European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and Stripe business new interest rates in Britain hurting Buck High interest Rales in Britain Are continuing to attract investors to the British Pound and that Means . Servic members abroad will probably have to dig deeper in their pockets to buy Sterling As the summer unfolds. The Cost of a Pound increased by 2 cents to $1.74 at military banking outlets last week and some currency analysts think it May go up another Nickel by october. Such an increase would put the Cost of a Pound near $1.80 for american service members in the United kingdom a level that Many would consider a hardship. Interest rates in the United kingdom stand at 15 percent right now and that makes investments denominated in pounds particularly inviting. Interest rates in Japan West Germany and the United states arc far below those in great Britain and investors generally Pul their Money where it will bring the highest yields. Today that a England. Also aiding the Pound As Well As the West German Mark arc persistent signs that the . Economy is growing sluggish and that consumer demand is weakening. Among signs that . Economic problems Are getting worse was a report Friday showing that consumer prices Rose by a paltry 0.2 percent in May less than the Kandy Mcclain majority of economists and currency traders had expected. Such a tiny increase lends credence to the argument that inflationary fears in the slates were overblown earlier this year. Low inflation May be Good news for people living in the states but it wont help the Dollar Rise in value overseas. In fact if inflation is indeed on the Wane the . Federal Reserve could be pressured into slashing interest rates Back Home. Such a move would tend to push the Dollar lower. Greg Hoclscher an economist with the Chase investment Bank in London does no to think the Federal Reserve will Cut interest rates immediately. But he still sees Tough sledding ahead for the Buck. "1 see the Dollar in a holding pattern the next couple of weeks a he said. Hoclscher secs Little in a slew of recent . Economic data to give supporters of the Buck much Hope. Even some signs that look Good on the surface Arentt really much to get excited about he said. Take for example fridays report that the . Trade deficit narrowed to $6.9 billion in april after hitting $8.4 billion a month earlier. While that appeals to be a positive development part of the data s Luster is lost upon closer examination. . Exports and the value of imports both declined on the month. That raises questions about the health of the . Manufacturing sector and indicates that american Consumers May be cutting Back on purchases. On another front it was reported Friday that Industrial production in the states shot up by 0.6 percent in May. But Hoclscher said the gain was related almost exclusively to increased demand for automobiles and it does no to signal a Broad based improvement in . Manufacturing Overall. If cars and Auto parts Arentt considered Industrial production went up by a Mere 0.2 percent on the month and that a not very encouraging he said. Hoclscher said a key statistic to watch in the next Lew Days is . Unemployment and Job growth data. Employment growth has been weak the last three months and a fourth poor month in a Row would increase pressure on the fed to Cut interest rates to give the . Economy a boost he said against the Mark the Buck turned in a lacklustre performance last week. The military Exchange rate for the weekend was set at 1.66 Marks the same rate As a week earlier based on a Price fixing Friday afternoon in Frankfurt West Germany. That rate will apply to military banking transactions through monday afternoon. The stars and stripes non account holders to pay higher Check fees by Randy Mcclain financial writer people who done to have an account at merchants National Bank will be hit with much higher fees when they Cash checks at the Bank starting next month. The fee for cashing a Check Over the counter will go from $ 1 to at least $3. If a Check is bigger than $300, customers will be charged 1 percent of its face value up to a maximum of $65. The new fees will take effect july 2 in West Germany and the Netherlands and oct. 1 in the United kingdom. The idea behind the fee increase is to make Check cashing privileges so expensive that people who done to have accounts at the Bank wont venture inside very often. Department of defense officials said non account holders should use merchants automated Teller machines to get Money instead of adding to lines inside the Bank. Most of the Bank so Green machines have been connected to electronic banking networks in the United states giving customers easy Access to stateside checking and savings accounts. A if we ran just get 20 or 30 percent of the people who stand in line to Cash checks to go outside Well see some improvement in service and Shorter lines inside the Bank a said Mark a. Scheidler a management analyst with the . European come in Stuttgart West Germany. Merchants cashes roughly 76,000 stateside checks every month for non account holders. The fee increase has been in the works for several months but the defense department delayed the move until merchants arms were connected to two worldwide electronic banking networks a the armed forces financial network and the huge Cirrus organization. In West Germany and the Netherlands All merchants arms were connected to Cirrus and Afan by mid May. Arms in the United kingdom will be hooked up by september. Cirrus counts 5,000 financial institutions in the states As members. Afan has 150 participating institutions most of them near military bases. If non account holders punch into the banking networks  Likely be hit with a transaction fee every time they use a merchants a Green  but the charge wont be As Steep As dodos new charges. The average Afan or Cirrus transaction will costs amps Dave Didio non account holders can use merchants automated Teller machines to get Money. Less than a Dollar. The fees Are set by each participating Bank. In a few cases . Financial institutions allow customers to use arms worldwide free of charge. Merchants branches that done to have an atm on site will continue to charge $1 to Cash personal checks for non account holders Scheidler said. Revenue from the new fee wont go into merchants Bank a private coffers Scheidler said. Instead it will beg used to help offset the annual deficit in military banking operations worldwide. Scheidler declined to speculate of How much Money the higher charges would generate. Arc importing Young people from . To fill summer jobs by Randy Mcclain financial writer Garmisch West Germany a desperate armed forces recreation Center officials Are flying about 20 Young people from the United states to West Germany to work in military hotels this summer because too few people in Europe wanted the Low paying jobs. A obviously wed prefer to hire people in Germany so we  have to pay for All the air plane tickets. But we re in a difficult position right now a said arc spokesman Harry Connors. The Agency operates a Chain of resorts in Berchtesgaden Chi Emsee and Gar Misch West Germany for . Personnel. Arc normally increases its payroll from 800 to about 1,000 employees for the summer season which runs this year through the end of october. The 200 temporary workers will serve As waiters waitresses and maids. This years recruiting efforts in Europe fell More than two dozen people Short. To fill the Gap the Agency a chief of personnel Joanne Witherow flew to the states three weeks ago to find More employees. Connors said Witherow will return in the next few Days with approximately 20 employees mainly people in their late teens and Early 20s. If the employees stay on the Job six months  get a free flight Home. A we recruited in College towns mainly along the East coast especially those with hotel management training programs a Connors said. Stops on withe rows itinerary included Alexandria and Newport news a. Greensboro . Orlando and Tallahassee Fla. And Denver. This is the first time the Agency has had to recruit summer helpers in the United states and Connors said he Hopes it never happens again. A we consider this a one shot affair to fill emergency  i the past most of of Rcd a summer help came from the ranks of backpacking students who journey to Europe every year on now budget sightseeing trips., Many students would use Southern Bavaria As a base of operations for several months earn a few Bucks working in the military a hotels and see the continent on weekends Connors said. A this year there was a Lack of applicants a he said. Connors and other arc officials theorize that backpackers Are headed for Eastern Europe this year where the Dollar buys a lot More than it does in the West and where the thrill of seeing newly born democracies remains a big drawing card. Arc also was unable to entice German citizens in Bavaria into taking the hotel jobs Connors said. A the majority of germans want permanent jobs and they done to want to work for the wages we pay dishwashers waiters and maids a he said. The German hospitality Industry which generally pays higher wages than the americans is also suffering from a severe shortage of workers in Southern Germany Connors said. Some companies have started hiring in Spain. Pay for the jobs offered by arc Start at $4.63 per hour. Employees will also get commissary and Exchange privileges As Long As they work More than 20 hours per week. Other Perks include meal discounts and dorm rooms near work for unmarried employees. The rooms Wilt rent for roughly $60 per month. A in Munich we even run a Van for family members to go to and from work in Garmisch a Connors said. In some cases the jobs that arc is offering will last longer than the summer. Some positions Are for six eight and 12 months. In addition workers who want to stay on at the end of their temporary assignments will be Given preference if permanent jobs come open Connors said. Applicants must be at least 18 years old