European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday june 21. 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 17money matters today a tip american Consumers exhibit stronger Brand loyalty to Nissan Honda and Toyota cars than to the products Detroit turns out a Brookings institution economic study said. That represents a Long term obstacle for american automakers the authors said. Even if american cars Are just As. Good As their foreign competitors a As Detroit claims a people Are Likely to perceive them As inferior and continue to prefer japanese cars. The problem could take years Tor overcome the study suggested. Conversion rates London up a thursdays 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 $367.25 an ounce Silver at $4.44. British Pound. German Mark. French franc. Dutch Guilder. Belgian franc. Italian lira. Swiss franc greek drachma. Turkish lira. Saudi arabian Nyal. Spanish peseta. Portuguese escudo. Canadian Dollar. Austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone. Danish Krone. 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 1.74 through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange june 19 june 20 1 634 1 6388 .1.794 1 7895 6152. 6.092 .2.0395 2.003 .,37.255 ,36.91 1,347.50 1,337.80 .1.5435 1.5365 .197.55 194.83 .4,285.30 4,257.70 .3.7501 3.7501 .,.11389 112.08 .159.31 156.24 1.1428 1.1419 .12.7425 12.515 .7.0845 6.9725 .6.985 6 866 new York up York Stock Exchange Stock Columbia is sys Pepsico inc into rectifier ism corp Tel Fonos de my Philip Morris Procter amp Gambl Amer express Compaq computer mrs inter inc general motors computer Assoc at amp to company  Rwjr Nabisco hid. A the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on wednesday. Sales last net chg. 4.358.200 20% Oft 13% 3,562,200 29% Oft % 2,309,600 a 16% off 5% 2,082,800 101 up % 1,665,600 a 26y8 0f1% 1,621,500 65% off is 1,538,10081 off 2% 1,361,700 23% off % 1.258.600 a 35% a up 1% 1,251,100 7y8. Off 1,242,400 43 a off % 1,223,100 11. Up is 1,218,100 37% unch 1,159,100 23 is off % 1,123,800 10% off % american Exchange new York up the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading wednesday. Stock Wang labs inc b pm group web West corp inc Echo Bay mines Chambers Dev a Denmark King it exsport Finan it Omi corp Salomon it Benton Oil Gas sales 1,553,300 373.800 319.500 313.200 261.500 237.500 236.500. 219,400 215.900 192,100 last net chg. 37/s off % 8% up % 9 off % 9% up be 26% a Oil % 19 up t 8% a up % 7%. Off % 18. Up % 7 a up % Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jones dosing Range of averages wednesday 30 industrials 20 transports 15 qualities 65 stocks High 2978 31 121633 199 95 1063 93 Low 2933 59 1194 99 195 05 104579 close change 2955 50 Oil 31 31 1201 52 011 17 63 197 25 oh9 87 1053 52 Oil 18 05 study paints uneven portrait of economic upturn in . By Jonathan Peterson los Angeles times the Midwest revives As the Northeast squirms. The Southwest cruises toward better times while the Southeast strains to keep Pace. And throughout the United states areas that barely shared in the Prosperity of the 1980s Are poised for a More Prol Itable time in the 1990s. Economists remain unsure when the upturn officially will Start but they agree that a like the recession a it will be sex Crien cd differently among the nation s regions and industries. These differences were highlighted wednesday in a new Federal Reserve Survey that painted a picture of varying conditions throughout the nation. A a it a been a very uneven recession and its going to be a very uneven recovery a said David Wyss an economist with Dri Megraw Hill in Lexington mass. The feds beige Book analysis of the . Economy pointed to a modest improvement in conditions Overall. Yet it also documented differences among various parts of the country. It cited retail gains in Chicago for example but stagnation in Atlanta and a decline in Richmond a. The manufacturing Outlook was better in Cleveland than new York or san Francisco. Banking remained generally lacklustre with some Midwest areas citing modest strength in consumer Loans. The recovery will feature its cast of winners and losers and in the process reveal much about the nations economic landscape of the 1990s, analysts agree. Here a  parts of the Conn try Are expected to fare. A the Midwest which has weathered the slump More successfully than past episodes is expected to come Back in tandem with the nation Overall. The Region has been strengthened by a 1980s�?T shakeout that left its manufacturing sector More efficient. One question however will economic weakness overseas Cut into the Region s exports a a the Southeast also is expected to revive along with the nation As a whole a and perhaps perform above the average. The area s Many producers of lumber textiles and related products Are counting on an upturn in housing. A i think its very clearly beginning a said John m. Godfrey senior vice president at Barnett Banks of Jacksonville fla., of the local upswing. A new England and the Middle Atlantic states May have to wait until late in the year for Relief. Hard times came Early to new York and other cities which Are still digging out from problems in real estate and financial services. Connecticut Virginia and Maryland May suffer More from defense cutbacks than anywhere else including California said David Shulman managing director at the Salomon Brothers investment firm in new York. A much of the West appears sound having escaped the Brunt of the recession with a boost from Low business costs and growing populations. Parts of Washington Arizona Nevada Utah Colorado and Idaho remain leaders in creating new jobs. A California especially coastal areas in the South  undergo an adjustment that echoes that of the northeastern United states but the process is expected to be less severe. T he recession wheeled into California after it hit the. Northeast but the Golden state s Repov cry could begin sooner. Population growth and a diverse assortment of industries remain pluses. A Southern California will probably Trail the National expansion a bit a. Wyss said. A but i done to think it will Trail As much As the Northeast  part of the reason is that frailties that aggravated the recession have yet to be cured fully. Regional achievers of the 1980s, notably the Northeast and California face uncertainty in a world of lingering trouble for real estate construction defense and financial service industries. By contrast Large sections of the a a a Lions Interior a oriented Niobe to Matiu factoring and agriculture a Are poised for growth. In a reversal of Fortune areas that missed out on the retd estate frenzy of a few years ago look like today s win tiers less burdened by excess building and construction layoffs. Manufacturing exports meanwhile., make up a much larger share of the Economy than they did several years ago. That a a fundamental shift that favors regions that once seemed in jeopardy. A the Midwest did no to have that kind of Boom real estate and therefore we did no to have a bust a explained Theodore ii. Tung senior vice president at nation Al City corp. In Cleveland where Homes appreciated at a 4 to 5 percent annual rate in the past decade. Credit card tardiness up 30% from last year by Hal Foster los Angeles times credit card delinquencies have jumped 30 percent in the past year in Many cases because unemployed Consumers have tapped credit lines to the limit to pay for food rent and utilities credit trackers said wednesday. Moody a investors service in new York reported that 6.13 percent of All credit card users were at least 30 Days behind on their payments in March compared with 4.71 percent in March of 1990. Moody a analyst Andrew Silver blamed the jump on the recession. The surge in delinquencies has precipitated a 42 percent increase in the amount of card debt that Banks have charged off As a collectible Moody a added. Because of that a i think you re going to see an absolute Dollar decline in Revenue in a lot of these credit card operations this year a said Charles w. Peabody a Bank analyst for Kidder Peabody amp co. In new York. One of the reasons for the jump in delinquencies is that Many of the recently unemployed a Are using credit to get through until they get their next Job a said Gary Stroth executive director of consumer credit Counselor of los Angeles. The non profit organization has 180 offices in the United states and Canada to help Consumers with debt problems. Stroth estimated that his office has seen a 20 percent to 25 percent increase in the. Number of people seeking credit counselling who say they have reached their credit card limits to pay for living expenses. Of think you re going to see an absolute Dollar decline in Revenue in a lot of these credit card operations this  Charles w. Peabody Bank analyst although typical credit card customers can obtain Only $100 to $300 in Cash advances at a time a you can go Back every other Day until you reach your credit limit a Stroth said. In some cases that can be As Short saw Eek two. The increase in credit card delinquencies that his Counselor Are seeing is a reflection of increased unemployment especially in the aerospace Industry which has been hit hard by defense cutbacks the past year Stroth said. Some credit card users who Are still employed Are seeking credit counselling he said because their companies have eliminated overtime a a luxury that too Many workers had come to depend on. Stroth added that income from moonlighting also has dried up. In these hard times he said second jobs Are much harder to find. Dod plans help for Job seekers by Chuck Vinci Washington Bureau Washington defense department officials want to ensure that overseas service members who Are involuntarily separated Are not Cut off from information on the stateside Job Market. By september the military Hopes to have a computerized database of crating in 10 countries that will Benefit Job Hunters. The 10 countries Are Belgium Germany Guam Italy Japan Korea the Philippines Spain Turkey and the United kingdom. A what we envision is that a scr ice member will go to a transition Center sit at a personal computer and be Able to Post resumes in a database that stateside employers can Access a said Lisa Davis chief of the Pentagon a transition assistance of fice. . Employers will also be Able to place help wanted ads of their own on electronic bulletin boards that overseas service members can peruse. Davis said the Pentagon is developing software for the program and publicizing the initiative to employers. The plan Calls for at least one primary site in each of the a countries. T he services have not yet decided upon primary installations for the computer service. Any military installation with a personal computer a Modem and the proper software will eventually be Able to Access the system Davis said