85 Marks by Day s end. On Friday the Dollar Selling strategy resumed with equal Fervour. We expect the Bundesbank to again be in the Market and the Federal Reserve to support them said the american trader in  trader termed the extent of Central Bank intervention unusually  Federal Reserve is getting into the act be cause it s worried about an overvalued Dollar wid ening the . Trade deficit and fueling inflation inthe states. A High Dollar tends to reduce . Exports to overseas markets and make imported goods More expensive for american Consumers. Apparently the fed has reason to be concerned because the most recent . Trade report was a bad one. Surprisingly though the Dollar did t go into tailspin As it has done in some previous months because of the poor Trade numbers. Installed briefly on wednesday and then bolted above 1.87 Marks in West Germany. Of course it did falter again at week s end. But that does t mean the Buck is dead in the water currency traders say. High interest rates in the United states Are continuing to make the Dollar an attractive investment Overall. The mood is still positive for the Dollar said the Frankfurt trader who spoke on the condition that his name not be used. People still want Toby the  the trader said he expects the Buck to Trade Ina Broad Range Between 1.8250 Marks and 1.8750 Marks for the time being. The Bottom line is that for now it looks As i american military personnel will get a decent rate for their dollars. The Buck will fetch 1.83marks at military banking facilities in West Ger Many through at least monday. That s Dow from last week s High of 1.84 Marks for a Dollar but one pfennig better than a week earlier. The stars and stripes Sembach s mar stressing 3 is in customer service by Daryl e. Green Kaiserslautern Bureau Sembach a West Germany inevitable Cut backs in appropriated fund dollars Are prompting air Force morale welfare and recreation outlets to setback to the old adage that the customer is always right. We have no business without the customer Karen. Aspin Sembach s chief of mar marketing promo Tion and training said to a class of program manage sat the Sembach customer care Academy. The air Force morale welfare and recreation boarding june 1988 approved a comprehensive advertising and promotion plan calling for improved customer service and creating a More professional image among morale welfare and recreation activities. The three part plan with the Overall theme of mar doing Good things for people addresses training Adver Tising and promotion. They decided that this was critical enough to invest$400,000 worldwide Aspin said. That Money is showing up at air Force installation sin the form of materials such As video tapes and work books for customer care courses As Well As posters pin Sand incentives. Each air Force installation is left to its own Dev Cesas to How they will use the materials to improve their operations in line with the new initiatives. We had heard of this Academy and that acad Myand this and that Institute and we juggled it around a Little bit and we came up with the Sembach customer care Academy said Kathryn l. Mcmahon Sembach morale welfare and recreation division training assist ant and co creator of the Academy along with Aspin. The Academy administrators won t say they have the Only employee training program in Safe but they do Lay claim to being among the first in Europe to execute the new initiatives. " Safe Headquarters is saying that they believe that we re the first ones to implement it Aspin said. The Academy provides All base mar employee with an initial eight hours of training in the Art of customer care. The class curriculum provides instructions on the three c scaring Courtesy and conscientiousness As Well As first impressions listening Tele phone etiquette and teamwork. We Send them invitations they re mandatory invitations but we Send them anyway to be Nice Mcmahon said. We treat them the Way we want them to treat their  the Academy students Are first asked what the value As customers to set the stage for the rest of the course. The class then tries to give the big picture of the morale welfare and recreation organization and where each person fits. We let them know what Type of Impact they personally have on the Community Aspin said. The Impact of the Academy is not lost on the Stu dents. It s been a Long time coming and it gives a lot of information to the managers and employees said Robert m. Fryman open mess Complex  the years we kind of just expected them customers to come to the clubs no matter what. Now Withall the other things they can do it s More important that we get them to the club. We need to compete for that business and that customer More than we used  a video tape of How the Walt Disney University a Disney world prepares its employees to care for its guests is viewed in the classroom. The tape stresses that the employees must first know what it is they Are Selling. Disney much like the task before these Hope to be Academy graduates Sells happiness. We sell morale said Tom Lohr chief of Sembach morale welfare and recreation and a student at the Academy. Our business is to increase people s morale to make people  the primary lesson of the course is to treat the Cus Tomer right and give them Quality service and products. We know that most of this is All common sense but you would be surprised How Many people have never Learned it or need to be reminded Mcmahon said. The Academy has placed 84 graduates in the Community since it began in december. When a customer notices mar s doing goo things for people pin it effectively identifies an employee who has gone through Acca Mcmahon said. Investors with Long term goals advised to consider Zero Bonds by Chet Currier a business writer new York invest $450 now get $1,000 Back inthe year 2000, and pay no income tax on your earnings. If that s the sort of proposition that appeals to you you might want to Check out an increasingly popular investment known As Zero Coupon municipal Bonds. Despite their somewhat ponderous name municipal Eros Aren t All that complicated. They Are close cousins in fact of . Saving Bonds and can be used for Many of the same purposes and goals As savings Bonds. One big difference while you May Well eventually have to pay taxes on the Money you earn from savings Bonds there is no Federal tax on income from the typical municipal Zero issued by a state or local government. Savings Bonds of course Are sold through a Long established National program and Are easily accessible at Banks and other financial institutions or even fro your employer through payroll deductions. Municipal zeros which Trace their origins Back Justa few years Aren t yet so widely available. But inquiries at brokerage firms May Lead you to on of several firms that creates zeros from Ordinary Muni Cipal Bonds through a process called stripping that separates them from their current interest payments. The Cleveland based brokerage firm of Prescott Ball & Turben inc. Calls the municipal zeros it Sells stripped tax exempt participation or Steps. A few states in addition have begun offering Bond specifically designed As zeros. In december Connecticut offered the first in whats planned As twice a year sales of College savings Bonds with maturities of five to 20 years. For Connecticut residents they Are exempt from both Federal and state tax. Since zeros pay no current interest they Are obviously unsuitable for people who want or need in come from their investments to help them meet living expenses. Rather they Are designed to Appeal to people saving for some future goal. Buyers of zeros pay a fraction of the Bonds face value that is calculated to produce a certain annual compound growth rate until the Bonds Are redeem Don maturity at face value. They eliminate the uncertainty that comes with conventional Bonds about what reinvestment options will be available for interest As it is paid out Over time. We can think of no investment vehicle whose re sults Are More clearly defined says Prescott Ball & Turben in its monthly publication investor news. For that reason zeros Are of great value in financial plan  drawbacks and possible Pitfalls yes there Are Sev eral. In their eagerness to get a tax break Many buyers of municipals often Don t bother to calculate whether they might actually do better even after taxes in some other Type of investment. With a municipal Zero you can know precisely what after tax Dollar amount you can expect to receive in 1995, or 2000, or 2005. But because of inflation there is no Way of telling i Advance How much purchasing Power those dollars will have for example whether they will cover a Colleg tuition payment or not. Furthermore if inflation increases zeros offer you no Protection. In fact assuming that the general level of Market interest rates rises along with inflation the value of a Zero will fall should you want to sell it before maturity. The automatic compounding feature of zeros that appeals to so Many investors actually exaggerates this effect. So their Market values tend to fluctuate evermore than those of conventional Bonds with the  and Downs of interest rates  
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