European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Business news Dollar keeps i thousands of Dod jobs steady course spared thanks to crisis a downward Dollar watch Mary Neth the Dollar kept on its steady seven month course this week a Ever downward. On wednesday the Greenback fell a pfennig from oct. 12�?Ts Low of 1.49 Marks at the military Exchange rate. On Friday it dropped again a to 1.47. Americans in Britain have also been faced with the dollars diminishing buying Power. Last october a Pound Cost $1.61 at the military Exchange rate. At the begin Ning of last week 1 Pound Cost $1.99. By thursday it was up to $2.00 and by Friday it was up to $2.01. There has been nothing to slow that downward Roll. There is still the Middle East standoff. Oil prices remain High. President Bush and Congress continue to Haggle Over a future budget and the . Deficit remains As big As Ever As does the debt left by the savings and loan debacle. The Long awaited British entry into the common markets Exchange rate mechanism wont help matters. Now that British prime minister Margaret Thatcher has agreed to give up the United kingdoms a monetary sovereignty a the last stumbling Block to an integrated european Economy has fallen away. That will be just one More reason for International investors to say no to the wilted Greenback and grab instead those fixed rate Erm currencies pegged on the solid German Mark experts said. For Britain it is hoped that entry into the Erm will eventually halt the country a spiralling inflation which was around 10.9 percent in september. According to the Wall Street journal even the British Royal family has been hit. This year it Cost 200,783 pounds to run the Royal Kitchen up 8 percent from last year 213,600 pounds for Garden parties up 9 percent and 71,250 pounds for stocking the wine cellar up 7 percent. A there was a lot of hype Over Here before we entered the Erm a said David Cocker of chemical Bank in London. A people thought there would be a sudden Rush for Sterling. That Hasni to happened. At present the British inflation rate scares off the Money men. They fear it will continue to  is there any Good Dollar news in theory a weak Dollar does lower prices for american exports thereby reducing the american Trade deficit. At present spurting Oil prices following the persian Gulf crisis have ruled out that gain though. They caused the . Merchandise Trade deficit to jump 2.4 percent in August. According to . Figures released last week Overall imports Rose 1.8 percent to $42 billion while exports gained 1.6 percent to $32.6 billion. The deficit is the difference Between the two. The $9.4 billion Gap is the largest since a $10.2 billion imbalance last january. In the meantime the weak Dollar is helping keep inflation away from european shores. A a that a because Oil is priced in dollars a said Albert Edwards an economist with Kleinwort Benson inc. In London. A that is very important for the Erm countries a which can buy the cheap dollars to pay off their climbing Energy Bills. On thursday the release of . Trade data for August and september s consumer Price Index did nothing to Buck up foreign investor Confidence in the . Economy. For the first nine months of the year consumer prices advanced at an annual rate of 6.6 percent Well above the increase of 4.6 percent for All of 1989. Soaring Energy prices after iraqis invasion of Kuwait pushed americans Cost of living up 0.8 percent in september the second consecutive monthly dose of bad inflation. The big bite out of Consumers wallets is expected to slow an already sluggish Economy which some economists say is already in recession. By Janet Howells-t1erney Washington Bureau Washington a operation desert shield has preserved the jobs at least temporarily of thousands of defense department civilians. About a fourth of the 11,000 appropriated fund employees who signed up this year for the defense department priority placement program were withdrawn in the last month because their jobs were subsequently spared. At the army Materiel come alone 2,606 layoffs were averted because of the increased workload associated with the buildup in saudi Arabia. Doug r. Earich Deputy director of personnel management for the Pentagon a civilian personnel operation said the placement program had found jobs for 1,962 employees As of sept. 30. An additional 1,700 workers accepted lower level positions but because of their career status they will be paid the same said Jim d. Forinash chief of the defense data support Center in Dayton Ohio. Program officials Are confident that appropriate Federal jobs will be found for the 4,606 people who were still on the list As of wednesday. The Pentagon program boasts the governments most efficient placement service for uprooted employees Earich said. A there Are More people registering for the placement service this year but we done to limit our search to Job openings in the department of defense a he said. A we work with roughly 50 Federal agencies to fill  agencies from the Bureau of prisons to the consumer product safety commission can tap into the programs data base kept by Forinash Scenter in Ohio. From Jan. 1 to july 31, the program registered 1,739 workers whose jobs were abolished. Of those 64 percent or 1,113, were in new jobs within 60 Days Anu an additional 1,331 workers found jobs within 90 Days Forinash said. Just 189 turned Down new government jobs in the first nine months of this year. Also an unknown number chose to retire after signing up for placement he said. Employees rated is or pm 1 through 15 with permanent civil service status facing Job loss May Register for the program As much As six months or As Little As 60 Days before their jobs end. Some temporary employees also May sign up but non appropriated fund employees cannot. Workers who get separation pay for losing their jobs because of troop reductions Are automatically added to the list. If a position is found and the employee chooses not to accept it he or she loses the separation pay Earich said. Employees who have been Laid off remain on the Rolls for one year or until they arc placed Forinash said. The Job search begins after local civilian personnel offices Send information on employee skills Grade level and area of preference. Then attempts Are made to link workers with jobs available in areas they prefer. If that Isnit possible the search is expanded Earich said. Manuals listing which military installations need specific Job skills Are available at personnel offices. Transportation costs arc usually borne by the losing Agency for workers overseas with contracted return rights he said. But some employees have been Able to arrange for transportation costs to be paid by the gaining Agency. Army commissaries end test of checking ids at registers by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a a three month Experiment of checking id cards at commissary Cash registers rather than at doors has been deemed a failure by the army. The army has reverted to the system of stationing an employee at store entrances because too Many unauthorized individuals were wandering the aisles said Flo Dunn an army troop support Agency spokeswoman. A defense department directive dated aug. 3 gives the services authority to make id checks at registers and a Pentagon official said there Are no plans to change that because of the army a experiences. Air Force and Navy officials said they will leave it up to store managers and base commanders to decide which method to use. The three month test resulted from a study of commissary operations done last year by a defense department team. One of the findings was that haying employees at store entrances wasted almost $8 million a year and Hurt customer service because the employees usually were checkout clerks pulled off the registers for id duty. Soon after the army test began letters started coming in from customers who had the perception that there were unauthorized shoppers in the stores Dunn said. When commissary officials began making id spot checks they found that a number of people did not have valid id cards Dunn said. Apparently most were a Flag along Quot accompanying friends or relatives holding valid id cards who would make purchases for them she said. Immediate family members who have passports from a country other than the country in which the commissary is located will be allowed to accompany authorized customers officials have said. They May not make purchases however. Another drawback in the lest surfaced when troop support Agency officials realized that Many Siores kept employees at the entrances even though they were no longer checking id cards Dunn said. A some commissary officers were electing to keep employees at store entrances to accept returned merchandise and answer questions a she said. A they were not being returned to work on the Cash registers As the Dod study had  about 70 army commissaries in the United states were involved in the test. Also several dozen army stores overseas removed employees from entrances in anticipation of the policy becoming permanent. Sick buildings doctored by Jenell Wallace up business writer Kansas City to. A in most office buildings a Quick glance at the ceiling would find a Nasty accumulation of dirt dust mildew and other stains. And there Are the unseen bacteria that Rise with hot air stick to dirt and grease on the ceiling and then multiply. Just thinking about All this May make you feel queasy. And actually breathing these substances could make you sick. Acoustic Glo International inc., based in Minneapolis helps fight the effects of so called sick building syndrome with its patented water based process for cleaning and sanitizing acoustical ceilings. Acoustic Glo which is sprayed on removes stains such As water grease and nicotine As Well As pollen mildew and bacteria. When these Are removed acoustical and flame spread ratings of the tiles arc restored to near their original Levels the company said and the tiles reflect 25 percent More Light. The tiles look nearly new. Acoustic Glo also resurfaces ceilings with a Prodi t that contains millions of tiny acoustical particles us Pended in a water based Carrier. The company was launched in 1979 to answer the needs of maintenance department managers at Large office buildings said Bruce Weldon the company a director of technical services and owner of a acoustic Glo franchise in Minneapolis. The Cost of cleaning a ceiling is about 70 percent to 75 percent less than replacing it Weldon said