European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday april 15, 1991 r the stars and stripes Page 17 today s tip  Congress should bar Banks from making Loans on raw land and insist that developers Bear 25 percent of the Cost of real estate projects before they can get Bank financing William Seidman Federal Deposit insurance corp. Chairman told Congress last week. A return to these Tough lending restrictions which were required by Law before 1974, might Avert a repetition of the massive real estate losses that have wrecked so Many Banks in recent years Seidman told the House banking committee. Conversion rates London up fridays closing rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Gold was quoted at $361.25 an ounce Silver at $4.00.april 11 april 12 British Pound. ,.,1.7890 1.7825 German Mark. .1.6655 1 6760 French franc.5.6770 5.6495 dutch Guilder. .1,8900 a 1 8825belgian franc .34.5325. 34 3725 italian lira. J,248.90 1,241 25 Swiss franc. 1.4125. 1.4220 greek drachma.,. .181.95 18134 turkish lira., .,.,3,738.50 3,755.10 saudi arabian nyal.3.7504 3 7504 Spanish peseta.,.103.43 10310 portuguese escudo.,.,.,.,.146 30. 145 30 Canadian Dollar. .1.1518 1-1504 austrian Schilling .11.7960 11 7620 norwegian krone.6,5210 6 5000 danish Krone .6.4275 6.4070 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 monday based on Fri clays noontime Price fixing. Few Job offers await recent Low students by the new York times after investing tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours in Legal education a substantial number of third year students at Law schools nationwide May graduate this year without Job offers. Though the situation is most acute in new York and other major cities in the Northeast Law firms Are being forced by the recession to reduce the number of entj7-level positions they offer recruiters. Say citing economic reasons some of the same firms Only recently Laid off scores of associates. A i done to know what these students will do a said Lujuana Treadwell executive director of the National association for Law placement an organization of Law firms and Law schools that researches Legal recruiting. A a in a sure some of them will take the bar exams and get jobs after they be been admitted to practice a Treadwell said. A others will turn to jobs in other areas that use their a Legal  the National association for Law placement will not begin collecting data on the employment status of 1991 graduates until the tall. But 70 percent of the Law schools that responded to a december 1990 Survey by the research group reported that fewer firms travelled to their campuses to interview third year students last fall. Nationwide rail strike looms As midweek deadline nears Washington apr most of the nations 235,000 freight line workers Are still warring with management Over wages and health care in a dispute that could ignite a crippling coast to coast rail strike this  travel on Amtrak and commuter trains could also be disrupted if no breakthrough is found and rail employees for the nations major freight carriers walk out at 12 01 . Wednesday As they have vowed. The National mediation Board has asked the parties to come to Washington for an Lith hour bargaining sessions but neither Side is optimistic the 3-year-old dispute will be settled by the expiration of the a Cooling off period agreed to under Federal Law. A a we re ready to strike a said George Donahue a Crew dispatcher for Conrail in Pittsburgh. A a we a just As soon close Mem Down completely. If we done to make any Money Why should they a the Bush administration said Friday it would ask Congress Early this week to enact emergency legislation to Block a walkout if a strike appeared inevitable. Congress is empowered by Federal Law to Stop a transportation strike but has indicated it wants to wait until the parties have exhausted All avenues at the bargaining table before it creates a settlement through legislation. Two of the 11 unions involved have reached tentative settlement with the carriers but the other nine a including the one representing the operators who run the trains a Are still far apart. Wages Are a key stumbling Block. Management contends rail workers Are Well paid earning As much As $56,000 a year once benefits Are included. Unions maintain the proposed wage increases Are too paltry to recoup past salary freezes and instead amount to pay cuts for some workers. The railroads make huge profits and Dole out seven figure salaries to executives unions contend and therefore should be Able to boost workers pay. The average rail worker makes Between $30,000 and $40,000 a year according to the unions. A we re not going to take a pay Cut. They might As Well fire us All a said Bob Hart a lawyer for the United transportation Union which represents 70,000 conductors brakeman switchman and firemen. Atan gement said rail workers salaries arc so far out of whack when compared with other Industrial workers that they re making As much As Stock brokers and investment Bankers. A the railroads just simply can to. Keep feeding the Goose that lays these Golden eggs a said George Whaley a spokesman for the association of american railroads which represents the nations major freight carriers including Burlington Northern Cox Conrail and Norfolk Southern. One of the sticking Points is How close the settlements should come to the recommendations of an emergency Board created last year by president Bush to head off a strike. In january that Board recommended Railroad workers get a Lump sum payment of $2,000 when the contract is signed presumably to make up. For the wage freeze that has occurred since july 1988 when the old contract expired. The Board also recommended a 3 percent general wage increase effective july 1. Workers would then get a series of Lump sum payments Over the next several years with another 3 percent general wage increase in july 1993 arts a 4 percent increase in 1994. The Board also suggested a plan for health care insurance that would require workers to pay up to 25 percent of any annual increases in the Cost. Jerry Taylor a Railroad worker applauds at a Union rally in Chicago. The two unions that have tentatively settled a the transportation communications Union and the brotherhood of Railroad signalman a Haven t released details of their proposed agreement but sources said it was fairly close to the emergency boards recommendations. Besides a disagreement Over Lump sum payments a a the unions would prefer general wage increases that become a permanent part of a workers pay level a there Are impasses Over work rules such As one changing Crew sizes and the number of Miles a worker travels a Clay before earning overtime. New loan program formulated to help would be homeowners by David Vav. Myers the los Angeles times americans biggest source of mortgage Money has unveiled a new plan that could make it easier for borrowers to get Loans with Small Down payments but housing experts Are split on whether it will help Many borrowers. As part of its efforts to help solve americans housing affordability crisis the Federal National mortgage association or Fannie Mae has announced a plan designed to encourage lenders across the country to make More 5 percent Down Loans. ,.in an important move Fannie Mae a new �?o3-2 options program also loosens some of the credit requirements that previously have prevented thousands of Cash strapped buyers from qualifying for a mortgage. Perhaps the most significant change under the new program is that the buyer technically must come up with a Mere 3 percent of the Down payment. The remaining 2 percent can come from a family member or nonprofit Agency. Previously help from an outside source was frowned upon by lenders. Fannie Mae is a key player in the a Lions mortgage Market. It buys Home Loans from lenders pools them and then Sells shares in the pools to investors. This process gives Banks and savings and loan associations the Cash they need to make More Home Loans. Since lenders who want to sell their Loans to Fannie Mae must meet the Agency a guidelines the new looser policies will a filter Down to borrowers and make it easier for them to get Loans. Significantly part of the new program will allow lenders to make Loans to borrowers who have relatively High Levels of debt. Previously Fannie Mae. Usually would not buy a loan if More than 28 percent of the borrowers Gross monthly income went toward the mortgage payment or if More than 36 percent of his income was eaten up by mortgage payments and All his other debts. Now a Borrower can still qualify if up to 33 percent of his Gross income goes toward the mortgage and up to 38 percent of his paycheck is used to make mortgage payments and pay off other debt. Still Quot it is the new programs 3-2 Fea Ture that is expected to help borrowers the most a especially those who live in High Cost housing areas such As on the West and East coasts where Down pay ment costs Are unusually Large. A a lot of two income couples could manage to make relatively High monthly payments but they just can to save up the thousands of dollars they need for a Down payment a said Leslie Appleton Young an economist for the California association of realtors. Officials at Fannie Mae say that the 32 loan and related programs could help As Many As 150,000 americans Purchase a Home. Some lenders however say that the 32 has a few shortcomings. A if you finance 95 percent of your Purchase your monthly payments Are probably going to be pretty High a said Dwain Greer of Shearson Lehman mortgage. A and if you need help from your folks to make such a Small Down payment you probably done to have High enough income to qualify for the loan. A a it a sort of a catch-22,�?� Greer said. A the people who need the program most probably wont be eligible for