European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 07, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes business news by Randy Mcclaln Job Ess Rafe sours Hopes of Strong Buck the suddenly resilient Dollar made a Strong move toward 1.90 Marks last week but Hopes of busting through to even higher Levels May have been dashed by the sour . Unemployment statistics released  expectations prior to the release of the jobs numbers were that the nation s unemployment Rale for april would be no higher than 5.2 percent it was 5 percent in March. It was also expected that 220,000 new jobs would be Cre ated during the month almost 50,000 More than in March. The actual numbers fell Short of those Rosy expectations. Unemployment Rose to 5.3 per cent and Only 115,000 new non farm jobs were created. Analysts immediately said the poo statistics indicate that the. . Economy is in deed slowing Down and in some quarters the numbers rekindled fears of a recession. A , in. The Job growth num Bers were the lowest in nearly three years and the unemployment rate was the highest since january. London economist Tim Fox for one thinks that the double whammy will be enough to push the Dollar lower in the week ahead. These statistics Don t really do the Dollar any favors Fox said. Currency traders now will begin anticipating further bad economic news and in the next week 1 think Well see the Dollar lose a Little More ground he said. In fact that slide May have already started late Friday in Europe. Prior to the release of the jobs data the Buck was trading around 1.8980 Marks in West Germany. In the Wake of the statistics the Greenback slipped As far As 1.8810marks for a Buck before rebounding a bit to finish the Day in Europe near 1.8880 Marks. The Only Silver lining of the Day was the fact that the military Exchange Rale for Scricc Momb cars in West Germany was set before the labor department gave out its jobs report. That Al Lowed the Buck to remain stable for Scricc members weekend spending pleasure at 1.87 Marks the same Rale offered on thursday at Community Banks. Perhaps it s some Consolation to remember that two weeks ago the Dollar was trading at Only 1.82 Marks at Community banking facilities. At least that Means . Service members dollars have gained a full five pfennig in purchasing Power the past iwo weeks. The unfortunate news however is thai the Dol Lar seemed poised to reach new Heights prior to the release of the disappointing employment Dala. Many foreign Exchange traders said earlier in the week that it looked As if Battle lines had been draw for a major skirmish Between currency traders in tent on pushing the Dollar higher and european Central Bankers intent on keeping it in Check. Europe s economic Bosses arc wary of a stronger Dollar out of fear that such a development would increase the Price of their imported goods and fuel Domestic inflation. For the most part optimism about the Dollar s strength Early in the week was fuelled by a Survey of corporate purchasing managers in the United states that indicated stronger than expected eco nomic growth is ahead. Currency traders latched on to that report As a Good excuse to buy dollars. I think the Market is Only looking for theg Dod things and they forget at the moment Thead said Gonter Tucich a foreign Exchange specialist with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt West Germany. Teich spoke prior to the release of Friday s jobs figures. At the time Teich said it would take a jump in unemployment to at least 5.3 percent on the month or Job growth of less than 200,000 positions to take the Pep out of the Buck s recent rally. We got both of those things. And . Service members in Europe can probably look Forward to a weaker Buck Over the next several Days. Tin suit Sixl so ref the big Bounce average number of customers on the cafes Europe bad Check list. Counselor help gis take Bounce out of Check books by Randy Mcclain financial writer Kaiserslautern West Germany we Veall heard the joke. A Guy walks into the Bank with a perplexed look on his face says he s ran Oul of checks and asks for More. The Leller s jaw drops open when he recognizes inc customer s name. It s a Good thing you came in in cider says. You May have just run out of checks but you ran out of Money a Long time  Ann Hart and Charles sle Cyrson financial counsel ors with the army Community service office in Kai  have heard Hal joke Loo. Bui icy Aren l laughing. They be seen the loll that bounced checks can take on the financial Well being of service members and their families and icy realize it s nothing to laugh about. Instead they iry to Corr cd the problem. Twice a week Hart and Styverson teach a course in Check Book management at the vog Cloch housing area. Most students arc referred to the course by i hair com Manders after they be written one or More bad checks. A few people show up Wilhour official prodding simply because icy realize they need help. I believe most of inc problem is a simple failure on the part of individuals to keep Good records and most of that is due to carelessness said Slevc son who has been leaching Check Book balancing for Ihrcke years. Some people can be very careless. The worst Case Steverson remembers is a Scricc member who showed up in class at his commander s insist once after bouncing 35 checks lolling $5,000. Most students Don t run up tabs that huge but eve Small time Check Book offenders can find the experience painful. One bounced Check can easily Cost $30 in overdraft charges. Not reconciling your Check Book when your monthly Bank statement comes is a lot like playing russian Roulette Styverson said. Inexperience and youth often can be the trigger. In Many cases the people we Sec arc Young be tween the Ages of 20 and 25and they Are using a checking account for the first time Hart said they really Don t understand he  they usually have excuses though and Hart has heard most of Ihm. Either they Houghl they had More Money than they actually did or they wrote a bad Check for what hey Houghl was a very Good reason Hart said. Her Favorule excuse came from the Soldier who wrote a hot Check to pay for new uniforms after his Luggage was loss on a Nigel to inc United Stales. He was afraid he d gel kicked Oul of the army Wilhour new work Cloi hcs. Other More believable problems that can Lead to an overdrawn account include for gelling to deduct one big Check from your account which leads to the next Check bouncing. Taking Money out of a joint account and not Tell ing the other account Holder. Getting Money out of an Automa cd idler machine and forgetting to enter the withdrawal in the Check Book. Solution Don t get Money Oul of the Money machine unless you have your Check Book Handy Ihnn immedi ally write Down the withdrawal. Making math errors or careless entries in your Check Book Register Hal come Back to haunt you. Don t enter a $ 10 withdrawal when it was actually $ 100. Hart said another common mistake often made by not reconciling your Check Book when your monthly Bank statement comes is a lot like playing russian  Charles Steverson first Lime checking account holders is underestimating How quickly a Check written today will be charged against your account. A lot of people Don l Realise Ine Floal Lime on checks is very limited Hart said. _ a Check will in today can Clear the Bank and be paid from your account in As Little As two Days. The problem arises when the do posit you thought would Coyer that Check does t arrive at the Bank until the third  final piece of advice. Slevc son said preparing a monthly budget and sticking to that budget can help you avoid the tempt lion of riling a Check when there in t enough Money in your account to cover it. The thing you hear most often is about the individual who is broke a week before payday and they Don know where All their Money went Styverson said. Whether you re single or married you should operate on a budget. Then you la know where the Money goes. And More important you la probably have some left in your checking account All the Way until next payday