European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes business views my Ai 11. .1 & w.5f. A. To Tiv of  resilient Buck still bullish on hectic Market imagine boxers sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas hit Man Hearns squaring off in the ring in their prime and you be got some idea of the ferocious Ness with which foreign currency traders and the world s Central Bankers slugged it out last week. The Good news As far As . Service members in Europe Are concerned is that As of late Friday afternoon those currency traders who favor the Dol Lar seemed to be holding the upper hand. In general the Market is still bullish on the Dol Lar and without intervention it would be much higher already perhaps 1.88 or 1.90 Marks for a Dollar by Randy Mcclain said Ginter Teich foreign currency specialist with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt West Germany. As Teich spoke the Buck eased above 1.85 Marks despite heavy Dollar Selling by the West German Bundesbank the Bank of England other european Central Banks and the . Federal Reserve. Those sales were aimed at stemming the Dollar s rally but had Little immediate effect. Central Bankers and foreign currency traders have been struggling for supremacy in the world Market for at least the past two weeks. It s their favorite pastime. In the trading week that ended Jan. 20, it looked As if the Central Bankers had the Edge. They had sold dollars in Large enough quantities to drive the Buck Down from More than 1.87 Marks to just above 1.84. Last week though the Dollar slowly began retracing its Steps. It stalled a bit Early in the week and then increased a full pfennig Between tuesday and thurs Day. One Dollar will fetch 1.83 Marks at military banking facilities throughout West Germany this weekend and on monday. The Dollar s slight Rise was fuelled in part by com ments from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Green Span who told Congress he still considers inflation to be Public enemy no. 1 in the states. High interest rates in the states already Are lend ing support to the Dollar and the Prospect of still higher rates Only serves to push the Buck up further by attracting foreign investors to the . Currency. And now for one note of caution in this otherwise Rosy report. Late Friday the . Government released its fourth Quarter report on growth in the nation s Gross National product the broadest measurement of eco nomic health in the country. Fourth Quarter Gnu grew by a Mere 2 percent significantly slower growth than the 2.5 percent increase turned in during the july to september period. Some currency traders said the humdrum fourth Quarter stats might be enough to take the steam out of the Buck s surge. Most people Are expecting relatively Strong Gnu numbers. That s one reason the Dollar has been pretty Well supported said Tim Fox a currency analyst with Barclays Bank in London who was interviewed shortly before the figures were made Public. If that Faith proves to be misplaced he added the Dollar could go off a  so what were Early indications of How the Market is reacting to 2 percent Gnu growth in Frankfurt the Dollar held firm in the Wake of the report. At 1 . Friday one Dollar was Worth 1.8518 Marks. Three hours later after the Gnu numbers were out the Buck stood Little changed at 1.8510 Marks. And in the Days ahead Fox for one believes Dollar supporters won t be Able to out slug the Central Bankers much longer. He predicts the Dollar falling to 1.70 Marks and perhaps As Low As 1.60 Marks by the end of the year. 3gaaigea marginal Holiday sales Rise disappoints cafes officials by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Munich West Germany Christmas sales in cafes exchanges in Europe inched up less than 1 percent in 1988, and Exchange service officials said they were disappointed growth was t bigger. Retail sales for the Christmas season in 1987 hit $400 million More than a 20 percent increase when compared with sales from the previous year. Sales for the 1988 season were $403 million. I Don t believe this year was bad said cafes Europe purchasing chief Roger Dix but last year was just so Good. You just Don t have two years like that Back to  cafes officials had projected a 5.75 percent sales increase to $423 million for 1988 s three month Christmas season. By comparison major retail stores in the United states enjoyed an average 10 percent increase in sales Over the Christmas season according to published re ports. Of the major retailers 9nly . Penney reported a drop in sales. Discount giant Wal Mart however posted a 14 percent jump in yuletide sales while k Mart and Sears had increases ranging from 6.8 percent to 8.4 percent. Just Why cafes s sales went Flat is unclear. One possibility is that customers Are getting used to the lower value of the Dollar and Are beginning to Drift Back downtown. Some people have thought that we have a captive audience but we Don to Dix said. We be got a lot of Competition downtown. Even with the higher prices downtown Many of the items you buy Here Are real values when compared to a stateside  Exchange customers bought More go9ds on credit in 1988, but the increase was t substantial. Credit card purchases increased from about $28 million in 1987 to $28.5 million. Deferred payment plan purchases were up 9.3 percent from $43 million to $47 million. The number of layaway purchases dropped about 6 percent. Although Overall sales were Flat for Christmas there were some hot spots. Sales of toys electronics and clothing were considered Good. Electronics which nor Mally makes close to 20 percent of annual retail sales in Europe had several Strong Sellers during Christmas according to product manager Chuck Mcdonald. Video camera recorders were very much in de Mand replacing sir single Lens reflex cameras As the in thing to have photographically Mcdonald said. Computers sold Well but the new ism compatible Commodore Colt introduced in exchanges during the Christmas season was red hot. We sold 2,000 units in about seven weeks he said. Video equipment also sold Well As did audio and video accessories and prerecorded music. Rack sys tems also had a surge in sales at the last minute which moved a lot of units Mcdonald said. Clothing sold Well but officials had anticipated that and brought More clothing items to the exchanges. We had More clothing this year in fall and Winter than we be Ever had in Europe in fact a Little too much Dix said. Customers saw some excellent buys in december because we marked it  with Christmas now a memory and the cafes Jan uary to january retail year about to end some custom ers might expect massive clearance sales but Dix said that s not going to happen. We be consciously made an attempt to get the inventory cleaned up Early so that we can get our Spring and summer goods on the floor in a timely manner he said. You la see some clearance but you won t see any great big mass clearance because hopefully we Don t have it  arc centers not exactly snowed under by skiers despite Snow by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Garmisch West Germany there s room at the inn Snow on the ground and few skiers to take advantage of it. That s the word from officials at armed forces recreation Center hotels in Bavaria who say occupancy rates Are sagging because american vacationers mistakenly believe skiing conditions Are As miserable on the slopes there As in the rest of Central Europe. We were booked out at the Start of the month but cancellations Are really causing a problem arc spokesman Harry Connors said. People apparently think there s no Snow on the slopes but that s just not  officials had projected an Overall occupancy level at arc resorts of around 90 percent for january con nors said but reports last week pegged the actual rate at 77 percent. That s Well below arc s Normal sea Sonal average. The worst performer is the resort at Chi Emsee which has an occupancy rate of Only about 50 percent. Arc operates hotels in Garmisch Berchtesgaden and at Chi Emsee. Arc is no different from other resort areas throughout Europe. It relies heavily on High occupancy rates and High revenues during Peak vacation seasons to carry it through the rest of the year. In the past arc s hotels and associated recreation programs often have been booked solid during ski sea son. But this year times Are Tough. A heavy Early snowfall in mid november got the season off to a Good Start but it has rapidly deteriorated since. In most parts of West Germany ski areas below 3,800 feet in Elevation Are without Snow and some traditional ski resorts Are closed. Slopes in the Black Forest and Rhon regions have gone without a decent snowfall since nov. 18. But skiing is still Good in the bavarian Alps con nors of arc said. In Berchtesgaden for example the Jenner and Ross Feld slopes Are reporting More than 40 inches of Snow with excellent skiing conditions he said. All the lifts on the Zug Spitze near Garmisch Are open and seven of the eight major slopes in the Chi Emsee area have More than 40 inches of Snow and Are reporting Good to excellent skiing. 60% of taxpayers May seek help by the associated press More than half of America s taxpayers 60 per cent of the 107 million will be hiring professional tax preparers this year according to an article in Lear s Magazine. The number compares to the 45 percent who sought professional help on their taxes last year. The Lear s article written by Lisa Collier Cool author of three business books and a regular Magazine contributor on financial affairs offers these alternatives for those seeking tax preparation help for those with relatively simple tax returns there is free tax preparation assistance available from the internal Revenue service. Of course even when irs employees provide Cor rect information they Aren t Likely to Volunteer Strate Gies to reduce a tax Bill writes Cool. But if an agent who helps with a return makes mistakes the taxpayer in t charged interest fees or  least expensive tax help is available from uncertified Public accountants and franchised storefront serv ices. Or certified Public accountants and enrolled agents tax preparers certified by the irs can represent taxpayers at audits and in tax court