European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday december 16, 1990 the stars and stripes. Pago 13business news \ i lots of seats for travellers going to . The deployment of thousands of . Troops to saudi Arabia and the weak Dollar in Europe Are two factors casting a pall Over servicemen hers lives this Christmas season. Hut h May provide some Small measure of Comfort that something Good has resulted from these Tough times. Americans with Cash on hand and the Freedom to take a vacation Torii where other than in the persian Gulf found it easier to Book flights to the United states in time for Christmas this year. Airlines that operate trans Atlantic routes said military business is Down when compared with past years and that drop has made it easier to get seats during the normally booked solid Christmas Rush. Travel offices and airlines have been swamped with cancellations in recent weeks As units have been told to ship out for the Middle East. In other cases military personnel Are taking Shorter trips Home with special permission from their superiors. In some cases travellers have stayed Only three or four Days before heading Back to Europe said. Mary Jackson director of military travel corp. In Frankfurt Germany. Jackson s company handles charter flights and other airline Book Randy Mcclain Ings for service members and their families. A Don Ramey military marketing representative with Delta air lines in Frankfurt said no show rates for flights to the states have almost doubled in december because of desert shield. Some flights have left with empty seats an unusual development he said. The weak Dollar which makes travel to the states a bargain for europeans has helped prop up occupancy rates on .-bound flights As a. Whole Ramey said. But a a military travel Hasni to been As heavy As in recent years a a he added. Jackson said her Agency and others have been Able to assist passengers with last minute travel plans More easily this year a at least up until this weekend. A a we be been Able to get people a seat one Way or another a she said adding that some customers have booked flights with Only four or five Days notice unfortunately the time for snapping up those extra seats seems to be running out a flights from dec 18 and 19 Onward Are very full a a spokesman with Twa in Frankfurt said Delta a Ramey agreed. A a we be seen bookings later in the game this year than in several years a a he said but if you Haven to booked already its unlikely you la have much to choose from any longer until after the holidays Dollar update the Buck went up slightly in Europe last week but Many currency traders remain pessimistic about the dollars chances Over the Long run especially in Germany. \ the reason interest rates in the United states should be heading lower to fend off a recession while rates in Germany Are Likely to head up next year to fight inflation caused by the High Cost of rebuilding Eastern Germany. Late Friday the Dollar stood at 1.485 Marks in european trading an increase of a Little More than one pfennig on the week. In England one Pound was Selling for $1.94. A week earlier one Pound Cost $1.95. V. Ian Amstad International economist with Chase investment Bank in London said that last weeks performance does no to mean the Buck has started to rally though. A Amstad sees the Dollar falling As Low As 1.42 Marks before bouncing Back. A january meeting of the g-7 Industrial nations including Germany. Japan and the United states wont necessarily Lead to an agreement to save the Dollar from further losses Amstad added. A the germans like Exchange rates right where they Are a a he said noting that a powerful Mark makes it easier to finance improvement projects in the East. The Star and stripes southwestern Oil states lesson last time by David Conn Baltimore Sun a that happens to the economies of Texas a Oklahoma in Wisiana and the other Oil producing slate amp hould the United states become involved in a shooting War in the persian Gulf. No Najuch. Economists and securities analysts in the area stay quo for the southwestern Stales to Benefit significantly from a Gulf Wari the Price of Oil would have to Rise substantially and . Oil producers would have to be convinced that it was going to stay there for years even decades the analysts said. Its True that War would Lead further Rise in prices experts said but that does no to mean Tolje High prices Wall be Long lasting. A i think it will Rise on a very Short term basis because the traders on the Exchange will push it up a a said a Marks Hinton jr., a partner at Johnson Rice amp co. In Oil prices Are just a number to the Guys on the commodities Exchange a he said. Companies would have to be convinced of a Long term Rise in prices before they would act in terms of increasing production in the Field he said. It typically takes three to five years from initial exploration to production said Stephen Mcdonald professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin. A there is. I think still i Good Deal of scepticism about prices staying High Quot Mcdonald said. 1 be said that recent Price increases from below $20 Quot has not Stiim muted much drilling so said Michael Ferrantino. Assistant economies professor at Southern methodist universe ii in Dallas a you Don t invest in new rigs based on some Price fluctuations a because of a War that might be Over in a Tew weeks or months. That a not Good business a a but what if Iraq somehow were Able to destroy the saudi Oil Fields and create a True worldwide Oil shortage ? the boost to the Southwest economies would be much smaller than the decline the area suffered in the mid-1980s As Oil prices dropped analysts said. That is because Texas and the other Stales Learned their lesson the last time around and have diversified their economies. In -1980, about 85 percent of 1 Loust ii s Economy was Oil related Hinton said. Today that number is Down to about 63 percent he said. A a you be had a major league a the fact that Oil prices Are up is Nice a j Linton said a but there a a lot of other factors Robert Reike. Vice president of , Pierce refsnes in Dallas said much of Texas actually is poised for an economic recovery now More than most other areas of the country. Texas was hit by recession earlier than anywhere else be said and the Banks and thrifts that have survived Are better capitalized than in Many other parts of the country. Import worry Hong Kong by Michael Dicicco Hong Kong up a a International committee formed at the height of the cold War to keep Western technology from the clutches of communism is causing anxiety among Hong Kong business leaders who fear it could turn the British Colony into a technological ghost town. A a a. V a a a a executives worry that the coordinating committee on multilateral Export control or Cocom which regulates technology exports will restrict the flow of computers to Hong Kong when the British Colony reverts to chinese control in 1997. Like most Western nations Britain is a member of Cocom which since 1950 has licensed technology for Export and compiled extensive lists of items that cannot be sold to communist countries. China is not a member and when Britain a 99-year lease on the Colony ends in 1997, the easy Access to technology that Hong Kong enjoys through its Assoc a. Tion with the United kingdom ends As Well. 2. Technology exports to China which will begin ruling Hong Kong As a a special administrative Region in 1997, Are greatly restricted by Cocom. Business leaders in the Colony fear their companies will be devastated if Post-1997 Hong Kong is subjected to the same technology import restrictions As the Mainland. A everything depends on what China does in the ii ext few years a a Western official said a the Mainland is real volatile right now and its actions Are hard to pre diet.�?�. A. A \ Beijing has repeatedly insisted on stationing its troops in Hong Kong following the 1997 transition a move that officials in the Colony said would hamper efforts to convince Cocom members to allow restricted technology into Hong Kong. T concerned business leaders say that trying to negotiate with Cocom is almost impossible because the organization does no to officially exist the committee was not established finder any formal treaty and its durability rests solely on a permanent 14-member secretariat that draws up the embargo lists and monitors the issuance of licenses. A if we go to one of those people in the secretariat with our concerns they just Tell us that they draw up embargo lists not make policy a one businessman said a people say the whole thing will be worked out by 1996. I can to wait that Long a another businessman suite a i need to know by 1992 How available technology is going a. A Hong Kong companies need to know How available technology will be in the Colony by the mid-1990s so they can plan business strategies Lor the Post-1997 world the business leaders a we re just proceeding on the basis that if anything goes seriously wrong the British government will jump in Quot one added. A a it a something we have to keep an Eye on a Blit for now it is a dark Cloud in the hiring s i Lowdown in 91 by flu Assoc a Ted Russ hiring by . Companies will drop sharply to recession Levels m the first Quarter of 1991, particularly in the a economically battered Northeast according Survey by the worlds largest temporary help firm manpower inc of Milwaukee said its sampling of More than 15,000 american b u is Nesses sin cd t hat 15 Perce n t plan to increase hiring while 16 percent plan to reduce their work forces for a net hiring drop of 1 percent the firm said the net drop is the first shown by the Survey since the first Quarter of 1983, when the nation was still emerging from the last recession. Manpower said the 15 percent of firms intending to hire compares with 20 percent for the same period in 1990. The 16 percent planning cuts in the work Force compares with 12 percent for the same period . The Survey corroborated other private and government evidence suggesting that the nation is sliding into a recession or already is in one. Mitchell fran Stein manpower president said the Survey figures clearly show hiring is reaching recession Depths in All regions except the Midwest. The slowdown is also reflected in most business categories. A although the first Quarter of any year historically is a time of Low hiring Fromstein said that even on a seasonally adjusted basis the hiring predictions for the Quarter Are Down dramatically. A. The Survey showed the be most evident in the Northeast where symptoms of recession have grown since the Stock Market erase of 1987, by Industry the Survey showed that the steepest de dines Are in the construction and retail sectors Llowen or the Survey did project a gain of 9 percent in hiring in the services category which suggests that service jobs will account or the majority of Job growth for at least the near future. Manpower inc. Conducts its employment Survey . A
