European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 28, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matters today s tip Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Has been awarded a new contract for up to $8 million by nasal a Langley research Center to conduct studies on the next generation of commercial supersonic transport. The company has been working with Nasa for four years in an attempt to improve supersonic passenger service for the Early 21st Century. The research centers on developing a 300-passenger aircraft that can Fly up to 2a times the Speed of sound with a Range of 6,500 nautical Miles All of which surpass the capabilities of the concorde. Conversion rates London up wednesdays 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 $354.25 an ounce Silver at $3.83. 7 March 26 March 27 British Pound. 1.74.80. 1.74.27 German Mark. 1.69b5 1.7090 French franc. 5.74755.7665 dutch Guilder. 1.9025 1.8953 belgian franc. .33.79 a 35.1725 italian lira. 1.256 15 1,260 35 Swiss franc .1.4440 1.4440 greek drachma. 182.10. 182.15 turkish lira. .3,616.20 3,635.50 saudi Aranan Riyal i3.7503 3.7502 Spanish peseta 103 63 104.47 portuguese escudo. .147.65 147.85 Canadian Dollar. .1.1598 1.1588. Austrian Schilling. .11.87 11,8350. Norwegian Krone. 6.5770 6.55 danish Krone. .6.4725 6.4575 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 1.65 thursday based on wednesdays noontime Price  american Exchange. New York up the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading tuesday Stock Western digital Lionel corp pref hath care Hill Haven corp Amdahl corp Jan Bell mtg Americus Mosc ,. Denmark King it a Wang labs inc b carnival cruise sales 1,256,000. 818,100 453.400 442.400 347.200 338.200 303,100 295,800 293.200 274.200 list 5% 3 /4 19 a 3 15 % 10 41 Vi-15 i 4% 20�?T net chg. Up % up up 1 i up. I up it up1h a unch up w. Off i up Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jones closing Range of averages tuesday. Close change 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks 2924. 1107.55 218.62 1037.51 High Low .01 2� 2848.02 1068.58 214.98 1009.33 2914.85 up 49. 1102.79 up 27.51 218.12 up 1.76 1034.05 up 18.37 Hungary changes Rule Budapest Hungary up foreign investors will now be at Lowed to own 100 percent of hungarian companies the director of the state privatization Agency said. In a report. The hungarian daily Magyar Hirlan quoted Agency director Lajos Csepi As saying that the Agency had decided to drop its restrictive policy on foreign ownership in order to encourage a faster and Fuller rate of privatization. The change in policy is expected to greatly stimulate foreign investment in Hungary whose debt Ridden Economy is moving slowly toward a More open Market. Until now except in a few cases foreign companies were allowed to own Only 49 percent of hungarian companies. Payments of medical claims shifted from Frankfurt office by Randy Mcclain financial writer army officials Are abandoning a 1-year-old program under which medical insurance claims for non appropriated fund employees in Europe were paid from an office in Frankfurt Germany. The program which was supposed to reduce the. Time it took to reimburse patients for medical and Hospital Bills was falling far Short of its stated goal of paying claims within two weeks. As of tuesday it was taking up to seven weeks for claims to be paid. Starting Friday the Naf health insurance system will revert to the method it used before March 1990, when european claims were handled in the United states by the John Hancock Mutual life insurance co. Hancock holds the worldwide contract for processing Naf health insurance claims but Many Naf employees were critical of the company a performance. Complaints of slow payment and Hancock a inability to translate Many foreign medical Bills persuaded army officials to set up a satellite office of their own Early last year. But that office was hampered by a Lack of manpower and did no to perform As Well As expected either. Charles r. Sandlin jr., chief of the army a employee benefits Branch in Alexandria va., said the switch Back to Hancock a Westchester pa., office should work better this time. For one the company has identified an employee who can translate foreign medical Bills into English he said while in the past the company a was just kind of winging it with a German English Midi Cal  when Hancock last handled european claims Many patients medical forms were returned to them with orders from Hancock to provide an English translation. A a a a a a a a a As a result some Naf employees did not receive insurance payments or several weeks or months. In one Case it took 16 months for a payment to reach the proper recipient in Germany army Oft Ciulis said. Sandlin said payment of claims will be monitored , and horror stories of late payments wont he tolerated. A if this does no to work Well try something else Quot he said. A a we re trying to do right by the people in Europe Quot the Naf employee benefits Branch in Redelheim Germany will remain open Sandlin said and will be expected to answer patients questions on claims proce Durics. Naf employees also will continue to file medical claim forms with the German office As a first step but Sandlin said the forms will be sent to Hancock every. Friday by express mail. He said the claims should be processed within one week. The improved service will be possible because Hancock has agreed to give priority to the 120 european medical claims it receives each week Sandlin said. A a a a a a a. A a a a Marcia Coldwells european manager of the Naf benefits Branch said her of Ficco a recent performance has been Ham Percy by the resignation last month of a key employee who was translating Many foreign medical Bills. That resignation left coldwell so office with two employees instead of three. Sandlin said he considered setting up an International toll free line that would have Given Naf employees in Europe a direct link with Hancock claims processors in Pennsylvania but the Cost was,.too High. The army operates a self insured health plan for Naf employees around the world. In Europe some 6,500 wok cars and their families Are eligible for the plan. Included Are people who work Al child care centers recreation centers enlisted clubs and the armed forces recreation Center. Civilian employees of the stars and stripes also Are covered. Investors drawn to Mutual funds for convenience portfolio diversity by Charles a. Jaffe United press International building a Stock portfolio is a Complex time consuming inconvenient process even for the most savvy investor. Because of that Many investors have decided to let someone else build a portfolio for them. The result has been a Boom in the Mutual fund business. Mutual funds in Many ways Are like giant investment clubs. They have been around since the 1920s, but came into Vogue in the mid-1980s. Mutual funds now manage More than 58 million customer accounts nationwide valued at More than $1 trillion according to the investment company Institute an Industry Trade group. Some funds manage More than $1 billion in assets. But it is not the bigness of the funds that makes them  and professional management Are the baits used to Hook hundreds of new investors every Day. Funds invest in a Range of securities providing diversity that guards against a betting it ally on one Issue. Many investors cannot afford a diversified portfolio on their own but can get one at a snap simply by buying shares in a Well run Mutual fund. ,. Operated by investment companies Mutual funds Are designed to Pool the Money of investors with common financial goals. While some funds Are sold by brokers and charge a commission or sales fee to open an account Many others a called a no Load funds take no payment from shareholders. Some funds allow individuals to open an account with As Little As $50. But while it is easy to see the benefits of diversity and professional manage ment picking the right funds not always so simple. Considering a Mutual fund investment is a Little like going to a Baskin Robbins ice Cream shop a except there Are hundreds of flavors to choose from instead of Only 31 varieties. As a result being satisfied with a fund requires understanding its investment goals. For example a retired couple looking for stability and minimal risk would be out of place in an aggressive growth fund. The leading personal finance magazines a particularly changing times and Money a routinely review top performing Mutual funds including vital information about investment returns objectives and where to Call for a prospectus. The explosion in types of funds makes the Mutual fund tables in the newspaper More difficult to read since a family of funds might have a a High Quality fund investing in top rated corporate and municipal securities and a a High yield fund investing in junk Bonds. The funds names May be similar but their strategies Are vastly different. Investors should always read a funds prospectus to determine its goals before investing. Here is a guide to 10 different flavors of Mutual funds with the Standard descriptions used by those who operate the investments a growth funds these invest in Small companies that  Little or no dividends. Investors expect their capital to appreciate As the companies grow and their Stock prices Rise. A income funds they accumulate High Grade corporate Bonds As Well As stocks with a Long history of paying dividends. Investors often choose an income fund for its current dividend prospects rather than future appreciation. A balanced funds. Generally these funds try to balance three primary invest mint objectives income growth and stability. A Money Market Mutual funds they Are listed separately from Stock funds and Are designed to provide current income and preservation of capital without tying up an ? investors Money. Most Money Market funds provide Check writing privileges. A tax free funds these generally buy government Bonds which provide tax free income. Although these funds typically earn a lower rate of return than funds that buy taxable investments an investors tax considerations can make them a Good Deal. A Index funds they buy Only the stocks of a particular Market Index such As the Standard amp poor a 500. Their performance mirrors that of the Market m Gen. Eral. Quot a. A a a a sector funds these funds focus on companies in a specific Industry such As health care transportation or defense. A precious Metal funds these invest in companies involved in Gold mining exploration and processing. Their performance is tied More closely to the Gold Market than to the Stock Market. A International funds generally these funds invest in foreign stocks and Bonds. They May follow the same objectives As Domestic funds but pursue their Market opportunities overseas for the most part. A social funds funds in this very restrictive category invest Only in companies that fall in line with certain social objectives. For example they might invest Only in companies that Are considered environmentally aware