European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday. May 28,1989 business news Buck loses ground at week s end is thai All Uherc is after a week in which the Dollar hit a 29 month High against the West German Mark and a two year High against the British Pound the . Currency took a Licking Friday. It had fallen almost 4 pfennig against the Mark and More than 2 cents against the Pound by late afternoon trading in Europe. On the Exchange in Frankfurt West Germany the Dollar stood at 1.9630 Marks late Friday after flirting wild the 2.02 Mark level earlier in the week. That High Dollar rate coaxed Scricc members to Community Bank windows to Cash in Bucks atthe unusually attractive 1.99-Mark Mili tary Exchange rate on tuesday. That was the highest since december 1986. On Friday that rate plummeted and was ii Randy Mcclain set at 1.94 Marks through tuesday. Officials with merchants National Bank the department of defense s banking contractor in West Germany said total foreign currency Exchange transactions on both tuesday and wednesday last week ran at a Pace double the Normal volume. Dank officials attributed some of the heavy buy ing of Marks to the vacation plans of americans hitting the Road for the memorial Day weekend. But the Dollar s strength also played a part. The question now becomes can the Dollar regain its muscle one analyst who thinks the Buck faces an Uphill struggle at least during the week ahead is Tim Fox with Midland Montagu Bank in London. His reasoning interest rates in Europe and Japan probably will be jacked up in the next few Days and that should cat away at some of the Edge the Dollar has been enjoying. The japanese discount rate which the Central Bank charges commercial Banks for Money has been running at a record Low of 2.5 percent so far this year but Odds Are that that country s banking officials will raise the Rale by three quarters of a percentage Point by midweek Fox said. Next up will be the West German Bundesbank which will hold a Board meeting thursday and prob ably will raise its base interest rates the analyst said. Already in the past week the British increased their base interest rate from 13 percent to 14 percent and the Swiss Central Bank also went up on its Lom Bard Rale a key Bank to Bank lending rate by just More than i percentage Point. Those two moves started to give the Dollar difficulty maintaining its push Fox said. The Londo analyst thinks the Bundesbank would be foolish not to finish off what those two other Banks have started. The germans have been leery in recent Days of intervening Loo Early in currency markets out of a concern that anything they might iry would fall Flat As traders continued to push the Buck higher. The Bundesbank stayed on the sidelines last week As other Central Banks in Europe and Japan and even the . Federal Reserve sold Bucks to hold the Dol Lar s rally in Check. Now that the Dollar seems to have peaked though Fox expects the germans to move in for a knockout punch. But that does t mean Fox is counting out the Dollar for the rest of the summer. He acknowledge that there is still pent up demand for the Greenback among currency dealers and he thinks the Buck could Bounce Back after a slight downward correction. I be constantly underestimated the demand for the Dollar in the past few weeks the economist said. So let s Call it a hedge. I would t Rule out the Dollar reaching two Marks again within the next two to three  americans overseas Are sure to Hope that Fox s a Educ bet is the right  Ihbe Bhim Habbi Mai  by bbb invest the time to pick stocks yourself sergeant tells class by Randy Mcclain financial writer you Don t have to be a Genius to make Money in the Stock Market. Anyone with a lick of common sense and the patience to read at least one business newspaper a Day can learn to pick stocks with the pros. While that might sound like the latest cd my on for a hot new Book on How to become a multimillionaire sol. De Shade really believes it. Shade an administrator with the military police Sta Tion at Wiesbaden a West Germany teaches a class on investments at Rhein main a. His message Don t be afraid to pick a Stock based on instinct and trends you Sec in the world around you. If you re a smart Monkey you can Sec trends. Oil prices arc going up. Maybe Oil stocks will be going up Shade said. I follow Market and world economic conditions on a daily basis and i feel i can make an educated guess As Well As the next  Shade who holds a degree in business management from the University of Maryland Learned that lesson a few years ago when he read a series of stories in the business press predicting that car prices were on the Way up. He put his thinking Cap on and decided that Goodyear the lire company was a hot Stock pick. The idea was that with car prices headed through the roof the average Motorist would keep his old car instead of buying a new Model. Millions of americans would flock to car repair shops for Luncus and to Goodyear for new tires. Goodyear s Stock Price would  look his theory to a Friend at Merrill Lynch. The stockbroker scoffed at the idea so Shade did t buy any of the company s Stock. Bad move. Goodyear s Stock hit new highs within months. So much for expert advice. From that Point on. Shade decided he could do belter than that himself. Free class held once a month set. Cd Shade s investment class is a recent offering of the air Force family support Center us Rhein main a. The two hour class is offered free once a month. It covers a variety of topics including How to pick stocks How to choose a Mutual fund and lion to use life insurance Asun investment vehicle. The class which Stutrud four months ago is one of the few on investments offered anywhere in Europe by the service s. It s difficult for the average person to get an unbiased View of How to evaluate investments and we plan to continue to offer this sort of class in the future said Theresa Quandel the administrator of personal financial management programs at Rhein main. Quandel said her organization s top priority will Al ways be helping those service members who arc Grap pling with More Basic problems such As setting up � budget paying off debts or managing their Check books. But she said there seems to be a growing demand for a course on How to invest to find out More about the class Call the base s sup port Center at 330-7992. In the last few years the sergeant investor has built a sizable Stock portfolio that includes everything from Blue Chip holdings to a smattering of Small company stocks he thinks have a Chance to grow. Shade has become a student of the Stock Market. One recent thursday evening found Shade making his anybody can pick stocks pitch to a class of 20 would be investors at Rhein main a. These students. Air Force and army personnel ranging in rank from specialist Tomajor were All cars. But they were sceptical. Instead the class members seemed to favor Mutual funds a system through which Money from hundreds of investors is pooled and a Bushel Basket of stocks i bought by the fund s managers. The investor sits Back and watches what happens. Mutual funds Shade said Are Only for the faint of heart those people who want the luxury of having someone else to blame when they Don t make Money. Ass go Schuol Tell sgt.  Shade right discusses Stock picking with staff sol. Dennis Kosisky Al Rhein main a. I think people in inc military who inc so wont Security Shade , Shade said learning Abdul stocks is easy. Military libraries keep business magazines the Wall Street Jour Nal and Standard & poor s and value line newsletters on  two newsletters arc investment services that pro Duce periodic analytical reports on a variety of publicly traded stocks. What were a company s earnings last Quarter what new products will a firm produce this year what expansion plans arc in the works arc competitors moving in for the kill value line and Standard & poor s have the answers. After you be picked a Stock Shade has some More advice. Don t make your Purchase through a full service brokerage House. Instead use a discount broker. Charles Schwab is the world s  reason full service brokers charge 2 percent com missions when you buy and when you sell a Stock. Thai adds to your total Cost and takes a bite out of earnings. Discount brokers have processing fees too but they re typically half the amount charged by the Merrill lynches and . Hullon Sof in world. On the topic of Mutual funds. Shade has some More advice for investors who insist on buying into a fund instead of picking i hair own  be aware that Mutual funds arc wont to tout last year s rate of return As a reason to invest Wilh them plus year. Be wary. Shade said. Usually in a Mutual fund a Small number of people or even one person will control the Stock picks Shade , what is Stock picker Shade Belling on for inc future he thinks Gold mining stocks would be a decent invest ment although somewhat speculative Home stack min ing is one company to keep in  stocks arc also one of Shade s favourites. If you have $20,000 thai you d9n t need until age 65, Why not put it into an Oil Stock Oil prices have logo up he said. The world s Oil  running  and if your tastes run toward High risk stocks How about inst form of North America it s a Small company that makes sewer pipe and a collapsible covering that can be inserted into old pipe to Rel Psi it Shade said. It s a patented product that All the bigger cities arc going to be ? remember Goodyear