European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday june 11. 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17 today a tip . Businesses plan to increase capital spending by an inflation adjusted 3 percent in 1991, the smallest expectation in five years the Commerce department reported last week. The e forecast based on a Survey of american corporations mailed out in March april and May paints a picture of businesses still worried that the current National recession. Which has already lasted 10 months will not end soon. The lowest previous yearly spending projection came in 1986, when businesses actually planned to decrease spending by 4,1 percent. A a 7 \ a conversion rates London up mondays 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 $373.00 an ounce Silver at $4.59. A june 7 june 10 British Pound. .1.6725 1.6675 German Mark. 1.7668 1.7705 French franc. ,.5.9545 6.0005 dutch Guilder. .1.9780 1.9920 belgian franc .36.155 36.360 italian lira. .1,304.00 1,314.55 Swiss franc. 1.5170 1.5135 greek drachma. 192.00 192.83 turkish lira.4,154.60 4,183.10 saudi arabian Nyal .3.7502 3.7501 Spanish peseta. .108.58 109.27 portuguese escudo. .152.69 153.73 Canadian Dollar .1.1462 1.1490 austrian Schilling. 12.357 12.444 norwegian Krone. 6.844 6.893 danish Krone 6.7410 a 6.7875 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 1.73 through tuesday based on mondays noontime Price fixing. Kim cutting some frills Amsterdam Netherlands apr passengers flying the dutch airline Kim will have to do without Little air planes on their toilet paper and might even get the Jar of Jam uneaten by another passenger the airline said monday. Those two Money saving measures Are part of a $150 million restructuring to help the financially troubled Flag Carrier Cut a total of $450 million from its costs during the next three years. Dispensing with the Small aircraft Motif on its toilet paper is part of a system vide Cost cutting program in cleaning and catering services which also includes cutting Back on wastage. Unused containers of food and drink in sealed containers have been salvaged from passengers trays for reuse since february. Dropping the designer toilet paper is expected to save $25,000 per year while re serving the unopened Little jars of Jam and bottles of wine should save $500,000 a  decided on the Cost cutting measures As an alternative to contracting out catering and cleaning services to outside suppliers. Catering cuts Are expected to save $5 million a year.-. Status As debtor nation looks better on paper by Stuard Auerbach the Washington Post Washington a Good morning America. You re still the world s greatest a debtor nation a but your balance Sheet looks $382.3 billion better today than it did last week. Its All because of a change in the Way the Commerce department calculates the difference Between what americans own overseas and what foreigners own in this country. While the new method improves the International economic stand ing of the United states the nations balance Sheet with the rest of the world still is at least $281.4 Bil Iouin the red a More than any other nation. A a we done to look As bad now As we did last week a said Edward m. Graham a senior fellow at the Institute for International economics in Washington. According to the traditional Way of calculating in 1989 americans owned about $1.4 trillion in property corporations stocks and Bonds overseas while foreigners owned about $2.1 trillion leaving the United states $663.3 billion in the Hole. But this figure is based on the property a original Cost and economists said it undervalues . Overseas investments which were made largely in the 1950s and 1960s. Although most of the property has increased in value since then the gains Arentt counted in the traditional calculation. Foreign investment in the United states on the other hand surged in the 1980s and is closer to its current value which further skews the figures. Commerce department economists working Over the past year devised two other methods to calculate the value of american investment overseas and for1 eign investment in the United states. A when we started this research i told my wife about it and i put it in terms of How do you value the House you own. The Price you bought it at or the Price you think you could sell it for a said Allan Young director of the Commerce departments Bureau of economic analysis. Short spurt in by Jube shiver or. The los Angeles times a 3-month-old revival in Home sales May be in danger of weakening. La he Steep drop in housing prices and mortgage rates that stimulated the real estate resurgence appears to have ended experts say. The developments have prompted some analysts to reduce their forecasts for housing sales and lower their expectations that the recent housing rebound might help propel the nation out of its Long recession. A looking ahead we done to anticipate As Strong a growth in housing sales because the Economy Hasni to bounced Back a said Leslie Appleton Young vice president of research for the California association of realtors. A there is upward pressure on median Home prices. You have higher unemployment.�?�. Furthermore the Overall economic recovery needed to bolster Home sales might not arrive a until later this year and even then it will be of modest dimensions a said Richard peach Deputy chief economist for the mortgage Bankers association in Washington. A the housing sector can be a locomotive for just so Long until the Overall Economy itself has to improve and pull the housing sector along with  since feb. 15, when average National getting out of debt the following Are figures showing the net International investment position for the United states from 1982 through 1989 using different valuation methods. A positive number Means the United states was a net creditor with its holdings of overseas assets higher than holdings by foreigners of . Assets. A negative number Means the United states was a net debtor with foreign holdings in the United states higher than american holdings overseas. A a. Figures Are in billions of dollars. A a invest Mont position using Tho old method. A. I of valuing assets by their Purchase Price. A investment position with the assets valued at their Cost of replacement a a values the assets using corporate Stock prices As a guide. 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 one of the methods calculates the Cost of replacing american assets abroad at today a prices boosting the current value to about $1.7 trillion. With foreign owned assets in this country valued at $2.1 trillion the . Deficit is Cut by one third to $464 billion. The second method including the value of intangible assets such As corporate Good will cuts the difference even More a to $281.4 billion. A while the United states does no to actually owe this amount of Money to others the numbers reflect the Overall . Deficit if foreigners were to sell All their hold is amps Wes Boohoo Ings in this country and take their wealth Home a and americans were to do the same overseas. In the shorthand of keeping track of International investment flows this is referred to As the . A a debtor position. A the new method will raise the whole level of our International debt position but it wont change the downward trend of the 1980s,�?� said american University a a. A. A a. A economist Robert a. Blecker who also works at the labor oriented economic policy Institute. A the change Over the decade will still be very. Much a Nec alive a a rates for 30-year, conventional mortgages dropped to a four year Low of 9.37 percent rates have climbed a Quarter of a percentage Point to 9.62 percent for the period ended june 7, according to Ash associates a Butler n.j., consulting group. While analysts done to consider the Rise significant yields on 30-year Treasury Bonds a to which fixed mortgages Are linked a have risen sharply recently sparking concern that mortgage rates will soon Rise to double digit Levels. And that they say could scuttle sales. Meanwhile Home prices have resumed their upward March in some places. In California the median Price of an existing single family detached Home climbed to a record High $205,680 in april up 1.7 percent from a revised $202,170 in March and 4.9 percent higher than a year ago according to the California association of realtors. Although prices Are still dropping in some northeastern and midwestern cities such As new York Boston Detroit and St. Louis prices Are expected to climb in Atlanta Chicago Las vegas Portland and Seattle according to Pittsburgh based lenders service inc., an appraisal management company that recently surveyed 525 residential appraisers in 100 metropolitan areas. New Home sales Rose in april for the third consecutive month according to the latest statistics from the department of Commerce. But even Small Cost increases a whether higher closing costs mortgage rates prices or taxes a can push the dream of Home ownership beyond the reach of thousands of americans. The National association of realtors for example said that a $2,00 1 increase in the average Price of a Home caused its latest housing affordability Index to fall in april for the third consecutive ninth. A the association said a family earning the median income of $36,057 had 111.4 Perce n t o f t h e i n co in a n e e d de to q u a 1 i to far conventional financing covering 80 percent of a Home with the median Price of $100,200. That was 1.9 percentage Points less than the qualifying income Consumers had in March and 4.1 percentage Points below february. Some experts say housing affordability while much More attractive than a year. Ago is starting to have an Impact on some House Hunters who had invaded real  offices in droves earlier this Spring amid news that Home prices and mortgage rates had dropped to four year lows. Brokers and developers who once thought Strong sales in March and april would help the housing Market stage a comeback in 1991 Are now having second thoughts