European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and Stripe business new upbeat report helps push Dollar higher a surprisingly up Cal . Durable goods report helped the Dollar gain some respect Friday after a slide of three pfennig against the West German Mark earlier in the week. But currency traders in West Germany and England Don t think the Dollar is poised for a Strong move higher. Quot in West Germany 1.72 or 1.73 Marks seems to be the ceiling for the Dollar Quot said Ian Amstad. Economist with Chase investment Bank in London. Quot anything above 1.70 Marks and the Dollar starts getting a bit  Amstad and other currency traders said too Many factors Are working hand in Glove to keep a tight lid on the Buck. Officials with the West German Bundesbank Don t want a Strong Dollar for fear that it will Lead to higher prices on imports in their country. Which in turn could boost Domestic inflation. Japanese officials fear imported inflation too. And the . Federal Reserve wants to keep the Dollar Down to make american goods a bargain overseas. The Federal Reserve Hopes Low priced exports will Lead to an improvement in the . Trade deficit. On Friday currency dealers weren t interested in Trade statistics though. Instead their attention was focused on december durable goods orders and the fourth Quarter Gross National product report. Growth in the Gnu was a disappointing 0.3 percent for october to december the worst quarterly rate in nearly four cais but a healthy increase in durable goods orders to american factories helped prop up the Dollar. Durable goods arc big ticket items everything from computers to air planes expected to last More than three years. An increase in orders for such goods is considered a hint of renewed investment in and by american business. Quot the durable goods orders were quite Good and at least for the time being we won t see the Dollar go  said Guntert Cion. Currency analyst with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt West Germany. Tim Fox. An economist with Midland Montagu Bank in London said the durable goods report would look even belter if the sagging defense Industry could be removed from the picture. Not counting defense orders there would have been a 3.3 percent increase on the month and Fox said that could serve the Dollar Well. Fox does t Sec the american Economy lapsing into recession. One potential area of concern is How the Federal Reserve would react to further declines in the . Stock Market. In the last four weeks the widely recognized Dow Jones average of 30 Industrial stocks has dropped nearly 200 Points or 7 percent from its Peak of 2,810.15 on Jan. 2. Amstad said further Sharp drops on Wall Street might prompt the fed to Cut interest rates in order to help . Businesses borrow Money to weather such a financial storm. Similar Steps were taken during the october 1987 Stock Market crash. If no Wall Street catastrophe materializes. Amstad expects . Interest rates to stay pretty much where they arc until the end of March. If the Slock Market a Falls  though the Dollar will be pulled Down with it he said and that will be painful for . Service Mcm bars overseas. On Friday the Dollar ended european trading at 1.6905 Marks up slightly on the Day but Down More than three pfennig from the week s High. One British Pound was Selling for $1.66, 2 cents higher than at the beginning of the week. The military Exchange rate in West Germany was set at 1.66 Marks for the weekend based on an afternoon Price fixing in Frankfurt. Tact sure and strip Dollar watch Randy Mcclain investing while overseas is just a phone Call away by Randy Pruitt staff writer Don t let being overseas keep you out of the investment picture. Many members of the . Armed forces arc finding that investing Back in America is just As easy As picking up a Telephone. What s More calling across the Ocean does t have to Cost very much. Fidelity investments one of the top two discount brokers in the United states even has a direct line that spares overseas callers any Long distance charges. Fidelity and Charles Schwab the other top rated discount brokerage House both say they value scr inc members and other americans overseas As clients. Quot we Don t want to lose investors because they move overseas Quot said David Weison Burger of Fidelity. He said the firm handles approximately 20,000 fish on Calls a Day worldwide. The firm s overseas inc 013-081-0175 is toll free except for local connection charges. In West Germany that amounts to 23 pfennig every eight minutes. Both Fidelity and Schwab peddle popular Mutual funds known for their Good rates of return and relative safety through diversification and solid management. What separates discount from full service brokers is the commission they charge for making a transaction and investment advice. Users of a discount brokerage must make their own investment decisions which saves As much As 70 percent in Quot loads Quot or commissions charged by a full service brokerage House. Commissions on some Mutual funds Range from a Quot no Load Quot to As High As 8.5 percent. Fidelity classifies most of its funds As no Load or Low Load with a 3 percent maximum. But making your own investments could be the biggest drawback for the Novice. A most of our clients arc knowledgeable in the Market Quot said Mark Baum a registered customer service representative with Schwab. Quot with the availability now of a Cable financial news network other people can gain information that they used to rely on full service brokers  Austin Ritterspach business development coordinator at Schwab and a registered broker said a full service broker May charge As much As $190 to buy 500 shares of a $15 Stock. Schwab charges about $90, he  s hot in Mutual funds a Fidelity data any i amp b a Long term growth returns on destiny 1�?32.23% returns on destiny ii a 28.66% minimum investment a $50 a Index 3 a moderately risky fund targets Long term growth in new companies return 0134.47%�?o minimum investment a $50. A Oppenheimer global a invests in european companies return of 21%�?o minimum investment a $1,000 a Pioneer ii and Pioneer 3 a growth income funds returns of 23%f Pioneer 3 invests in companies Worth $750 million or less minimum investment a $1,000 Pioneer ii invests in wide Range of industries in . And overseas minimum investment a $50� Putnam voyager invests in Small to medium sized companies return of 21.44%�?o minimum investment a $500 12 months ended 9/30/89 it 2 months ended 11130/80 "12 months ended 600/89 s4s Susan Harris Industry regulations require that customers receive a copy of the particular investment prospectus before making a Purchase. No buy orders can be executed unless the client states on a recorded line that he has read that document. Baum said Schwab can give prospective investors a walk Down Wall Street with absolutely no risk. Quot we have trading training a he said. A people can Call a number to practice making  Quot people should take a Long term approach when investing in Mutual funds Quot Weison Burger said. Iras and cough plans also Are available through discount houses. Prospective investors arc required to first open up a free account through the mail. Afterwards All transactions can be conducted by phone. The number for Schwab in the United states is 415392-3620, but that s not toll free. E. German graphics firm becomes 1 St to acquire american company by Brian Lewis staff Urwiler new York a in the first acquisition of an american company by an East German firm polygraph  of Leipzig has taken control of Royal Zenith inc. Of Long Island renaming it Placta North America inc. Robert Mckinney vice president of marketing at Planeta called the move a Quot fairly straightforward International  political change in Eastern Europe did no to prompt the acquisition Mckinney said. It had been in the works Long before the opening of the Berlin Wall. The two firms have done business with each other for More than 20 years. Polygraph is the sole exporter and importer of graphic arts equipment in East Germany and for years Royal Zenith acted As the company a . Sales agent. As a state controlled monopoly polygraph Sells the output of five East German factories the largest of which produces Sheet fed offset printing machines. Those machines most often Are used to print designs and instructions on cardboard Cartons. The machines arc among East Germany s most successful exports but Mckinney noted polygraph was unhappy with its Market share in the United states. The acquisition of the Long Island company is aimed at improving that share. Talks about polygraph acquiring Royal Zenith began about a year ago and despite Mckinney s characterization of the Deal As routine there were some delays in arranging financing. Many Western Banks did no to want to touch it because there is no lax treaty Between the United states and East Germany and their corporate loan officers did t have experience evaluating the credit worthiness of quasi government firms in the East bloc. Eventually the Bay Rische Hypoth Ckon und Rcch Sel Bank of West Germany put up $25 million toward Many Western Banks did no to want to touch the Deal because they have no experience evaluating East bloc firms. The Purchase Price which remains undisclosed. Participants in the Deal said there was some concern that continuing turmoil in East Germany might derail the transaction. But Hans Froidl head of the Baye Rischl Bank s International department said that East Germany a standing As the Best credit risk in Eastern Europe outweighs those concerns. He said East Germany will flourish As soon As Central planning is scrapped in favor of a More Market oriented Economy