European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday april 29, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17 Money matters the department of veterans affairs 92-Page publication Federal benefits for veterans and dependents has been updated for 1991. And is available for $2.50 from the government printing office. The handbook describes benefits available from the a including medical care education and Home loan assistance. A special supplement covers certain benefits administered by the department of defense. The Book is available from the superintendent of documents . Government printing office Washington d.g., 20402-9325.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 Dollar Gold was quoted at $353.50 an ounce Silver at $3.93. A. A april 25 april 26 British pound.,v .1.6940 1.6845 German Mark. .1.7530 1.7530 French franc .,.�?z5.854 5 904 dutch Guilder. 1.9720 1.9710 belgian franc. .35.8165 35 9975. Italian lira. A 1,292.15 a Swiss franc. .1,4655 1.4795 greek drachma .,.189.48 189 37 turkish lira-.3,892.60 3,898 50 saudi arabian Riyal .3.7501. 3.7501 Spanish peseta .107.88 107.70" portuguese escudo.,150.50 150 60 Canadian dollar1.1534 a 1.1520 austrian schilling.12.31 12.32 norwegian Krone .6.8000 6.8225 danish Krone. 6.6860 6j000 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.71 through monday based on fridays noontime , Saddam can t be blamed for the recession by Dirk Beveridge a business writer new York a it turns out America can to blame Saddam Hussein for the recession. The National Bureau of economic research which makes the official determination on recessions says this one started Back in july. During the fall in the Days before the White House dared to utter the dreaded a or word a some economists believed the nation had been on the Brink of recession and was pushed Over the Edge by the persian Gulf crisis iraqis invasion of Kuwait sent Oil prices soaring and stirred uncertainty among businesses and Consumers. But Saddam a aggression did no to come until aug. 2, the month after the recession began. Now the government says the recession grew worse during the first three months of 1991. The Gross National product which is the total output of goods and services tumbled during the first Quarter at an annual rate of 2.8 percent according to the Commerce department. That was far worse than the fourth Quarter drop of 1.6 percent. Gas prices expected to Rise possible 15$ jump predicted by Mark Potts the Washington Post gasoline prices have bottomed out after skidding nearly 40 cents a gallon from their december highs and Industry experts expect that unusually tight supplies and. The Onset of the summer driving season probably will push the Price up a few cents in the next several weeks. A a there a every reason to assume that gasoline prices Are rising a said John Lichtblau executive director of the Petroleum Industry research foundation in new York adding however a a they re not going to soar. A few More cents is a quite Likely the wholesale Price of gasoline As traded on the new York mercantile Exchange has risen about 10 cents a gallon in recent weeks. And while the merc Price is not a perfect indicator of changes at the pump it generally signals the direction that retail prices Are headed. Gasoline prices always Rise a few cents a gallon in late Spring As demand for the fuel picks up. But based on the wholesale Price change one consumer group Washington based citizen action is predicting the Price of Gas May Rise As much As 15 cents a gallon in the next few weeks. A Consumers Are in for a Spring Surprise a said de Rothschild Energy Poncy director at citizen action. As every Motorist knows prices already Are rising. According to the american automobile association the average Cash Price of unleaded self service gasoline the most popular Grade currently stands at $1.12 a gallon nationwide and $1.09 in the Washington area. That a up somewhat from the March Low of $1.08 nationally. And $1.04 i prices at the pump experts predict gasoline prices will Rise by another 10 to 1$ cents in the United states Over the next Tew weeks. Shown below Are average prices for unleaded Gas since december. $1.4 March �?T91 $1.08 sources american automobile association and citizen action of Washington . Bled a and some service stations in the Washington area were offering unleaded regular for less than $1 a gallon slightly below the Price just prior to Iraq s aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. The most striking reason for the halt in the Price decline experts say has been a Sharp drop in gasoline inventories held by Oil companies in the United states. Two weeks ago the american Petroleum Institute a Trade group reported that gasoline stocks had fallen to 205 million barrels a the lowest level in 15 years and the threshold that the department of Energy considers the Industry a minimum operating inventory level. Analysts say gasoline supplies have tumbled in part because Large Oil com a Nios feared that prices would continue to slide and they would get stuck with invent lories of higher Cost Gas. Several . Refineries were closed for maintenance Quot earlier this Spring and there has been increased demand for unleaded gasoline in Europe. Both of these factors have eaten into supplies. It last week gasoline inventories turned slightly higher and Industry experts expect them to continue to increase fed by higher refinery output and resurgent imports. Gasoline imports last week totalled a Day Al ago Levels 658,000 barrels a Clay about double years amps Sharon Kilday Washington but still considerably below the High of $1.39 nationally and $1.44 in the District of Columbia in Early december when concern about the effect of a persian Gulf War on Oil supplies was pushing prices higher. As that threat dissipated prices Tum even As supplies have been squeezed demand for gasoline has begun to Rise after being dampened Over the Winter by High prices and the slowing . Economy. In recent weeks gasoline demand has moved fractionally ahead of year ago Levels apparently a reaction to the lower prices and improvements in the Overall economic Bonds hit record High As investors like their safety by John d. Mcclain the associated press Washington a is asst want a hot investment tip backed by the a full Faith and it edit of the us. Government a tip that a been followed by one in four american families a try . Savings Bonds. Just last month investors bought $815 million in savings Bonds the highest total recorded in the month of March since the program began 50 years ago wednesday. A a a a a a a. A. A. A their popularity is due to a combination of factors including the recession the unsettled situation in the financial markets their favourable rates and an increase in patriotism from the Middle East War a said Stephen Meyerhardt spokesman for Treasury a savings Bonds division. Through the end of March 28 percent of . Families owned Bonds Worth $129.7 billion up from $119.8 billion a year earlier according to Treasury department records. More than 7 million americans buy them regularly through payroll savings plans at More than 40,000 Job locations. Thousands More Purchase them from Banks savings and Loans and other financial institutions. The Bonds come in denominations As Small As $50, or As Large As $10,000. They currently earn interest at a rate of 7.19 percent compounded semiannually when held at to maturity at five years. Some analysts note that better earn Ings arc usually available from other sources such As certificates of Deposit and Money Market Mutual funds. But few investments Are As readily available to the Small Saver or As Safe As savings Bonds which Are guaranteed by the a full Faith and credit of the Federal government. Savings Bonds Are exempt from state and local taxes and if used to finance a College education often from Federal taxes As Well. The Bonds interest rate is adjusted every May 1 and nov. 1, based on other Market rates. The rate can drop no lower than 6 percent. The modern Day savings Bonds were designed to help fund world War ii and to Stem inflationary pressures caused by defense spending according to Treasury department historians Jarvis m. Morse and Laurence m. Olney. In a nationwide radio broadcast april 30, 1941, president Franklin d. Roosevelt called on americans to join him in a one great partnership to help finance the War Effort. The next morning he bought the. First Bond from Treasury Secretary Henry Morganthau or. That Bond had a fixed interest rate of 2.9 percent compounded semiannually if held for 10 years. It was a favourable rate for that time. Like its depression Era predecessors the series e Bond was priced at 75 percent of face value. Although sales grew steadily in the next few months they did no to Boom until the bombing of Pearl Harbor on . 7, 1941. The War Bonds As they became known were voluntarily plugged on radio in newspapers and at rallies. Composer Irving tier in wrote the hit song a a any Bonds today and gave the copyright to the Treasury. Posters Many designed by the Volunteer War advertising Council popped up everywhere. One urging the buy War Bonds bore a likeness of the sculpture a minute Man of Concord a which became the program Symbol. By the end of the War in 1945, More than $33.7 billion in Bonds had been sold to some 85 million americans. After the War the Bond program continued using Many of the volunteers it had enlisted during the hostilities. The War advertising Council for instance became the advertising Council. The . Savings Bond division became its first client. In 1952, the Treasury introduced the series h Bond also designed for the individual Saver. It had larger denominations and unlike the series i Bonds paid interest through semiannual checks mailed to its owners. As Competition developed from other savings instruments the series e interest rate was increased rising to 6 percent in 1973, by which time the maturity term had been shortened to five years. The value of Bonds outstanding peaked at More than $80 billion in 1978, but sales began to falter As other More lucrative investments were developed. A
