European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes sunday january 27,1991 business hew stocks rally May be Short lived the reports Are becoming commonplace. Air raid sirens sound in the darkness of Dhahran and Riyadh in saudia Arabia or in Tel Aviv Israel. Word is passed that another round of iraqi scud missiles is on the Way. Civilians Scurry for cover. . Service members and israeli citizens Don Gas masks designed to protect against a feared iraqi chemical weapons attack. On the fringe of the cities defences american Patriot missile Crews swing into action. Incoming scuds Are located by radar and one or More patriots blast off to intercept them. Seconds later the patriots disappear into Cloud Coyer while shaky Dollar watch Randy Mcclain bystanders keep their eyes focused on the heavens. Then comes the Bright Flash of a Patriot hitting Home. Score another Victory for american ingenuity and the Raythelon co. Of Lexington mass., maker of the Patriot missile. A. A. A. A. A a a a a a a it May seem crass to speak of the economic Impact of the War in the persian Gulf while american and Arab lives Are on the line. But Early indications Are that a handful of . Defense companies manufacturers of the military hardware being used with great Success against Saddam Hussein a forces appear to be big winners in the first few Days of armed conflict. In the Early Days of the War defense stocks making significant rallies included Raythelon up 6.4 percent Martin Marietta up 7.8 percent general dynamics manufacturer of Tomahawk cruise missiles up 15.8 percent Mcdonnell Douglas up 12.9 percent and Lockheed maker of the Al 17a stealth fighter up 4.5 percent. Those gains have led to a Stream of phone Calls from investors to overseas financial Counselor asking whether its still possible to jump on the bandwagon and participate in the Heady gains being turned in by the weapons makers. The answer according to three financial planners in Germany is probably not. . Jackson a Frankfurt based investment adviser said there a a possibility of further defense Stock gains especially if contractors Are Able to secure hefty government contracts for replacement parts or new weapons systems As the .-iraqi War drags on but Jackson and Barry Swanson a certified financial planner in Heidelberg said an equally Likely scenario is that the defense stocks rally will fade As investors who already own a piece of the companies in question sell to Cash in their profits. A general Rule is that by the time someone reads an article in the popular press about How Good a particular Stock is performing its too late to join in the Good times Jackson said. Its a very natural thing that Stock prices for companies that manufacture smart bombs and cruise missiles have skyrocketed Swanson said but it does no to necessarily follow that a Long term trend has taken hold. Swanson is one investment adviser who believes the Stock Market May have nearly bottomed out and that its a Good time to jump Back into the equities Market. But he does no to advise clients to bet the farm on defense stocks. Probably try thing a Little less volatile a he said. Chris Price a financial adviser in Berlin agreed. A personally in a not going to buy defense stocks. A number of these companies still have inherent problems a he said. Price said there have been widespread layoffs in the defense Industry in recent months and the . Recession might Lead to More. He termed the recent run up in several stocks a a euphoria tied to Early military Success by Allied forces but said that does no to necessarily translate into Long term defense Industry gains v a a a a a a a a. V v Quot 1 a a a a a a a a the stars and strip i would probably try to steer the client into some tax firm brings services to european military bases by Randy Mcclain financial writer a amp a Block is bringing its  to the front door of service members in four european countries. Under a contract with the army and air Force Exchange service Block will open offices on 52 military installations in Germany England Belgium and Italy. The Exchange service will get a 10 percent Cut of sales. The move comes As thousands of . Troops Are wag. It taxes made easy some of the benefits of patronizing a amp a Block locations on army and air Force bases in Italy England Belgium and germany10% discount on tax preparation and electronic filing fees. No German sales taxes charged As would be done at off Post tax preparation firms. Ing War against Iraq and As president Bush and Congress Are giving americans involved in the War More time to file tax forms. Last week Bush announced that people involved in operation desert storm wont have to file Federal taxes until six months after they return from saudi Arabia. Bush a order applies to service members and civilians in the Gulf Region since the Start of War Jan. 17. Late last week Congress extended Bush a order by making it applicable to All military personnel sent to the Middle East at any Point after iraqis aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. Ron Smircich an a amp a Block franchise owner and spokesman for the company in Europe said he expects the arrangement with cafes to result in More business for Block despite the turmoil in the Middle East. A the number of returns we do probably w ill increase 50 percent More than last year a said Smircich who operates 21 a amp a Block offices in Germany including 12 new ones on military bases v Smircich was reluctant to divulge european sales figures for Block but he said the company should gain Market share at the expense of other tax preparation companies because of the cafes contract. All of blocks on Post offices Are scheduled to be operating no later than the end of this week. Last year a amp a Block operated 58 offices in Europe. This year the firm will have 110 locations. Smircich said War in the Middle East and Tjie accompanying reduction of troop strength in Europe were not envisioned As factors when a amp a Block first started talks with cafes about expanded tax service. But Smircich said he does no to think the disruption will Hurt blocks business on Post. Many taxpayers will still file their tax returns Early he predicted. A if a person is not Here obviously they wont be filing. But other people who have a refund coming will want to file right away so they can get it Back As soon As possible a Smircich said. Master sgt. Dayton Strickland an cafes spokesman in Munich Germany said the new a amp a Block offices will offer several advantages to customers. For example charges for tax preparation and electronic filing of tax returns will be 10 percent cheaper on Post than at blocks off Post offices. Cafes officials insisted on the discount in return for providing Block with rent free space on military installations. Block is counting on a higher volume of business from military men and women to compensate for the lower prices. The Cost of blocks tax service depends on How complicated a customers tax return is but Normal charges Are in the $50 Range said a amp a Block franchise owners. A 10 percent discount therefore would amount to a $5 discount per customer. Smircich said original plans called for on Post tax offices to remain open Only until april 17. But that could be changed depending on How Long the War lasts. A if cafes asks us to extend operations in a sure we could stay open longer at least on a part time basis a Smircich  Bank suspends Trade in yugoslav currency Frankfurt Germany a civil unrest in Yugoslavia has led merchants National Bank officials in Europe to suspend foreign Exchange transactions involving that nations currency. Yvan Weill foreign Exchange manager at the Bank said merchants branches Are no longer buying yugoslavian dinars from customers or Selling the currency american travellers who still want the currency probably wont be severely inconvenienced though Weill said. Dinars can still be purchased at Border Crossings into Yugoslavia and at Banks in the country. Merchants has the contract to provide banking services to . Military personnel in Germany England Greece and the Netherlands. A amp a Block locations a air afro Roeita Iqbal Raf Alconbury Jons bldg. 679, service mall i Raf Ben Waters Porta Cabin near stars amp stripes Pitburg bldg. 209 temp Hahn optical shop rms. 3 amp 4 Kaiserslautern Kleber Cavern bldg. 3300 Raf Lakenheath 6ldg. 998 i Rhein main bldg 100 1 Sembach air base bldg. 214 we Brocken Kreuzberg Cavern bldg. 4006 Amberg Pond Barracks bldg. 16c Ansbach Katterbach Cavern bldg. 5510 Aschaffenbur Jaeger Cavern bad Kissinger Daley Barracks bldg. 40  Rose Barracks bldg. 5327 Bamberg Warner Barracks bldg. 7121 Baum older bldg. 8125,1st floor Berlin. Berlin pm Bundlach bldg. 4205 Bremerhaven cart Schurz Cavern bldg. 253 Darmstadt Cambrai Fritsch bldg. 4008 a Erlanger Ferris Barracks bldg. 4030 Frankfurt Frankfurt shop ctr., bldg. 1567 Gibbs Cavern bldg. 405 Abrams Idle hour theater Friedberg Ray Barracks Forth Forth shop ctr., bldg. 100 Fulda Downs bks bldg. 7133, main Exchange Wil Flecken training area bldg. 270, pm. 203 Karlstedt Lucius d. Clay Cavern bldg. 396 Giessen shop  Barracks. Get Pingen main Exchange Cooke Barracks Grafe Wohr main Post Hanau Wolfgang shop ctr., bldg. 503 Heidelberg shopping ctr., bldg. 3803 Heilbronn a main Exchange Stuttgart Strasse Herzog Nakrach Herzo base bldg. 1608. Karlsruhe command looking for location. Kirch guns Ayers Cavern Mainz shop ctr., bldg. 6726 Mannheim Benjamin Franklin Village bldg. 311 Munich Exchange mall big. 427 Neu Ulm. Wiley Barracks bldg. 235. Pir Masens Huster Bhe Cavern bldg. 4548 Schweinfurt main pm Ledward Barracks Stuttgart Robinson Barracks bldg 132 Patch Barracks bldg. 2331 Vilseck Rose Barracks Wiesbaden Haine Berg shop ctr., bldg. 7762 nato location chevres Belgium bldg. 20112 Derheim t shopping Center no locations reported for Butz cacti Germany Aviano and Vicenza Italy