European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday May 14, 1991the stars and stripes Page 17money matters today s tip a new report on the future of the National Economy forecasts that the National economic downturn is Likely to be no More severe than other postwar recessions. But recovery wont come overnight. A the Clear message is that even though the recession May technically end this summer it is Likely to take somewhat longer before the Overall business environment really a feels healthy again a a the business Council said. The Council is made up of 80 chief executives from the country a largest corporations. 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 $357.25 an ounce Silver at $4,005. May 13 1.7295 British Pound. German Mark. French trans. Dutch Guilder. Belgian franc italian lira a. A Swiss trans. Greek drachma turkish lira. Saudi arabian Nyal. Spanish peseta. Portuguese escudo. Canadian Dollar. Austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone. Danish Krone. May 10 .1.7160.1.7245 5 8650 .1.9525 .1.283.60 1 4620 189 15 .3,964.60 3.7503 107 04 151.04. .1 1524 12.195 6 735. .6.620 1.7220 5.8390 1.9410 35 42 1.279.95 1.4455. 188.38 3,959.30 3.7502 106.61 150.14 1.15 12.1230 6.702 6.584 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 1.68 through tuesday based on mondays noontime Price fixing. European to expand Maxwell says London up a British publisher Robert Maxwell said sunday his newspaper the european was nearing profitability and arrange meats were being made to print the weekly in the United states a Australia Japan and South Africa later this year. The newspaper which celebrated its first anniversary this weekend has reached a circulation of 226,009, confounding critics who predicted the publication would fail said Maxwell who recently bought the new York daily news. A we Are in danger As i have said elsewhere of making a profit the european is not a wailing puking babe at deaths door a he said in a statement. A we Are not As even some of our Well wishers gloomily said last year a paper ahead of our time. We Are a paper Tor our  Murdoch said demand for the pan european weekly English language newspaper was rising a and we Are making arrangements to print the european in North America on the East and West coasts in Australia Japan and in South  plethora of phone companies keeps customers in a tailspin by Leonard Sloan e the new York times As Long distance and local Telephone companies Blanket the United states with offers of new and elaborate services their customers Are becoming increasingly confused and irritated by the swarm of offers that bombard them via direct mail solicitations Over the phone and other advertisements. A a there a such a bombardment of technology How can i compare a said Jean Nic Aarons a new York City housewife. Quot All i want is a Telephone that works and a decent  Judic Redler a Long Island fund Raiser finds solicitations by Long distance carriers a nuisance a what i resent most is when they Call and refer to me by name As if 1-know them a on a first name basis in  calling plans being offered to residential customers seem to cover just about every possibility. The offers Range from Flat fees for Calls to a single area code to a personal 800 service As Well As Call forwarding Call waiting and still a other services that May be important to businesses but often make Little or no sense in the Ordinary household user. Consumer advocates say the first thing to do is nothing certainly not commit yourself in the course of a Telephone solicitation if you Are interested ask the company to Send you some literature about the offer. Then Analyse it carefully and choose the discount plan that matches your needs. Reading the Fine print is important because it May not be immediately Clear if the new service will actually save you Money. Quot there Are some programs that have been put together that Are quite beneficial to Consumers a said Barry Marks a vice president and the general manager of the Gartner group a consulting firm in Stamford Conn. A sometimes they give you a Little bit More but a Good Many of the plans Are not appropriate for Many Consumers. Robert Krughoff the president of the Center for the study of services a non profit consumer research group in Washington puts it this Way a most of them Are not Worth much to most people but Are Worth something to some  the Long distance carriers Are promoting a number of different discount plans. In general before customers can save any Money they must meet minimum Levels of use. For example american Telephone despite the recession most firms won t Cut their fitness programs by Nicole Wise the new York times even As Many employers Are cutting the size of their staffs and reducing benefits most companies that have installed on site fitness centers for employees said they had no plans to eliminate the exercise programs. Executives said the centers More than pay for themselves. A recent study at travellers corp. In Hartford Conn., found that employees who regularly used its corporate fitness Center missed fewer work Days than those who did not. Champion International with Headquarters in Stamford Conn., found that the medical claims of employees using the fitness Center at one of its North Carolina Mills were 26 percent lower than those of other employees. Corporate fitness offerings Range from a few pieces of equipment for employees to use on their own time to luxurious Well equipped centers offering All the attention and amenities of an expensive health club. About half of employers with programs charge a fee for participation. Increasingly the centers Are being opened up to retirees and employees families. A travellers said the fitness Center at its corporate Headquarters was opened in. 1987 at a Cost of s3 million to $4 million. It features an indoor track and a Lap Pool in addition to 90 pieces of cardiovascular exercise equipment. The Center is one component in an extensive health promotion program called taking care that also includes health newsletters seminars and support groups. Champion International also offers a multifaceted program including health education and assessments self care information and Access to exercise classes in locations where an on site fitness Center is not available. Employees at champions corporate Headquarters can choose from a schedule of aerobics classes and can work out on weight equipment computerized rowers life cycles and a nordic track machine among others. A a it a kind of a double Benefit to spend my lunch hour Down Here a said Jack Kline a planning manager for Champion. A i skip lunch and get a workout in  Kline who visits the Center about three times a week says that since starting a program of regular exercise he gets fewer colds. Quot i just seem to be healthier now than i was before a he said and his blood pres sure is lower. The number of companies installing such centers has increased significantly in the last decade said Carol Stark director of operations for med fit of America a company in Stamford that specialize in analysing and managing corporate fitness programs. While the recession has had an Impact on new business she said no client has eliminated a Center. A some companies Are putting things on the Back Burner a she said. Quot but it you pull a fitness Center out of a company  had one in place it would have a big effect on morale. Quot and at a time when lots of people Are being Laid off and there a a lot of stress they need a fitness Center More than  and Telegraph co. Has a series of plans called reach out America that provide a set Price for interstate Calls made in a set Block of time. A. A one such. Plan. The select save. Has been established for customers w to make frequent Calls to a particular area code. For a s3 initial charge and $1 90 a month callers can make direct dial Calls. To that area code for. 20 cents a minute during the Day monday through Friday and 12 cents a minute at other times. These rates Are 4 to 18 percent lower than Standard rates the company said. Customers who Are Good prospects for such plans Are culled by computer then the company makes its sales pitch. But in some cases to Cut their Long distance costs customers would have to increase the number or duration of Calls to the target area code. Ellen Zundl an at amp to spokeswoman said Quot we have a process of going through the Bills and identifying people a who have an Opportunity to save by enrolling in a plan if you do we re going try Tell you about  t Sci communications corp. Also oilers a plethora of services Lor residential Long distance customers. They include messenger which lets callers leave messages Lor later delivery for $1.60 a message and personal 800, which permits customers to receive Calls irom any phone in the United states for about 25 cents a minute plus $5 a month after the first 90 Days. Another Sci plan friends and family offers 20 percent savings on All Calls to As Many As 12 selected locations As Long As the people being called Are also Sci subscribers. Prospective customers have to do the research la to find out if the people they Call frequently use Sci or Are willing to do so. Us sprint communications co., the third major Long distance company has its own group of discount services. Among them Are sprint plus with hat rates and volume discounts and sprint select which offers an hours Worth of interstate Calls a evenings nights or weekends a for $7.50 a month. Highest paid cos the total compensation of the top 10 ,. Chief executive officers As compiled by Forbes Magazine 1. Time Warner Steven Jross 2. Ual Stephen m. Wolf 3. Apple computer John Sculley 4. Reebok Paul b. Fireman 5. Waste management Dean Buntrock $12.45 million 6. Giant food Israel Cohen 7. Paramount Martin s. Davis 8. Watt Disney Michael Eisner 9. Gene tech g. Kirk Raab 10. Warner Lambert j. Williams $78.11 million $18.3 million $16.73 minion $14.82 million $11.49 million $11.29 million $11,23 million $9.18 minion $8.81 million source Forbes magazines amps Susan Harris