European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 3, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday Juno 3. 1991 .,7 s a 7 the stars and stripes a Page 17 a a ,. A a a .�?��?���.,a a _ Money matters today s tip the huge fuel demands of operation desert storm fattened profits for the nations 18 major Oil companies in the first three months of 1991, with income rising 18 percent above 1990 Levels Federal analysts said. The increased profits were largely attributed to the Compa Niesz refining and marketing operations which benefited from the dramatic decline in crude Oil prices in Early 1991 As Well As the surge in War related demand for Jet fuel and other refined products said the Energy information administration. The same two factors helped Independent refiners achieve a 179 percent increase in profits during the period. Conversion rates London up Friday s rates Lor the . Dollar to other currencies figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at s360.75 an ounce Silver at $4.14. A May 30 May 31 British Pound. 1.7165 17115 German Mark. 1.7195 1 7330 French 5.8465. Dutch Guilder. A. 1.9424 belgian franc .35 2000 35.5025 italian 1,270 00 1.281.05 Swiss ranc.1 464. A. Greek . 188.75 turkish 4,066.80 saudi arabian Riyal. A 3.7501 Spanish peseta. A 106.74 portuguese escudo.,150.26. Canadian Dollar a a 1.1436 austrian Schilling .>,.�? a. 12 13 norwegian Krone a 6.7175 danish krone., a .6 62 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking , and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. _ the Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to u a personnel for personal use and this will be 1.68 through monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. Lexus infiniti top Survey Agoura Hills Calif. Apr new lexus and infiniti cars give their owners the least problems according to the annual owners satisfaction Survey by . Power and associates. It was the second year in a Row that lexus ranked first in the initial Quality Survey. Other models that fared Well included in descending order Toyota Mercedes Benz Acura Honda Subaru and Ford. Rounding out the top 13 car lines were Lincoln Buick Oldsmobile Mercury and Cadillac. The Survey a widely used in advertising a provides information collected from More than 33,000 owners of 1991 Model year cars. It ranks makes and models according to those that Consumers consider the most a and least a trouble free after 90 Days of ownership. Automakers pay Power for detailed reports on its research. The standings were formulated from a base of problems Lor 100 vehicles. Lexus leading score of 55 Means that 55 problems were reported by lexus owners for every 100 Survey indicated that the Industry a average number of problems per 100 cars has fallen by 19 percent since 1988. Upstart Stock Market reflects Hope in time of uncertainty by Floyd Norris the new York times Rizw York a the recession seems to be ending. But the overwhelming consensus is that the recovery will not amount to much. There is talk of a a double dip downturn and few expect Strong growth. V the Stock Market however seems to have a different opinion. T hat contrary notion of coming strength in the Economy is conveyed not just by the tact that the Dow Jones Industrial average last week Rose 113.59. Points to 3,027.50, setting a record and closing above 3,000 Lor the first time since april 17. It May also be significant that it is no longer the recession resistant consumer stocks like Procter Quot amp Gamble and Philip Morris that Are charge. Of the 30 stocks in the Dow Lour Are at least 10 percent higher than they were when the average first closed Over 3,000. All Are big Grimy cyclical stocks Dupont Goodyear general motors and Bethlehem steel. International paper and Union Carbide have risen almost As much. It those . Sells off sayings Bank in costly Deal Buffalo n Yap go dome. One of the nations largest savings Banks has been seized by Federal regulators and divided Between two competitors m the nations most expensive savings Bank collapse. Key corp acquired 31 go dome branches in Western and Central new York in Friday s transactions. First Empire state corp. Acquired 11 other branches around Buffalo where go dome is headquartered and three in new York City. Both Banks said the branches would continue operate it is without interruption. Key corp chairman Victor Riley said his Bank contributed $273 million while first Empire state contributed $40 Cost govern Flent was $930 million making go dome the to expensive savings Bank bailout and the sixth largest Bank failure Ever said Caryl austrian a spokeswoman for the Federal Deposit insurance corp. Go dome is the largest of about 40 Northeast savings Banks especially Hurt by the recession and regional real estate slump. Before the go dome transaction Albany based key corp was the. Nations 36th largest Bank,.with 623 branches in eight Northern states from Alaska to Maine and $19.3 billion in assets. First Empire state Quot based in Buffalo had $7.4 billion in assets As of March 31. Its three subsidiaries had 100 branches All in new York state. Key corp and first Empire slate teamed up last year to acquire 28 branches of Empire of America another failed Buffalo based savings and loan for $24 million. Several of those branches were cowed because they were near key corp and a amp to branches and sonic go dome branches Are Cape Ceil to meet a similar Fate. Gold Omen a subsidiary in Florida go dome savings Bank was not. Affected by Friday s action. The St. Petersburg based subsidiary is a Sav Ings and loan. Moves Are to ,-then this Economy needs More than a weak Reeo Verv. The Bond Market s refusal to rally May also be sending a signal of surprising co nomic strength. 1 he Federal Reserve has pushed Short term interest rates Down sharply and american investors have taken the hint. Sales of Bond Mutual funds Are booming. And yet. As Fred , an economist at. Continental Bank pointed out Lon term interest rates have been stalled for a six months making minor moves but essentially going sideways. A pm a concerned by some similarities with late 1986, Quot lie said. A we see Money pouring into Bond funds yet the Bond Market is unable higher. Those a similarities suggest the Market May move Tower from these ill late 1986 and Early 1987, lie recalled the Bond Market stalled while stocks leaped. I Lien Bond prices crashed in the Spring and Stock prices followed a the fall. T ins Yeats there Are certainly plenty of reasons to doubt that the Economy can rebound strongly. I he debt overhang that helped to bring on this recession has not disappeared and the government a a efforts to Light the recession have been limited by the severe fiscal problems brought on by the profligacy of the 9,s s. I is hard to imagine a new Boom in commercial the evidence that the recession is ending while persuasive to a lot of Stock traders is still limited. 1 he leading indicators have risen Lor three consecutive months and factory orders turned up in april a Quot Oil sinners Tell pollsters the present is a had but the future w ill be better and they seem to translate those beliefs into cautious spending not a Panicky increase in savings. Stock Market analysts noted that secondary stocks which were leaders m the Winter rally Are lagging As summer begins. 1 heir participation this rally a More impressive one. But for All that it is a fact that the Economy usually finds a was to Surprise the seers. A Strong Reeo Verv this year would certainly qualify As a Surprise. A perhaps just perhaps that is the pm rent message of the markets. Purveyors of print booksellers from around the United states have gathered in new York to get the word a it it about their latest publications. To do so the members of the american booksellers association have packed the Jacob javits Center with their displays. This year is developing into a Good year for the Sellers. Aba president Bernie Rath said Bookstore sales for the first three months of 1991 exceeded $1.7 billion a 7.4 percent Rise Over the first Quarter of last year
