European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday april 16, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 17money matters demand for Gold jewelry outpaced Gold production in the Western world m 1990 for the second consecutive year with . Working women spearheading a consumer buying spree. Some 1,885 tons of the precious Metal were used in the manufacture of Gold jewelry in 1990, up 4 percent Over 1989 Levels. Gold mines in the Western world produced Only 1,720 tons according to data compiled by the world Gold Council. Demand for Gold jewelry has been on an upward trend for the past decade and shows no signs of abating. Conversion rates London up a 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 s360.00 an ounce Saver at $3.98. April 12 april 15 British pound.1.7825 1.7905 German Mark.1.6760 1.6700 French franc.5.6495 5.6495 dutch guilder.1.8825 1.8926 belgian franc.34.3725 34.3350 italian lira. 1,241.25 1.243 35 Swiss franc.1.4220 1 4155 greek drachma .181.34 18195 turkish lira. 3,755.10 3,781.80 saudi arabian riyal.3.7504 3.7504 Spanish peseta.103.10 103.42 portuguese escudo. .145.30 145.52 Canadian dollar.1.1504 1.1501 austrian schilling.11.7620 11.8125 norwegian Krone.6 5000 6 5300 danish Krone. 6.4070 6.4375 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 1.64 tuesday based on monday s noontime Price fixing. La. Firm plans hotel Complex for Budapest Budapest Hungary up Atlantic Pacific inc. Of los Angeles has announced plans for a hotel and swimming Pool Complex on the left Bank of the Danube in downtown Budapest the hungarian new Agency Mai reported monday. Mai said the 400-room, three swimming Pool Complex will be built and financed by Atlantic Pacific on the site of the Komjadi swimming Baths. It will Cost an estimated $60 million to $70 million. The site owned by the National sports swimming Pool co., now has an olympic Pool where hungarian world class swimmers train. National sports will receive a 15 percent stake in the project for providing the site plus income trom the swimming pools. Mai described the project As Quot the first of a Holiday inn style Chain a to be developed in Hungary. Arpad Domjan one of Atlantic Pacific a senior officials is a former member of the hungarian National water Polo team Mai said. Tax Cut plan would draw on social Security funds by Jim Luther the associated press Washington a a plan that would temporarily boost the Economy by cutting taxes for 132 million workers and 6 million businesses might ordinarily be unstoppable in Congress. But not when it threatens the hottest of political potatoes social Security benefits. The Bill is backed by labor and management and stands a Good Chance of approval in the Senate. But in the House where members must stand for election every two years a they View anything dealing with structural Reform of social Security to be the third rail of politics touch it and you die a said Mark wheat of citizens for a sound Economy which favors the Cut. The tax that would be Cut finances retirement and disability benefits for close to 40 million americans. Democratic leaders who run the House Are Cool to the idea. A any Benefit to the average worker w Ould be outweighed by a $30 billion increase in the budget deficit a explained an aide to rep. Dan Rostenkowski d-iii., chairman of the House ways and Means committee. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan d-n.y., chief advocate of the tax Cut said an increase in take Home pay is badly needed. A after accounting for rising fica social Security taxes the average worker actually made less in 1989 than he did 30 years ago a Moynihan said. His Bill would mean an extra $3.37 a ya0298630a6 week this year to someone who makes $35,000 annually and another $3.37 to the employer. When fully in effect in 1996, the Cut would save the worker and employer $6.73 per week apiece Moynihan a main argument for cutting taxes is the need to restore worker Confidence that social Security will be healthy when workers Are ready to retire. Here a the problem workers arid their employers Are paying about $1.5 billion a week More in social Security taxes than is going out in benefits. That surplus which is expected to approach $5 billion a week by 2000, is being borrowed by the government to pay for other programs from missiles to milk subsidies. In return the government leaves Only Art Lou. A this practice violates the integrity of the social Security Trust funds and puts a disproportionate Burden on lower in come people Moynihan said. A the funds a he added a Are being  his solution put social Security on a pay As you go basis cutting taxes so they provide just enough to keep about one years benefits in Reserve at All times. That would mean a temporary reduction for the next 25 years followed by a sharper increase than is projected under current Law. Moynihan estimates the reduction would stimulate the Economy enough to create 1 million jobs. A but the congressional budget office said in a recent report that after a Tempo Raty stimulus the Cut would reduce savings push up interest rates and inflation and generally slow the Economy for the next 25 years. Fifty four senators supported the Cut last year but it fell Short of the 61 votes required under a budget Law that has since been changed. A new test could come later this month and opponents Are scrambling to restore the 60-vote requirement beforehand the Bush administration opposes the Cut but in More moderate terms than last year when Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady termed the idea a goofy a we should Stop playing with fire Quot said social Security commissioner Gwendolyn King. A the current Trust fund buildup will allow social Security to pay benefits to a much larger Retiree population in the 21st Century without overtaking workers who will be proportionately fewer in  a worker now pays 6.2 percent of the first $53,400 of wages a $3,311 a for social Security pension and disability benefits. This does not include the medicare tax of 1.45 percent of the first $125,000 of wages which would not be changed by Moynihan a Bill. The employer pays the same tax for each worker. The Bill would scale Back the tax rate to 5.7 percent on july land gradually Cut it to 5.2 percent in 1996. Rates would resume rising in 2010 and hit the new a a permanent rate of 8.1 percent in 2050. It also would raise the maximum annual wage subject to the tax. That a wage based would remain at $53,400 this year but would increase gradually to $82,200 by 1996. W is Zehn Deutsche Mark a new German Bill a Germany a new 10-Mark Bill goes into circulation today. A por be one of the three leading mathematicians or All time. A sex trait of Carl Friedrich Gauss 1777-1855 decorates the Blue Tant is pictured on the Blue backside. The old 10-Mark Bills con yellow and Violet front of the banknote. Gauss is considered to Tine to be Legal tender. German phone rates to go up july 1 by Mary Neth staff writer users of German telephones soon will see their rates climb again for in country Calls. The higher rates which have not been set will take effect july 1 in Germany a Western states said a spokesman for Tele Kom the Telephone Branch of the Federal Post office. They will climb Jan. 1 in the new states in the Federal Republic he said. _ this will be the second Boot this year in the rates charged for in country Calls. On april 1, time units for local Calls Between 8 . And 6 . Were shortened from eight to six minutes. Each unit now co to 23 pfennings but vanes in length based on the distance of the Call. Rutizer Staats the spokesman said monday that exact amounts Tor the new rate increases  be dec new i a but the Cologne newspaper express has reported that one plan would a push the unit Price for All Telephone Calls from 23 pfennig to 25 pfennig. A Cut Back the time unit from six minutes to five minutes for Calls within 12 Miles and from 60 seconds to 45 seconds for Calls within 12 to 31 Miles. The unit Price for pay phones would be raised from 30 pfennig to 40 pfennig the newspaper reported. Officials cited several reasons for the planned increases in phone rates. One is the need to raise More Money for development of the area that was once East Germany. Another is the need to offset losses of sister banking and postal services. By Law the Federal Telephone company must turn Over 10 percent of its income to the government Treasury each year. In 1999, that amounted to about $4 billion. Finance minister Theo Taigel has asked for an additional $3.5 billion annually for the next four years. The increases will come three months after Long distance rates were trimmed april 1. The time units for a Long distance Call a to a location More than 31 Miles from the caller a were increased from 18 seconds to 21 seconds. A three minute Telephone Call that Cost 2.30 Marks $1.40 wrent Down to 1.97 Marks $1.20. Staats said the reduction was the result of rates agreed upon in 1988 by Tele Kom and the government. Helmut Rick head of Tele Kom has said German Telephone costs Are among the highest in Europe. He noted that a three minute Call made Over 62 Miles costs 1.27 Marks 77 cents in Britain and 70 pfennig 43 cents in Sweden. The new lowered German charge of 1.97 Marks $1.20 still tops the list