European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 12, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 12, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 17 Money matters today s tip March 8 March 11 .1.8735 1.8510 ,1.5620 157q5 5 2990 5.3535 .,1.750 1.773 31 0632.39 1,162 45 1,173 85 ,1.3605 1.3670 167.60 169.60 .3,408.90 3,439 50 .3.7503 3.7504 96 55 97 85 .135.04. 136.80. 1 1615 ,1.1598 .10.930 11 068 .6.0640 6.1410 5 9665 6.0440 if you re in the Market for a civilian Job keep in mind that some expenses related to pounding the pavement Are tax deductible subject to the �?o2 percent of adjustable Gross income limit. Among the deductible items Are the Cost of preparing resumes and Job seeking letters employment Agency fees the Cost of buying newspapers and employment Trade magazines that contain help wanted ads transportation costs Telephone Calls and 80 percent of meals and entertainment expenses incurred during the Job search. Conversion rates London up mondays closing rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $365.75 an ounce Silver at $4.14. British Pound. German Mark. French fran dutch Guilder. Belgian franc. Italian lira. Swiss franc greek drachma. Turkish lira saudi arabian Nyal. Spanish peseta a a portuguese escudo Canadian Dollar. Austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone. Danish Krone it. These Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.53 tuesday based on mondays noontime  giant Sears tumbles 2 notches by Jon hurdle up business writer new York a Sears is no longer the nations largest retailer. Sears merchandise group the retailing Arm of Sears Roebuck amp co. Of Chicago has reported 1990 sales figures of $31.99 billion a performance that knocks it off the top spot for the first time since 1900 when its Catalon sales first overtook those of Montgomery Ward. Moving ahead of Sears which is now in third place were Wal Mart stores inc. And k Mart corp. Wal Mart the Bentonville . Discount Chain reported 1990 sales of $32.6 billion. Sears was also outsold by Troy , k Mart corp., with sales of $32.07 billion. A Wal Mart has had very Good Success in increasing its share of the Market a said Rick Nelson re tailing analyst for Duff amp Phelps inc. In Chicago. The reasons for Wal marts Success Nelson said include a Broad Range of merchandise Good Levels of Stock and Strong customer  insurance easier to get As crisis in Gulf winds Down by Randy Mcclain financial writer life insurance which became a scarce commodity for american service members at the height of the military buildup in the persian Gulf is once again easily available. Quot insurance agents who sell to service members in Europe said policy restrictions that were imposed by Many companies before and during the War to reduce exposure to War related death claims were lifted earlier this month after the cease fire was announced. A most of the companies have relaxed their restrictions and Are Back to Normal a said Manley Morrison president of the european association of life underwriters an Industry Trade association. A was soon As peace came and there was no More High risk there the companies came Back into the  beginning last september a number of insurance companies began restricting military sales. Some firms refused to Issue any new insurance coverage to serv inc members with Oral or written orders to deploy to the Middle East. Other companies continued to sell policies,.but scaled Back the amount of coverage that they would write. Limits on policy size were especially strict for lower ranking soldiers most Likely to be on the front lines during fighting. Prudential is one company that has returned to business As usual said Les Gil Lesley who represents Prudential insurance in Schwet Zingen Germany. Gillespey said Prudential lost some business in the overseas Market As serv ice members sent to the Gulf last fall flocked into insurance offices in Germany and elsewhere to add to coverage. He said Prudential agents had to refer that business to other companies. As a result some firms More than doubled their Normal volume of sales in november and december during the height of troop deployments from Europe to the Middle East sales agents said. One firm that benefited was Houston based american general corp., which markets life insurance policies under several different names in Europe. The names include american amicable life insurance Pioneer american and National Public service insurance co. John Herbert european general manager for the firm said his agents sold at least $440 million Worth of new insurance policies in november and december or twice the company a Normal  business. A. A a. �?o1 find it remarkable there was that. Much insurance written during the War a a he added. A the risk proved to be much less than anyone imagined. In a sure everyone would agree with that from general Schwarzkopf on  i find it remarkable there was that much insurance written during the War. The risk proved to be much less than anyone imagined. A John Herbert Gillespey said he still thinks Prudential and other firms that stopped Selling life insurance to gis were justified in their actions. Prudential already had Many policies in Force with military customers before the outbreak of War with Iraq and additions to that number would have exposed the company to unnecessary risk Gillespey said. A if there had been More casualties7the position taken by Prudential and some of the other companies would have been even More justified a he added. Companies that continued accepting new business a look Good now but they really went out on a limb a he said. Alison Coutts who represents Sunset life insurance co. Of Olympia wash., in Europe agreed. A some of. These companies with a great percentage of military business might Nave gone under a if the War. Had led to More . Casualties and mounting death claims she said. A i think it was very irresponsible of some companies not to restrict  Gillespey and other agents said they Hope service members learn a lesson from the recent reduction in insurance availability. A i Hope this brings Home the message that people should think about insurance today so they done to have to scramble at the last minute to get  Gillespey said. But John Burrell general agent a Lucerne Switzerland i with United of Omaha life insurance co., said he. Doubts Peoples habits will change. A i done to think the War in any Way is going to enhance our ability to write life insurance. Memories Are , and we human beings Are procrastinators a he Saida a. A a a Here a a look at How some other in sir Ance firms reacted to the end of the War a a one week ago. Sunset life insurance co removed strict limits it put on the size of policies that service members could buy. The limits which ranged from no More than $50,000 Worth of coverage for soldiers in ranks e-4 and below to a maximum of $ 150,000 for officers Hail been in effect since the Start of operation desert shield. T he firm still requires new applicants to fill out a form stating whether they have orders for the. Persian Gulf but a company spokesman near Frankfurt Germany said that requirement will probably be lifted soon. A american general corp. Of Houston has also removed restrictions on the amount of life insurance it is willing to sell to service members. During operation desert shield storm service members were limited to the following policies no More than $60,000 Worth of coverage Lor e-3s a maximum of $65,000 for e-4s and a maximum of $100,000 Worth of coverage Tor service members in ranks e-5 and above. Today those limits have been raised to $65,000 Lor e-3x $100,000 Tor e-4s $125,000 for e-5s and $175,000 for e-6s. A company spokesman said additional insurance coverage Lor All ranks is possible based a on the individuals  a v a american National insurance of Galveston Texas has also put an end to wartime policy limits. Service members today Are eligible Lor Between $100,000 and $500,000 Worth of insurance coverage depending on their rank said Raymond Marshall the firms european director. During the War the firm would sell soldiers no More than $150,000 Worth of coverage. Marshall said his firm sold twice its Normal volume of insurance during the persian Gulf buildup even with policy limits. So Lar Marshall added no death claims have come to Light in connection with policies his firm sold overseas. Dealers in Europe welcoming Back. Troops with special new car offers from staff and wire reports service members returning to Europe from the persian Gulf Are eligible for special deals on new cars. Military car sales in Europe is continuing the $500 rebate program it began in november and increasing rebates up to $1,000 for select american made automobiles. The $1,000 rebate applies to the Dodge caravan Plymouth voyager Dodge grand caravan Plymouth grand voyager and the jeep grand wagoneer the $500 rebate that began in november continues for All Chrysler and general motors automobiles and for other jeep models. A a we re proud of our Guys and this is our Way of saying a Welcome Back a a said Tom Kavanagh a general sales manager for military car sales in Europe. The rebates end april 30 in Europe. To be eligible service members must show proof that they participated in operation desert shield or storm. Proof can be deployment orders or a statement from the unit commander. Specials also Are available for service members in Europe who prefer to buy a foreign car. They have four choices including either an extended warranty or rust proofing said Graham Swide Bank general manager of sales and marketing for the Auto Exchange which specializes in Selling foreign automobiles to . Service members a for we can match the Down payment Dollar for Dollar up to $500, of anyone who served in the Gulf a Swide Nank said. Or a service member can choose to have a car delivered to his or her installation without paying a $300 delivery fee. Swide Bank also said the company is try my to work out a special finance plan for single service members who served in the Gulf. The special will remain in effect until the majority of troops return from War Swide Bank said. In. The United states l Ord motor co. Said Active duty members would be eligible for a discount allowing them to buy a Ford Lincoln or Mercury car or truck at 3 percent to 4 percent above wholesale. And Chrysler corp. Recently extended through May a special $500 Cash rebate program for military personnel said spokesman Tom Jakobowski