European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday March 26, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 17 Money matters today s tip March 22. March 25 .1,7895 1.7660 1 6433 1.6675 5 6045 5.6725 .1,8470. 1.8790 .33.9200 34.4325 .1 223.60 1,241,80 1 4055 / 1.4255 .,.176.50 179.50 .3.979.70 a 3,568.30 3 7502 3.7503 .101.66 103.35 .145.25 145 25 .,1.1582 1.1586 11 480 11.724 .6.3840 6.4765 .6.280 6 390 a growing number of americans thinks economic recovery is just around the Corner according to a Wall Street journal and Abc news poll. Forty six percent of 1,505 people polled answered a a yes when asked if they thought the National Economy would improve this year. Despite such optimism 42 percent said they have been personally affected by the recession and nearly 30 percent said a member of their family has seen his or her income reduced in the past six months. A in a similar poll conducted in january Only 21 percent said the Economy was on the Way up. Conversion rates London up1 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 $359.25 an ounce Silver at $3 94. British Pound. German Mark. French  Guilder. Belgian franc. Italian lira. Swiss franc. Greek drachma.,turkish lira. Saudi arabian Riyal. Spanish peseta portuguese escudo. Canadian Dollar. Austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone. Danish Krone. 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 1.63 tuesday based on mondays noontime Price fixing. Stanford head apologizes to school alumni los Angeles a the president of Stanford University apologized to alumni for a highly embarrassing allegations that the school billed the government for items not related to research projects. A v a Donald Kennedy told an alumni meeting that Stanford so Good name has suffered a  a if you Are embarrassed or angry about what has been said about us you Are in Good company a he said. In his first Public statement on the controversy since he testified at a congressional hearing two weeks ago Kennedy said he has hired an accounting firm to a determine How we got into this  a i owe you an expression of deep regret and apology that we have not met our historical standards in this affair a he told Mem Bers of the Stanford alumni association and Stanford club of los. Angeles county. Investigators allege that Stanford overcharged the government by More than $160 million during the last decade for overhead costs unrelated to specific research projects. Mcdonnell Douglas tops list of 1990 defense contractors by Marcy Gordon the associated press Washington Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Was the no. 1 defense contractor in fiscal 1990 with $8.2 billion in business according to a report released by the defense department. The firm built the Tomahawk cruise missiles that opened the War against Iraq. In All the Pentagon awarded $130.8 billion in major contracts in fiscal 1990, up $1.8 billion from the previous year. Mcdonnell Douglas which also makes. Harrier missile systems and aircraft including f-15 eagles f-18 hornets ah-64 Apache helicopters and c-17 cargo planes also had topped the list for the previous year. But the $8.2 billion total of its contracts with the Pentagon was Down from $8.6 billion in fiscal 1989. Mcdonnell Douglas was followed by a general dynamics corp. With $6.3 billion Down from $6.9 billion. A general electric co. With $5.6 billion Down from $5.8 billion. A general motors corp. With $4.1 billion up from $3.7 billion. The latest report is for the period from october 1989 through october 1990, two months after iraqi troops invaded Kuwait.  a top five defense contractors the Pentagon awarded $130.8 billion in major contracts in fiscal 1990, up $1.8 billion from the previous year. Here Are the top five contractors and contract amounts from 1989 and 1990. 1990 1989 Mcdonnell $8.2 billion $8.6 billion Douglas corp. General $6.3 billion $6.9 billion dynamics corp. A general $5.6 billion $5.8 billion electric co. V general $4.1 billion $3.7 billion motors corp. . Raythelon $4.1 billion $3.8 billion the fiscal year is from october 1989 to october 1990. A amps Wes Booher for the most part the american military used missiles and tanks already in Stock to fight the persian Gulf War. Most of the Pentagon a purchases after the War began were for uniforms special gear such As chemical suits and protective vests and food. Second place general dynamics is a co producer with Mcdonnell Douglas of the Tomahawk and also makes stinger and rim-66 missiles. In addition. General dynamics produces f-16 Falcon fighter aircraft nuclear submarines and the  tank the army a primary Battle tank in the ground War against Iraq. In fifth place was Raythelon co., maker of the Patriot ground to air missiles that knocked out dozens of iraqi scuds. Raythelon s total contracts increased to $4,1 billion in 1990 from $3.8 billion the year before. It was followed by a Lockheed corp. With $3.6 billion Down from $3.7 billion. A Martin Marietta corp. With $3.5 billion up from $3.3 billion. A United technologies corp with $2.9 billion Down from $3.6 billion. A Grumman corp. With $2.7 billion up from $2.4  inc., which produces aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines jumped from 21 St place in fiscal 1989 to no. 10 last year. Its contracts increased to $2.4 billion from $900 million. Many vets with a Home Loans urged to refinance mortgages by Ann Mariano the Washington Post Washington a the department of veterans affairs is. Urging nearly 500,000 veterans nationwide to refinance their Home mortgages while interest rates Are in single digits. With rates on a guaranteed Home Loans at 9 percent for a 30-Ycar fixed rate loan the savings for veterans could be substantial according to the a which says $23.7 billion Worth of mortgages have interest rates ranging upward from 11 percent. The government sets the interest rate for a guaranteed Loans but keeps them close to non government conventional loan rates. A Veteran with a $70,000 mortgage carrying an 11 percent interest rate could save $103.39 a month by getting a new loan at 9 percent according to the vans calculations. The savings would be higher for the 45,000 homeowners who now pay interest of 13.5 percent or More the department said. The advantage to the government is that when a Veteran has a lower mortgage payment he or she is less vulnerable to economic setbacks and is less Likely to default on the mortgage said Keith Pedigo director of the vans loan guarantee service. ,. A we Are reasonably convinced there is a considerable reduction in foreclosure rates when homeowners get new mortgages with lower interest rates although an exact count cannot be made because of a too Many variable circumstances he said. The savings arc important to the a. Losses from loan defaults have devastated the vans loan guaranty fund in recent years requiring More than $2 billion in congressional appropriations since �1984. . A some veterans done to realize they can refinance a Pedigo said. Quot a lot of vets Are operating under the Assumption that if they have used up their entitlement to government guaranteed loan they can to go Back to the a to refinance a but this is not True he said. When rates began to come Down from the peaks of 14 percent or More during the Early 1980s, Many veterans refinanced. According to the a More than 394,400 Veteran homeowners gained $13.5 billion in savings by refinancing their government guaranteed mortgages during the past six years. Most lenders said Loans should be refinanced when the difference Between a homeowners interest rate and the a established rate is 2 percentage Points. With a narrower difference the fees and costs of refinancing consume the savings. In coming weeks workers in the vans regional offices will try to Contact veterans whose Home Loans carry High interest rates and advise them to refinance the department said. A Veteran is allowed to refinance the current mortgage balance plus closing costs taxes and insurance. Richard w. Johnson jr., legislative director of the non commissioned officers association said veterans should also take into account the length of time they plan to own their Homes. Homeowners can recover other costs associated with refinancing within 18 months to five years in most cases he said. Most veterans Quot would significantly Benefit from refinancing if their rate is Over 11 percent a he said. Veterans Are not the Only homeowners seeking less costly mortgages said Warren Lasko executive vice president of the mortgage Bankers association of Amer Ca. Of All the applications for mortgages nationwide about 40 percent have been for refinancing Lasko said.  it a not just refinancing to lower interest rates a Lasko said.  it a debt consolidation. People can pay off their credit cards and other Hills with a tax deductible Home  Lasko said he expects mortgage rates to stabilize at about 9.5 percent to 9.75 percent for a 30-year fixed rate loan. By. Owner on is new York up a Peter Kalikow owner of the new York Post and one of the City s major real estate developers has not repaid $60 million in Bank Loans and three Banks have sued him a published report said monday. The new York times reported that Kalikow could be forced to seek bankruptcy Protection for himself and some of his companies if any of the Banks refuses to negotiate new terms on the Loans. It was unclear if the negotiations would affect the Post which has generated profits in recent months that Kalikow Nas used to pay some Bills for his real estate projects the times said. On the third anniversary of his ownership of the tabloid March 7, Kalikow said the Post became a comfortably profitable during the daily news strike but that dispute ended last week. However the times said Bankers and lawyers involved in the matter Are optimistic that Kalikow could avoid a bankruptcy filing