European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 27, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17today�?Ts tip Kuwait was stripped Bare during the iraqi occupation and will spend the next two to three years and $15 billion to $20 billion restocking Basic supplies world Bank executive director Fawzi Al Sultan says. / y y. A a a Al Sultan who served As director of the Kuwait emergency recovery program until last december told . Business executives at a Trade conference that american business has a role to play in rebuilding the country a tattered Economy but its too Early to say what the Finar Price tag for reconstruction efforts will  rates London up a 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 $353.50 an ounce Silver at $3,93, a a a v april25 april26 British Pound. >.1.6940 a 116845. German mark.,.,.,. 1.7530. 1.7530 French franc. .5.854 5904 dutch guilder.,., .1.9720. 1.9710 belgian franc. ,35.8165 35.9975 italian lira.�?z.,. 1,292.15 Swiss franc �?z1,4655 a 1.4795 a greek drachma i ,189.4b 189.37 a turkish lira .3,892,60 3,898.50 saudi arabian Riyal .,.3.7501. 3,7501 Spanish peseta. ,.107.88 a a 107,70 portuguese escudo .150.50 Quot 150.60 canaaian.dollar.,.,.,.1,1534 a a 1.1520 austrian Schilling,.,. 12.31 .12.32 norwegian Krone 6.8000 6.8225 danish Krone 6.6860. 6.7000 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 1.71 through monday based on fridays noontime  York Exchange new York up a York stack exc Nangpi Slock Compaq computer. The 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on thursday Compaq. A. A a Inifi Vlf Saatchi Saatchi data general up general motors a Philip Morris a. Exxon corp Fleet no Star a. A Amer express. Pepsico inc it Baxter inti inc household inti Stanhope inc Santa be pacify Security pacify sales Tail Nel chg. 6,371,700 62-14 off 9% 2,593,000 37 up % 2.337,900 1 % Oft % 1,641,200 18 up 1 % 1,537,300 37. Oft 1,484,200 67% up % �1,380,600 59 % off 1 % .1,320,900 23 % up a 1,319,900 26% Oft % �1,285,600 -32% off 1,241,200 34 % a a off 1,230,700 a 46 off 1.221,900 34% off 6% 1,212 100. 9% off % 1.196,600 26. Up a american Exchange new York up american Stock excl Stock. Bergen Brunswig. Chiles offshore Western digital. Americus t. 2 Wang labs inc b Energy service fit Floom foundation hath Hii Haven corp cow chemical it a the 10 most Active stocks in Ange composite trading thursday. Sales last Nel chg. 778,100 2644 610.900 4%. 549.000 5% so 509,600 9% 386,500 3 % 341.700 2 i 337.000 14 % 300.700 29 a 295.900 3 280,600 6 up 44 off i unch up off it a up Vic Oft i off 2 up �?T4 up % Dow Jones York up a Dow Jones closing Range of averages 30 industrials 30 transport 5 injuries 65 stocks. High 2958.42 1134.24 211.14 1059.40 Low 2905.20 1160.26 208.38 1040.40 non 2921.04 1170.13 209.38 1046.94 Chang off 28.46 off 0.89 off 1.01 off 6.54 2 firms can help keep tabs on banking institutions health by Randy Mcclain financial writer. With headlines screaming about Bank and sayings and. Loan failures in the Quot states it can be a scary proposition to be serving overseas while much of the family nest egg sits Back Home in what May be a Leaky Bank vault. But there is a Low Cost Way to Check on the health of he Bank savings and loan or credit Union where your Money is de a posited. Y   it can be done by checking with one of two research groups that track the performance of thousands of financial institutions and rate them for Consumers. They Are Verbanc a research firm based in Wakefield Massand Sheshunoff information services of Austin Texas. Both firms rate thousands of institutions but Verbanc earns a slight Edge because of the ease in understanding its reports. A. It  a a a a a a. By a a Large part of our company a activity is trying to provide information to people in Plain English a said Warren Heller Veri Banc a research director. Verbanc keeps track of the performance of almost 13,000 Banks 2,600 savings and Loans and 14,000 credit unions on a quarterly basis. Y for $10 per institution Consumers can learn where their Bank is ranked according to the company a 12 categories of safety. A every Quarter All of the institutions file reports with Federal regulators and roughly 2vz months after they file we make Freedom of information act requests for All the data a Heller said. A we receive six magnetic tapes from the government with All the information and from that data base we generate All our reports and  Heller said Consumers interested in one or More financial institutions can learn How High they re ranked with a phone Call or by writing Verbanc at Box 461, Wakefield mass., 01880. If its too much trouble to write for a report Verbanc can also be reached by phone at 617 245-8370. The company will provide callers with an instant rating on an institution and follow up by Man with a Brief summary. Verbanc also provides a More detailed review of individual Banks savings and Loans and credit unions for $25 per institution. These reports discuss an institutions problem Loans earnings and other financial information. Text and helpful cartoon like pictures Lead Consumers through the report Page by  a there a quite a hit of hand holding to help Consumers get a Clear picture of their Bank a health Heller said. Verbanc also will sell comprehensive reports ranking All Banks savings and Loans or credit unions in a particular state these booklets Cost $110. Still it May be appropriate and Worth the Cost for some service members particularly those searching for a healthy financial institution in a state to which  soon be moving. Quot specify whether you re interested in Banks credit unions or savings and Loans when ordering a state report. The Sheshunoff Agency will provide five Page Bank rating reports on More than 12,000 Banks and 2,600 savings and Loans at a Cost of $25 per institution. The report comes with a user guide that explains All financial terms. Sheshunoff also ranks Banks and savings and Loans on a state by state and National basis. Each state report costs $50. Financial institutions Are Given a letter Grade from a to c and arc ranked on a percentile basis in comparison with other institutions of similar size both statewide and nationally. Sheshunoff information services can be contacted by writing . Box 13203 capital station Austin Texas 787113203. It a a by y / Heller of Verbanc said a growing number of Consumers arc showing an interest in checking out financial institutions for themselves before opening accounts. A a a a a a. A plus Bank Reform legislation proposed by the Bush administration which is threatening to take away some Federal Protection on certain insured deposits makes it especially important to know where your Money is he said. A a it a especially important when More and More institutions arc failing and even those that done to fail Are put under regulatory controls a Heller said. Officers serving in Gulf can take extra Steps to avoid big tax bite if you re an officer who is serving or has served in the persian Gulf you probably already know that not enough Federal income tax has been withheld from your Check and you May end up owing More in taxes than you expect next year. But department of defense officials have a few tips that can help you avoid paying a surprising amount of extra taxes in one Lump sum. Here san example. If you re an army Captain with eight years of service married and claiming three dependents you re annual taxable income is $30,350. If you serve five months in the persian Gulf january through May 1991, for example the first.$500 of your monthly in come while there will be tax exempt. But Dod finance systems currently Arentt set up to exempt Only a portion of ones income from taxation. In this Case the military is not withholding any taxes from officers paychecks while they re in the combat zone. That Means Many officers could face a substantial tax bite after the  a a Quot a. A y. A Quot in the example above if no other adjustments Are made Only $1,999.83 will be withheld from the army captains paycheck while just Over $3,000 should have been withheld y to avoid that extra Lump sum payment when filing a Federal return for 1�91, officers can reduce the number of exemptions they re claiming to Zero and claim additional withholding of $55 per month for the rest of the tax year after returning from the amp Gulf Region. This in effect will negate the non withholding of Federal taxes for the period of time spent in the Middle East combat zone. Better yet the Captain should leave his exemptions alone choosing instead to invest the equivalent amount a $143 a month. Even if its in just a 5 percent passbook account there will be $40 or so in accumulated interest when tax time Rolls around. Besides by next year the savings habit May be so ingrained that the Captain will keep on saving. Finance officials can help people in All pay categories adjust their withholding to Lessen their tax blow. Experts see mortgage rates falling by David Yvo. Myers the los Angeles times april showers bring May Flowers and May could bring lower mortgage rates. At least that a the consensus among several housing economists who shy the Federal Reserve Board will soon be forced to lower interest rates in order to reignite the sluggish Economy. A Between now and june or july i think you la see rates drop another Quarter Point or so a said Dick peach an economist with the mortgage Bankers association of America. A the Economy Isnit growing much unemployment is up and the inflation rate is Low. There a room for the fed to lower rates and i think it could happen relatively  the Federal Reserve Board or fed is the nations Central Bank. Because it controls the Money Supply it wields Large influence Over the Economy. When the Economy is slow a As it is today a the fed often Lowers interest rates to encourage More borrowing and stimulate business. A no one can say with certainty what the fed will do next but i  be surprised if we see a Quarter Point or half Point drop in rates Over the next three to six months a said Leslie Appleton Young an economist for the California association of realtors. What does All this mean if you re thinking of buying a House or refinancing an existing mortgage it All depends. If you re shopping for a Home in an area where prices Arentt rising much you can afford to take your time if you think that rates will go lower. Your patience could result in a reduced monthly mortgage Bill. Conversely if Home values in the area Are starting to pick up it probably wont pay to wait. A a done to sit around and wait for interest rates to drop a Little if prices in your area Are rising fast a said John Tuccillo chief economist of the National association of realtors. A if prices go up just 1 percent or 2 percent Over the next few months it la wipe out any savings you a get by waiting for interest rates to nudge