European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 a the stars and stripes sunday october 28,1990 business new consumer morale Index plunges new York up . Consumer Confidence plummeted in october to its lowest level in eight years posting the sharpest one month drop in the 20 years the Index has been compiled. The evidence of Consumers sagging morale helped bolster a widening consensus that the . Economy is slipping into recession. It could mean that growth will no longer be sustained by consumer spending. The conference Board consumer Index plunged 24 Points to 61.3 from a revised 85.6 in september the new York based business organization said. The measure takes a 1985 Index value of 100 As its Benchmark. Despite the indexes sobering decline a conference Board researcher said a re cession prediction May be premature since the results May have been skewed by Consumers worries about the persian Gulf crisis. A the current depressed level of the consumer Confidence Index is historically associated with recession a said Fabian Linden executive director of the multinational business groups consumer research Center. A but Given the special circumstances of the Kuwait crisis there May be some faint justification for suspending final judgment. A still a concerned consumer is a cautious consumer a he added. A any further curtailment in spending could readily push us into a full  Linden said consumer spirits Are being dampened too by growing unemployment and a rapidly rising Cost of living even though october brought Only a fairly moderate rises in . Joblessness and inflation. Unemployment nationwide stood at 5.7 percent in september the latest period for which the figure is available. An Oil driven consumer Price Index Rose by 0.8 percent in september to an annual rate of 6.6 percent. The researcher added however that a the Washington budget circus did Little to engender Public  Congress and the administration spent much of the month going in circles Over a budget deficit solution. The conference Board report said october saw a Sharp drop in the number of Consumers who regard business conditions As a Good a and a surge in the number who say they Are  in fact the report said there were twice As Many negative As positive responses. It reported a a considerable degree of apprehension among Consumers about the six months ahead. Roughly a third think business conditions will Worsen ahead from 20 percent in september More than a third fear there will be fewer jobs to go around in the immediate future. Automobile buying plans were off sharply the conference Board said. Only 6.2 percent of those surveyed planned to buy a car in the next six months against 7.8 percent in the september Survey. Consumers plans for buying Homes or major appliances also have fallen off it said. Billboard Blitzkrieg Boeing Sikorsky so first team has mounted an advertising attack in St. Louis to get the contract for the military a next generation helicopter. The team is battling Mcdonnell Douglas text Ron so super team for the contract. The first team Hopes the three billboards will Sway the St. Louis based aviation systems Comdr a evaluation committee to decide in their favor when they choose a team to build the  on smoking Burns delegates Helsinki Finland apr delegates from 22 countries puffed on pipes cigars and cigarettes but said they wanted to Clear the air Between smokers and nonsmokers at an International conference on smokers rights Friday. The delegates called on the United nations to allow smoking in the name of a human  a smoking is a human right and should be respected according to the declaration of human rights of the United nations a said a declaration adopted on the opening Day of smoke peace 90, the first International smokers conference. A we Are not puffing into the faces of non smokers. We Are just fighting Back and want them to be aware of our feelings As we Are of theirs a said Steve Handman a spokesman for the american smokers Alliance. A it seems to be a last ditch Effort by the smokers but i think to have this Many people is amazing. Obviously there a a Little lash Back Here a said Maureen Gail mul Vaney a . Speaker. Others among the More than 120 delegates including non smokers maintained that they were attending the conference to fight for civil rights. A what the whole world is facing is a barrage of intolerance and indeed the outright infringement on personal Liberty a said Chris tame British director of the Freedom organization for the right to enjoy smoking tobacco. A i done to smoke but the threat to the Freedom of smokers is a threat to the Freedom of All of us. Smokers now drinkers  answers to our most asked what does the term a authorized unofficial mean that i see on the Flag of the stars and stripes that a sometimes a confusing Issue but Here a the explanation. The european stars and stripes is an organization of the . European command. We have several missions which Are outlined in a department of defense directive and one of these missions is to publish a daily newspaper. Both the department of defense and the . European command recognize and support his Mission hence the term  but what appears in the newspaper is not to be construed in any Way As the official viewpoint of the . Government the department of defense the . European command or any other governmental Agency. That a where the a unofficial Quot term comes in. We belong to the department of defense but what appears in the newspapers columns each Day comes from commercial news sources and our own reporters. None of the news and information we publish each Day should be considered the a a official word. That a not to say we done to have to be accurate. When we print a Story about changes in promotion policies in the army for instance we must be sure of our facts but the a a official word on the policy change comes from the army not european stars and stripes