European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 07, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 7, 1991 the stars and stripes a Pago 15 a Money matters Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of March 31st april 6th compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. 1 1 i i British Pound one Pound would Cost you $1-73 $1.63 $1.45 1991 German Mark one Dollar would buy you 2.36 1.67 1-67 1 1 a 1 i 1991 1990 i 1986 a military Exchange rate a turkish lira one Dollar would buy you 3710 2493 a 249399 1990 l 661 199s i currency traders refocused their. Attention on the United states faltering Economy last week and the Dollar took a Tumble As a result. The bleakest news came Friday afternoon with word that unemployment in the states jumped to 6.8 percent in March a gain of 0.3 percentage Points on the month and the highest rate since november 1986. Late Friday the Dollar was trading at 1.657 Marks in Europe and 1 Pound was Selling for roughly $1,795. Both rates Are substantially worse for service members than those that prevailed a week earlier. The military Exchange rate for . Service members in Germany was set at 1.63 Marks through monday a loss of 4 pfennig on the week. In England 1 British Pound will sell for $1.83 through monday a loss of 4 cents for the Dollar. Gunter Teich an economist with the Bank of America in Frankfurt Germany said the dollars slide was due largely to the weak unemployment data and expectations that it would Lead to an immediate Cut in . Interest rates. Before the information a release Teich said he was expecting Unzem ploy Enlin the states to Rise to 6.8 percent. The Frankfurt banker also estimated that non farm payrolls in the states would shrink by 150,000 jobs on the month but that predict Tion proved to be too optimistic. Government officials reported a loss of 205,000 non farm jobs in March with almost half the decline coming in the manufacturing sector. Rising unemployment could be a sign of a More serious and longer lasting recession in the United states Teich said and that will weigh against the  we could very Well see a lower Dollar for the time being a Teich said. He said the Buck could fall As Low As 1,625 Marks in Germany in the Wake of the jobs data. A. A 1. A if a 1 a a a. A. A firms that assist employees in buying Homes to get help by the los Angeles times in a new program that could Benefit thousands of Honie buyers in High Cost areas the Federal National mortgage association has set aside $1 billion to help employers assist their workers in buying Homes the program is aimed at helping mod Erate income employees w to have been squeezed out of the housing Market As the Supply of affordable Homes shrinks according to James a. Johnson chairman and chief executive officer of the federally chartered association known popularly As Fannie Mae. As Many As 20,000 Honie buyers will be assisted by the program according to Johnson. Johnson said it will be especially beneficial in expensive Urban areas such As los Angeles and Orange counties in California where the average Cost of a single family Home is More than $200,000. A employers will find housing benefits a valuable tool in attracting and. Retaining workers in increasingly competitive labor markets a he said. The mortgage association wont directly lend Money to employees or employers but instead will attempt to stimulate employers will find housing benefits a valuable tool in attracting and retaining workers in increasingly competitive labor  James a Johnson employer housing assistance programs by broadening the kinds of employer subsidized Loans it will Purchase from Banks thrifts and other lenders. Fannie Mae and other investors influence mortgage lending because they Are the major purchasers of Home mortgages on the so called secondary Market. Primary lenders such As Banks and thrifts sell their mortgages to the two organizations allowing them to raise Cash re Leo ish their portfolios and make More Loans. Currently at least eight employee housing assistance programs a including the association s plan for its own employees a could qualify for help from Fannie Mae according to Martin d. Levine a senior vice president. Fannie Mae said mortgage Loans of up to $191,250 can qualify for its program. Workers will be Able to buy Homes with a minimum Down payment of 5 percent the employee must provide Only 3 percent of the Down payment the remaining 2 percent can come from the Borrower s employer. Other qualifying mortgage Loans can be one of several types a a direct Grant from employer to end Loyee to cover closing or other costs a a fully repayable loan from employer to employee a Loans in which an employer allows workers to defer the repayment of principal. A. A a a a a. A a a a a Loans in which the employer assists workers in making their monthly mortgage payments a Loans that the employer guarantees even if the worker fails to make payments. . Goods to be sold in Moscow at showroom opening on monday by Isadore Barmash the new York times a wholesale showroom offering . Goods will open monday in Moscow on the grounds of the soviet space research Institute Only a few Miles from red Square. A. A. The three level 12,000-Square foot american store on profs Yuzhnaya Street will sell american products at wholesale prices to soviet companies that have hard currency. A a. After payment is made and the goods Are received the soviet companies will give the vacuum cleaners dryers microwave ovens cosmetics toys hosiery and sporting goods to their employees As a fringe Benefit said Henry Quinlan director of bos Mosco inc., a Boston based company organized by five americans and two soviet business people to develop joint ventures. Among the american producers and suppliers planning to take space in the american store Are american brands Bausch amp lomb Corning inc., Dupont Goodyear tire and rubber Kinney shoe and Maiden form. Each will pay $6,000 to $8,000 annually for space in the wholesale store As Well As a 5 percent commission on sales. Quinlan said that bos Mosco had paid $400,000 for a one year lease arid fixtures and that he expected rental fees from exhibitors to cover other expenses including salaries and utilities. A we should know within one week if a the store succeeds a he said in an interview while in new York. A a there a a great demand for . Goods in Russia and companies there Are eager to keep work ers Happy by giving them such goods a he said he expected first year sales of about $200 million and a potential of As much As $1 billion in five years. Japan Germany and Pakistan have wholesale stores in the soviet Union. Japan has sales of More than $500 million. A a a Stanley Scheinman executive vice president of asset management and International finance and settlement. New York an International merchant banking company said 20,000 to 30.0 h soviet factories were permitted to retain some of the hard currency they received from exports to buy a variety of goods. A the store will succeed because its a joint venture and that Means that it will have a continuing presence a said Charlesj Kelley a bos Mosco partner who lives in Boston. Tha stars and stripes by Ralph Vartabedian the los Angeles times the securities and Exchange commission has initiated an investigation into Northrop a payment of $6.25 million in 1984 to a South korean strongman in an Effort to sell Jet fighters according to the company a proxy statement. The company also disclosed that it severed a consulting agreement with former chairman Thomas v. Jones during 1990. Disclosure of the Sec investigation is the first official confirmation that the Agency is probing the Northrop Deal. Last year the commission declined to answer congressional allegations that it had failed to investigate the matter. Since 1988, Federal grand juries in los Angeles and Honolulu have been investigating allegations that the Deal violated the foreign corrupt practices act and an Sec consent decree entered into by the company in 1975. That agreement stemmed from previous payments to foreign governments by Northrop. The $6.25 million payment in 1984 ostensibly was to build a luxury hotel but the Money disappeared shortly after Northrop wired that amount to a. Bank account in Long Kong controlled by the late korean political operative Park Chong Kyu. Northrop asserted that the hotel Deal was a legitimate venture to help the company sell its f-20 Jet fighters to South Korea and that it was defrauded by Park and his associates. -. The hotel was never built. Northrop never sold any f-20s. And the Money remains unaccounted for. The company filed suit to recover the funds but in two separate cases arbitrators found that Northrop a payments a were not intended for the purpose of building a hotel and that Northrop was not entitled to recoup these monies a according to the proxy statement. Former Northrop consultant James Shin alleged that the payments were part of a sales promotion fund for the f-20 a an action that if True violates provisions of the . Foreign corrupt practices act Northrop has also sued Shin. Northrop spokesman Tony Cantafio said a the government has been investigating this for several years without any  a. A it was unknown Why Northrop terminated Jones or whether the termination was related to the Sec and grand jury probes. In 1988, Northrop a Board issued a reprimand to Jones for his conduct in the korean affair. A a the proxy disclosed that Jones a who stepped Down As Northrop chairman in january 1990 and was succeeded by Kent Kresa a was paid $394,000 in fees and $35,769 in business expenses during 1990. Northup must still pay Jones another $540,000 Over the next two years