European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes business news past week disappointing for Buck is the past five Days turned out to be a week of disappointment for the Dollar and service Mem ers in Europe hoping their paychecks were on the verge of getting a Little More buying Power. The bad news came on two fronts. First worldwide interest rates edged up a bit but open warfare did t break out Between european Cen trial Banks and the . Federal Reserve. Earlier in the week currency traders had speculated that the West German Bundesbank would increase a key interest rate at which it makes Loans to other Banks and that the Federal Reserve would quickly follow suit. It did t happen. The Bundesbank s Central Council met thurs Day and left its Lombard rate unchanged at 6 by Randy Mcclain percent. The Federal Reserve s discount rate unchanged since August stayed at 6.5 percent Aswell. Some currency traders speculated that the West German Central Bank did not boost its rate because its governors Don t want to appear Overly jittery about inflation now perceived As a growing worldwide problem. The Lombard in Terest rate had already been hiked twice in the past two months and a third increase so soon might have been perceived As an overreaction. The second big area of disappointment for Dollar supporters was the Dollar s Flat performance Friday after the . Department of labor released . Trade data from december. The report showed a Trade deficit of $11.9 billion for the month which was about what the Market expected. It was t Good enough though to cause the Buck to Rise. Instead the Dollar drifted slightly lower on the Day in Europe. Late Friday afternoon in Frankfurt West Germany the Buck was trading in the neigh boyhood of 1.8350 after having closed in Europe thursday around 1.8425. The military Exchange rate also fell on that Day. On thursday the rate paid at Community banking facilities throughout the country was 1.82 Marks for a Buck. The rate fell to 1.81 at the Price fixing Friday afternoon. That lower rate will apply to military banking trans actions at least through monday. Gunter Teich currency specialist with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt said the Trade numbers weren t enough to help the Buck now that speculation on the interest rate front has cooled. At the moment interest rates in the . Won t be going up he said. And that s Why the Buck came Down a bit  if there was any Good news on Friday it was that the Trade deficit was t any bigger than it was. Teich and other currency traders said a deficit in the $13 billion neighbourhood would have sent the Dollar 2 /2 pfennig lower than i actually fell. The Best guess of currency traders now is that the Buck will continue to move in a narrow Range be tween 1.82 and 1.86 Marks for the time being. Unexpected developments that would move interest rates higher Back in the states would be Good news for the Dollar. Teich for one does think that is Likely though. I think the fed will sit tight for the moment he said and it looks like the Bundesbank will do the same. If the Dollar stays about where it is we won t see a German interest rate hike Teich added. If the fed leads with an increase of its own though look for the Bundesbank to follow suit right away in an attempt to keep the Buck from shooting too far up on the news. The stars and stripes cafes Steps up drive to halt upswing of in store thefts by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Munich West Germany when the surveillance squad slipped into the Stuttgart Exchange last november they knew whom they were looking for. When they left two 18-year-old Cashiers were headed for a German jail after admitting to More than $ 100,000 in thefts. That Case was the biggest single catch in a year that saw theft in european exchanges continue a three year upward spiral. In that time losses due to employee theft and shoplifting have More than doubled. Although the numbers Are not All in for the 1988 business year that ended in january preliminary re sults show that store detectives and Security specialists nabbed More than 3,000 thieves last year in the on going War against in store crime. That includes 2,260 shoplifters and 780 employees caught in the act of stealing. Altogether thieves were responsible for stealing almost $1 million Worth of merchandise in the past 11 months. Well have More than $ 1 million Worth of crime detected by year s end said army it. Col. Herbert Boyce who Heads the army and air Force Exchange service s Security operations. The figures represent a 14 percent increase in shoplift ers caught and a 77 percent increase in the number of employees apprehended when compared with last year. Cafes attributes that Success to such improved Security As computerized scanner Cash registers and an upgrade in the Force of detectives that investigates in store crime. In 1985, for example Only 294 employees and 820 customers were caught stealing. The totals for 1988 were almost triple that in each category. The Dollar value of goods stolen has risen even More sharply since 1985. Shoplifting increased nearly 400 percent from about $30,000 to More than $150,000 last year. And employee theft Rose 500 percent during that same Span from $140,000 to nearly $850,000 in 1988. Boyce said a majority of the stolen merchandise has either been recovered or is being paid for by the persons who took it. Boyce a career military policeman believes a continuing program to increase the level of awareness among local Law enforcement people customers and employees has been the key ingredient in the recent Success of his crime busting program. We Are running into a situation now where we have customers who Are turning in shoplifters and employees who Are turning in other store employees Boyce said. Local programs in some exchanges include incentive awards for tipsters which helps attract interest he said. But High tech wizardry also plays a significant role in taking a bite out 9f Exchange crime according to Dietrich Russold the service s Deputy chief of Security. Installation of computerized scanner Cash registers in almost All major retail stores has made it nearly impossible for Cashiers to beat the system and has made it easier for store detectives to track those who still want to try. Just in Case however Exchange service computer Whiz kids Are sometimes brought in to test the sys tem a concept that has resulted in closing some Loop holes recently Russold said. Another Long term program started last year involves installing a system of cameras in sales areas in major retail outlets in Germany. The first system be came operational in october in Frankfurt and the apprehension rate of thieves there has since doubled Russold said. The systems Are movable and Are equipped with very sensitive multidirectional lenses. You can read the serial number on a Dollar Bill at50 feet he said. A hotline ets 440-6195 to the cafes Security staff at Exchange Headquarters in Munich accounted for about a fifth of All confirmed reports of employee theft Boyce said. When justified Security staffers can dispatch a surveillance unit to investigate. The unit which started work three years ago boasts Exchange rip offs shoplifting and employee theft at cafes Europe stores. Employees shoppers 1987 employees shoppers 1988 k Vav v1 values in thousands of dollars source cafes Europe is graphic Margit Joelo a 90 percent Success rate. Generally the team is dispatched Only in major cases involving Large amounts of Cash or merchandise. Last year the Exchange system s High tech detectives hit on thefts valued at $220,000. Although the teams Are expensive to Field about $500 per Day successes such As the one in Stuttgart More than pay for the expense Boyce said. The teams account for about a $6 return for every Dollar spent on sending them into the Field officials said. Russold blames the service s spiralling employee theft figures on a work Force of nearly 25,000 and a High turnover rate. He said the biggest theft problems Are with employees in the lower pay grades Many of whom Don t stay on the Job very Long. Last year about a third of the employees caught stealing were in entry level positions he said. Additionally Boyce believes the level of theft in exchanges in t increasing at a dangerous level. Rather he said his team is getting better at catching the Crooks. Boyce also believes that last year May have been the Peak year and that the rate of reported thefts May begin to level out. Flattening out of the crime statistics is already be coming evident with shoplifting. That crime showed an increase of nearly 50 percent from 1986 to 1987, but Only 14 percent last year. The Dollar value of Mer Chandise taken stayed about the same. Russold who has 22 years experience in Exchange Security at locations around the world believes his office s program must create a perception of Omni presence if it is to successfully deter crime. It s that perception that will hopefully deter people from stealing Russold said. Our ultimate goal would be to never catch another shoplifter or employee steal ing because there Are none. But by catching people we reinforce the notion that we re not just a Barking do we re a dog that bites As  3 Banks in Texas closed by regulators Washington up regulators have closed three Texas Banks Security Bank of Houston Texas National Bank in Houston and Westpoint National Bank in san Antonio and approved the Assumption of the failed Banks Deposit liabilities by other institutions. The closings thursday bring to 16 the number of failed Banks in Texas in 1989. Last year Texas recorded 113 of the 200 Bank fail ures nationwide. Security Bank was closed by Kenneth Littlefield Texas banking commissioner who said a recent examination revealed the institution was insolvent. The fed eral Deposit insurance corp. Was named receiver. Texas National Bank in Houston with total assets of $43.3 million was closed by Dean Marriott senior Deputy comptroller of the currency and the Odic was named receiver. Westpoint National Bank with total assets of about j111.3 million also was closed by Marriott and the Dic was named receiver