European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 08, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday. April 8, 1991  and stripes Page 17tttoneymattersj today s tip. Some 221,000 Homes were built in the United states during october through december last year Down 18 percent from the previous year. The . Dodge division of Mcgraw Hill inc. Said there were 1.13 million housing starts in the fourth Quarter compared with 1.19 million a year earlier. Last year was the worst for the housing Industry since the Early 1980s, with most cities suffering Steep declines in building. The top five communities in terms of new housing starts were los Angeles Riverside san Bernardino Galier Washington Atlanta and Detroit. Conversion rates London up fridays 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 $358.25 an ounce Silver at $4.04. April 4 april 5 British Pound. 1.7845 1.7790 German Mark,.,. 1.6710 1.6725 French franc. .5.7005 a 5.6430 dutch Guilder. 1.8935, 1.8800 belgian franc �?�.34.6175 34.3175 italian lira. 1,249.30 1.238.85 Swiss franc 1.4025. 1.4095 greek drachma. .182.55 .181.10 turkish lira. .3,710.80 3,707.10 saudi arabian Riyal. 3.7503 3.7503 Spanish peseta .104.05 103.07 portuguese escudo. .,.,.,.147 60. 145.80 Canadian Dollar. 1.1558 1.1557 austrian Schilling. 11.82 11.73 norwegian Krone. 6.5415 6.4880 danish Krone. .6.4460 6.3940 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources arid 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 through monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. 1st of/91 profitable investors in Mutual funds at amp to users in saudi May get tax Back Washington a amps at amp to officials Are working on refunding a 3 percent Federal excise tax to about 400,000 customers who made Calls from the combat zone to the United states during operation desert storm. A we have to refund the Federal excise tax on Calls made from the War zone a said company spokeswoman Lynn Newman. A your Billing people Are working on it but the process will take some time because we have to work with so Many different  on a Bill of $50, the refund would be $1.50, she said. Federal Law prohibits excise taxes from being assessed in a War zone. Customers now placing Calls from saudia Arabia to the states Are no longer being charged the tax Newman said. Excise taxes were never assessed on Calls from the Middle East to Europe or other overseas locations so there will be no refunds on those Calls Newman said. At amp to installed More than 1,000 special telephones near Forward deployed troops in saudi Arabia before the ground War began. The telephones could be used Only for credit card Calls. According to Newman the Mobile telephones have followed troops into Kuwait for their convenience while other phones remain near the Border. By Kathy m. Kristof the los Angeles times Mutual fund investors made a bundle in the first Quarter of. 1991. Whether they invested in Small companies growth stocks High technology Banks real estate or health they raked in Gratifying paper profits according to Lipper analytical services which tracks Mutual fund performance. There were Only two categories of Mutual funds that were net losers during the three month period Gold oriented funds which invest in Gold and Gold mining companies and world income funds which often invest in foreign currencies and Bonds. Otherwise it was the kind of Quarter that makes people flock to the Stock Market. A a a a. A. A the value of the average health and biotechnology fund jumped 30.25 percent during the period according to Lipper. The second Best performing group was science and technology funds up 25.75 percent. That was closely followed by Small company growth funds up 25.56 percent financial services funds up 24.65 percent and real estate funds which jumped 22 percent. A wide variety of factors boosted Mutual fund performance last Quarter said a. Michael Lipper president of Lipper analytical. First and Foremost the Stock Market which dropped last october staged a Steep and Broad based rally. Small company stocks tended to do better than the shares of big companies. That was Good for Mutual fund performance because these funds tend to hold a Large number of shares in Small and mid size companies Lipper said. Some health and technology Compa Mutual fund performance most Mutual funds had a Banner three months in the first Quarter of 1991. Shown below Are average increases in share prices for several categories of funds. Source Lipper analytical services. Nies saw their share prices skyrocket because of unusual events. The share Price of amen a biotechnology company soared last Quarter when the company won food and drug administration approval for an anti bacterial drug that is expected to be one of the most widely used biotech products Ever produced. In the defense sector Raythelon the maker of the Patriot missile got a big boost from the War with Iraq some of the other Best performing Industry groups a namely real estate and financial services a were simply on the rebound. Investors sold those Stueks in droves last year when real estate prices were depressed and sales were moribund. However declining interest rates and in a amps Sharon Kilday creasing housing sales have turned both groups around. The two top performing funds during the period were the american heritage fund which jumped 54.17 percent and the prudent Speculator leveraged fund up 48.32 percent. Other individual funds that did the Best during the first Quarter concentrated on Small companies health science and biotechnology stocks. Strategic investments which buys Gold and Silver mining stocks was the biggest loser sliding 22.22 percent. Seven other precious metals funds were among the quarters 10 worst losing Between 15 percent and 9 percent of their value in 199l�?Ts first  months. New rules aimed at helping keep insurance firms financially healthy by Eric n. Berg the new York times Chicago a amid deepening Public concern Over the health of insurers a new regulation now taking effect May help separate the financially Strong from the shaky. A the Rule will require nearly All insurance companies for the first time to have their financial condition reviewed annually by an actuary a a highly trained Industry statistician a to determine whether the insurer has enough Money to pay claims and meet other financial obligations. If a company seemed weak policyholders could get refunds of their unused premiums and regulators could take remedial action before the insurer became insolvent. Life insurers already face this requirement and state regulators Are extending the Rule to property and casualty insurers which had been free to set their financial reserves at whatever level they Felt appropriate. The new Rule is the latest attempt by insurance regulators to Shore up an Industry that has been buffeted by slumping commercial real estate values plummeting prices for a junk Bonds and rapidly rising jury awards. Hard hit insurers have been failing at an increasing rate leaving Many policyholders without coverage. Still critics note that the new Rule does not require an insurer to have an Independent actuary certify whether its reserves Are adequate. In fact the actuary could be an employee. While the certification requirement should give Consumers extra Protection it May Well come at an extra Cost. Right now Only mid sized and giant insurers like Aetna state farm Ana metropolitan life employ actuaries full time. Thousands of Small companies Many of them family operated will have to hire outside actuaries. That Means their policyholders will probably end up paying that extra cosi through higher premiums. The regulation which was adopted by the National association of insurance commissioners and cleared by state Legislatures where necessary covers property and casualty companies which insure against a wide Range of loss including theft fire and vandalism. Millions of the cars Homes and other property of millions of americans Are insured by these companies. Such companies also provide payments to injured employees through workers compensation policies and cover Industrial plants and equipment against loss. A you Are not going to eliminate fraud or mismanagement a said James a Murphy executive vice president of the american Academy of actuaries. A but better monitoring by a responsible professional such As an actuary should give us a better Early warning  for property and casualty companies the Rule takes effect with their 1990 annual statements which they Are currently filing with state insurance commissioners. Advocates of the Rule Hope that policyholders will read an actuary a opinion in the insurers annual report to see if an insurer has the financial wherewithal to pay probable claims. Based on this picture policyholders could decide if they wanted to stay with that company or take their business elsewhere. Industry experts Hope that at a minimum the provision will limit policyholder losses if a company goes bankrupt. It is also hoped that the Rule will slow the growth of Many insurers because the amount of coverage an insurer May write in a year is tied to its reserves and capital base. The aim is to guard against runaway growth which some experts fear could Lead to a breakdown in financial controls. Finally the new Rule could Lead Many insurers to set premiums at a higher healthier level As a Means of bolstering their capital