European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday april 28, 1991 the stars and stripes Pago 15 Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of april 21-27 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. British Pound one Pound would Cost you $1.69 1991 i $1.63 -1990 $ 1.51 -122.5 i German Mark one Dollar would buy you 1.71 1991 1.66 1990 2.21 1986 a military Exchange rate turkish lira one Dollar would buy you 3,898.50. 2,522 1990 655 1986 i a amps Dollar rally in t Over yet the dollars rally against european currencies stalled Friday but foreign Exchange traders say the Greenback stands a Good Chance of making further gains this week. The scheduled meeting in Washington today of the group of seven is of special interest to traders especially if the major industrialized Powers. Try to limit the dollars growing Power in Europe. The Doliar has gained More than 21 percent against the German Mark and 15 percent against the British Poi ind since mid february. One foreign Exchange trader who thinks the Dollar could move still higher is Gunter Teich economist with Bank of America in i Frankfurt Germany. Teich predicted traders will test new highs very quickly unless the g-7 takes Steps to curb its growth. Two things to watch for that could change this scenario Are an agreement among g-7 Powers that brings the Federal Reserve Board into Central Bank intervention to drive the Dollar lower or an inter Cost rate hike by Germany scentral Bank in the week ahead. Currency traders stay the former Isnit Likely but believe the latter is possible. A if the Bundesbank raises rates it will take a Little steam out of the Dollar in the Short run a Leich said. Late Friday the Dollar was Trad Long around 1.75 Marks on the world Market and one British Pound was Selling for just under. M.69. Military Exchange rates available to . Service members through monday Are As follows in Germany the rate is 1.71 Marks tour pfennig better than last weekend and in the United King be Pound is Selling for y-73, six cents better for the Dollar than a week  stars and stripes lawmakers Promise to assist car Industry after 2-Day tour by James r. Campbell United press International. Detroit a members of a congressional delegation voiced alarm Friday at the decline of the american automotive Industry against Loreign Competition and at potential damage to the nations entire Economy. After a two Day visit with the big t free automakers and the United Auto workers some of the 39 touring lawmakers promised to target health care costs fair Trade and Quot other obstacles to increased sales. Rep. Janies Scheuer , suggested relaxing antitrust Laws to enable the big three to Pool some resources to better a compete with the real threat out there a foreign car makers. A we saw Quality up and Market share Down a said rep Sander Levin d-Mich., one of the organizers of the fact finding tour. A a it a  Levin said one of the most troubling statistics was that general motors  Detroit am Tramack Assembly c enter where the lawmakers met reporters has hired no hourly workers since 1986. A. Just As bad lie said was that at last report 51 percent of the ears sold domestically exclusive of Fleet sales were for sign. Quot. Rep. John Dingell d-Mich., stressed the importance of the Auto ii Lusty to. Americans Overall Economy. A when this Industry is sick other industries Are desperately Hurt a lie said. Dingell and Levin among 13 Michigan representatives on the tour Are considered supporters of the Auto Industry rep. Dennis Lle Tel a Mich. Whose District includes 54,000 autoworkers a the most of any District in the nation a said that the Industry represents 73 percent of americans Trade imbalance and that Trade policy will be his main target. Japanese firms a sell As Many cars in this country in 48 hours As we sell in Japan in one year a Lle Tel said. Chairmen Leo a. Larocca of Chrysler corp., Harold a. Poling of Ford motor co., and Robert c. Stempel of pm issued a statement saying they believed the House members a came away with a genuine understanding of the vitality and complexity of our Industry a t he big three which lost about $2 billion together in the fourth Quarter of 199 1, will report first Quarter results this week. Chrysler officials told the. Lawmakers the three probably lost a record $4.2 billion on North american operations in the Quarter. Several House members cited healthcare costs absorbed by ear manufacturers for their workers As one other stiff obstacle saying they amount to $700 in an american car $400 in a vehicle made in Canada and $300 in a japanese car. Soviet bureaucrats inept system end Gold Rush for most investors by Michael Putzel Washington a Stephen Moody figured his experience trading Grain with the soviets had prepared him for More ambitious dealings As Moscow opened to the West. So he came up with a business proposition that seemed a sure Winner. Moody set up a joint venture with the two Best known retail stores in Moscow a Detsky Mir a children a store and gum the state department store a to sell Western toys for rubles since rubles Are practically worthless outside the soviet Union Moody worked out an ingenious plan to make his venture profitable he would buy the stores waste paper with his rubles and Export the refuse to recycling plants in the West where he would sell the tons of scrap for Western currency. A sure thing Moody thought in a country with enormous environmental waste and a child Loving population craving things to buy. But like so Many Well intentioned americans who envisioned adventure and profits at the end of the cold War Moody fought the bureaucracy until it beat him. He could never close the Deal. Meetings were postponed without explanation phone Calls weren to returned signings never took place. After More than a year of frustration Moody Learned an obscure soviet ministry had a monopoly on waste paper and Wasny to about to share it. He finally gave up for Moody and thousands More investors the Rush to do deals in the huge and hungry soviet Market appears Over. Adventurous american entrepreneurs have proved no match for stubborn soviet bureaucrats a backward business environment where nothing Ever seems to get done and a labor Force with Little knowhow and even less Pride in their work. Businessmen who once packed the upper deck of pan americans new  nonstop flight Are searching for other worlds to conquer a or hunkered Down to combat the recession at Home. The uncertainty of Moscow a political situation and the failure of Mikhail Gorbachev a promised economic reforms to materialize have shaken what Little interest remains. A the Gold Rush is Over a acknowledged Sarah Carey a Washington lawyer noted for her Deal making in Moscow. Jerry j. Jasinowski president of the National association of manufacturers said the political uncertainty in the soviet Union and the economic downturn in the United states Haye both contributed to a drop in interest. A during a recession a he said a firms simply Cut Back on their investment across the Board and certainly they be Corne a Little More cautious about extending themselves into High risk markets  still a few new entrants in the soviet Market appear determined to stay. Mcdonald a which opened a fast food outlet in Moscow in 1990 after 14 years of groundwork has amazed experienced observers simply by continuing to serve customers in a country where food supplies Are notoriously unreliable and increasingly difficult to find. But no one has suggested the restaurant will turn a profit anytime soon. By Selling its big Maes and Fries for rubles Mcdonald a is building a Mountain of soviet currency that can to be used to pay off its estimated $50 million investment. The company says it is planning for the Long term it will use its rubles to build More soviet restaurants and wait for the Day a perhaps years from now a when the Ruble can be converted. Another possibility is bartering Hough few firms have managed to duplicate Pepsico a Well known and successful formula. For two decades the . Soft drink giant has sold Pepsi cola in the soviet Union and taken its profits out in Stolichnaya Vodka a big seller in the United states. Combustion engineering which formed the first .-soviet joint venture nearly four years ago to make control devices for petrochemical plants is operating some Assembly facilities but is far behind schedule. A a it a a Long Road a said Andy Pechkovsky who headed combustion a Moscow office until last november Quot every joint venture   a most people took perestroika As a sign the soviets were becoming Western,�?T.�?T said Pechkovsky a Canadian with ancestral roots in Russia. A it Hasni to really lived up to expectations. Paris up French wine Industry officials Friday predicted stable prices for Bordeaux this year despite the worst Vineyard freeze since 1945 and said reserves from earlier vintages would be sold to prevent shortages. A the Market for Bordeaux wine should not experience any shortage and prices should remain stable a the Bordeaux wine Council said in a news release. The Council said the intensity of the freeze was comparable to that of 1945 t increase wine prices and would Lead to a a Sharp reduction in this years Harvest compared to those of previous years and will Lead to numerous difficulties for wine  but the organization said the Industry had significant a Quality reserves from previous vintages that will be used to offset any shortfall. The april 20-21 freeze was expected to wipe out about half the Bordeaux wine Harvest for 1991, the equivalent of 400 million bottles. Such prestige Bordeaux categories As Saint Emilion and Pomeroy were believed destroyed by Frost. In other wine growing regions of France damage to vines was also considerable. Beaujolais production was expected to be halved this year. A similar Quot situation was expected for the nearby cotes do Rhone. About one third of the Champagne wine grapes were also destroyed by Frost although growers say some late buds May bring yields Back up. In nearby Alsace the Harvest was expected to be off 30 percent