European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Dollar watch Mary Neth Buck moves but makes no real gain was it a week of new Hope for the weak Greenback reports from the Money markets were enough to make the heart skip a beat. On tuesday in Japan the Dollar a shot up More than two yen and a a surged in trading against the German Mark. In late trading on thursday it a rallied broadly Quot against both currencies. Though Welcome these reported a big gains were strictly Small potatoes. At weeks end the Dollar remained within two pfennig of the oct. 19 military Exchange rate Low of a 1.47 Marks to a Dollar. Most Money experts in fact looked upon the a a rebound that brought the Dollar up to 1.49 Marks Friday As nothing More than a technical response to a too rapid plunge. They predict More downward movement. A the pause in the Dollar plunge also was a response to a $2 a barrel hike in Oil a said Gunter Teich of the Frankfurt Bank of America a and More rumours of imminent War in the persian  the worlds financial wizards those experts with their fingers on the pulse of International finance Are As bad As Small town gossips when it comes to grasping at rumours. And it was a week in which rumours ran rampant. On tuesday it was whispered that . Forces had moved into Kuwait and that Saddam Hussein had been assassinated. On thursday there was talk that president Bush would give Saddam an ultimatum to move out of Kuwait within a week or face War. The greenbacks slight rally whether based on Oil Price fact or assassination fantasy was not enough to convince Teich and others that downward movement had ended. Quot i believe the Dollar will go below 1.45 Marks by the end of the year a he said. A by the Middle of 1991, however there a a Good Chance that it will be up again to 1.60  Teich bases his Long Range optimistic Outlook on what he foresees As an eventual increase in . Interest rates. The fact that there May be a . Budget agreement by the beginning of next week will have Little affect on the Dollar Teich said. After the weeks of haggling by Congress and the administration on How to slash the huge . Deficit any budget decision is going to be anti climatic As far As most currency dealers Are concerned he said. Most traders continue to consider the Dollar As a bad buy. Even the folks Back Home Are growing less and less optimistic about the . Economy. According to a Roper poll last feb. 28 percent of Consumers in the $15,000 to $30,000 income Range Felt it was a Good time to buy things they wanted and needed. Last month that number had dropped to 16 percent. Tim Fox of the Midland Montagu Bank in London agrees that a budget decision in Washington wont affect the Dollar rate. He feels it will however diminish current a Dollar bullish Ness a a the Dollar will probably drop Only about a fourth of a percentage when the budget is signed a he said. A then however the markets Are going to Start looking closer at the real . Economy construction exports employment  As a result he predicts that the Dollar will slide to around 1.48 Marks by december. Whether or not . Interest rates will Rise will be tied to the length and depth of . Recession said Fox. A it could go Well into next year a he business news a amps Jim do maim Chi chips All you can eat mexican Buffet is one of the restaurants More popular offerings. Private Chain takes Over clubs in Hanau Mainz by Luke Britt staff writer Hanau Germany a a private restaurant Chain will attempt to succeed where two army clubs failed. In Hanau on thursday Chi chips International became the first company in Europe to completely take Over a military club according to company spokesmen. Another Chi chips will open in Mainz on nov. 12. Both restaurants Are located in buildings previously occupied by military clubs. There Are 215 of the mexican specially restaurants in the United states and Canada. Chi chips and the army signed contracts in May 1989 giving the company use of the two former army clubs in return for 5 percent of food sales and 8 percent of alcohol sales an army spokeswoman said. Based on average sales at stateside Chi chips the army would receive More than $150,000 a year from each restaurant. Army officials said the Revenue would go to the Community morale welfare and recreation divisions. A spokesman for the Mainz Community said its club was not profitable. A Hanau spokeswoman said their problem was not profit but Community relations. The Mainz Community marketing office approached Chi chips about taking Over a Mainz club the Village inn after learning about the Hanau operation said a1 Parkes a Chi chips spokesman. A the Village inn was losing Money a said Charles Gulden of the Mainz budget office. The military Only makes Money in its clubs from Bingo Slot machines and alcohol sales he said. Allowing Chi chips into the club system is a Chance to bring a a Nice entity to the Community. Joanna Kramer of Hanau Public affairs said the army approached Chi chips about taking Over the Community a Skyline club which specialized in Bingo and disco music. Kramer said germans had been pressuring the military Community to close the club because of its loud music and late hours. Hanau closed the club on june 1 to allow Chi Chi s to begin renovations she said. Fred Grube who retired As an army lieutenant colonel in 1985 after running the club system in Frankfurt for five years brought Chi Chi s and the army together Parkes said. Grube now serves As a consultant to Chi chips. A there Are several reasons the military is not successful with its clubs a Grube said. A they do not have the business expertise or the profit motive and they cannot consistently provide Quality  most military clubs also do not have the budget to provide food competitive with civilian businesses Grube said. They also must make purchases through the commissary which is not reliable he said. Grube said the company is also negotiating to take Over club space in Heidelberg Grafen Wuhr and Schweinfurt and is interested in Kaiserslautern. It has rejected deals in some communities including bad Kreuz Nach because it concluded there were not enough customers to justify the $1 million average investment he said. A we done to want to say that military clubs can to make it a Grube said. A but we think we can do belter at some  Chi chips has been seeking a foothold in  since 1986, when the company opened three restaurants in England Parkes said. In a 1988 Purchase of Chi chips by Foo maker inc., the company sold the overseas rights to the Chi chips name to an investment group which became Chi chips International. The new company sold the London restaurants and opened others in Luxembourg and Kuwait. The Kuwait store was ransacked in the aug. 2 invasion by Iraq Parkes said. The company is targeting the military Community Only in Germany where Grube said the concentration of americans provides an untapped Market for a sit Down restaurants. Grocery Chain sued for 7-cent error said the stare and stripes Madison Heights Mich. Up a 71-year-old woman is taking Michigan a largest supermarket Chain to court Over a 7-cent pricing mistake. Evelyn Hoff is suing Farmer Jack claiming she was overcharged for a Stouffer a lean cuisine Spaghetti entree and the store refused to pay her a $1 penalty As prescribed by Michigan Law. Hoff complained to the store manager on sept. 5, 1989, that she was charged $1.85 for a $1.78 item. The manager gave her a 7-cent refund. Two Days later after Hoff Learned about the state Law she returned to the store seeking the $1 penalty charge but the manager refused to Grant it. Under Michigan a item pricing Law a store can avoid Legal action by paying shoppers overcharged by automatic Cash Register scanners a refund plus a penalty of 10 times the overcharge. The payment must be at least $1 but not More than $5. After a flurry of letters to Farmer Jack the supermarket Chain sent Holf a $25 gift certificate As an apology. But Hoff returned it deciding instead to fight for the amount she was owed