European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday july 9, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 17 v Money matter today s tip trans world airlines inc., which recently sold some of its routes and aircraft said it might set up a a mini Hub at Atlanta a Hartsfield International Airport. The airline in a letter to Atlanta Airport commissioner Ira Jackson said it is considering the lease of six Gates initially and could expand in the next 12 to 18 months if traffic and world economic conditions warrant. V Twa said it could offer up to 60 daily departures from Atlanta. Conversion rates London up a 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 $370.40 an ounce Silver at $4.46. July 5 july 8 British pound.1.6165 1.6275 German mark.1.8290 1.81110 French franc.6.2285 6.1455 dutch guilder.2.0715 2.0440 belgian franc.37.7420 a italian lira.1,366.40 1,349.00 Swiss franc.1 5745 1.5625 greek drachma.200.98 198.80 turkish lira.4,391.50 4,362.60 saudi arabian riyal.3.7504 3.7503 Spanish peseta.115.40 114.30 portuguese escudo.160.40 158.89 Canadian Dollar .1.1430 1.1439 austrian schilling.12.9840 12.7740 norwegian krone.7.1800 7-2?79 danish Krone .7.1115 7.0140 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 1.77 through tuesday based on mondays noontime  warns of bogus claims on credit cards the new York times the Federal Trade commission is warning Consumers about offers of Gold or Platinum credit cards from marketeers not affiliated with major credit card companies. The Agency also is warning Consumers about inflated promises of improved credit ratings associated with such cards. Although the Gold or Platinum cards May seem like general purpose credit cards they generally permit Consumers to buy merchandise Only from certain Cata logs the commission said. And getting such a card rarely improves a customers credit rating the Etc said. The commission advises Consumers to be wary of the following a some credit card promoters charge $50 or More for their cards or add extra costs after the card has been ordered. Consumers Are advised to find out the total costs before ordering any such card. A some companies use �?o900�?� or �?o976�?� toll Telephone exchanges so even Calls for information May Cost Consumers As much As $50. A prices and terms of payment May be misrepresented. Often shoppers who order merchandise from the specialized Cata logs Are required to pay Cash deposits. More information can be obtained by calling the it cd a office of consumer business education in Washington at 202 326-3650. California s economic woes rocking major Banks in state the new York times los Angeles californians big Banks Are being hit with some in shocks and the states slumping Economy is just one of them. A labor department report on rising unemployment issued Friday underscored the difficult economic climate facing the states four largest banking companies ban America corp., Security Pacific corp., Wells Fargo amp co. And first interstate ban corp. The states unemployment rate jumped to 8.2 percent in june up from 7.7 percent in May and 5.1 percent in june 1990. It was the highest jobless rate in California since March 1984, when the rate reached 8.3 percent. The National unemployment rate in june was 7 percent the labor department said. Analysts said the Sharp Rise in unemployment reflected Broad problems in the states Economy including the effects of a drought the slowdown in Pentagon spending an overbuilt commercial real estate Market and the National recession. And the unemployment rate explains some of the problems behind the Large increases in loan loss reserves taken in recent weeks by Security Pacific Wells Fargo and first interstate. Because of the additions to their reserves Security Pacific and Wells Fargo said they would Post sharply lower earnings for the Quarter that ended june 30. First interstate said it would Post a loss for the period. Ban America said that it was having More problems in Many parts of its loan portfolio but that they were More than offset by improvements in its Loans to other countries. Ban America based in san Francisco said it expected its second Quarter earnings to be Flat compared with the Sintilur period a year earlier. The California Banks Are still basically Strong analysts said and no one sees evidence that any of them will suffer the devastating losses like those that crippled 5many Banks in the Northeast Texas and other markets suffering from prolonged economic and real estate troubles. But the deteriorating condition of the California Banks loan portfolio Ira has burst a recent surge in Confidence among investors that the Banks would weather the recession without much difficulty. With business slow More companies Are having difficulty meeting their payments. Developers and owners of commercial real estate Are having trouble filling office buildings and shopping centers putting More real estate Loans in jeopardy. A the common thread in what a happening to the Banks is the softening California business climate and the slumping commercial real estate Market a said. Denise Petsis an analyst at Argus research in new York. In addition to the difficulties posed by the California Economy the Banks Are also paying a Price for the business strategies they pursued in recent years. First interstate based in los Angeles was battered in the second Quarter by its push into neighbouring states with its Nevada and Oregon operations reporting More loan problems. Security Pacific also based in los Angeles suffered from Loans it made in Britain and Australia. San Francisco based Wells Fargo a problems were mainly with companies that borrowed heavily to finance buyouts or other transactions. A each of their operations and loan compositions Are different Quot Petsis said. Otic big uncertainty now facing California Banks is the real estate Market. Residential real estate is showing signs of bouncing Back after a period of Little sales activity and declining prices in Many markets. The commercial Market is very slow and is plagued by an excess of available space especially in Southern California. In making its earnings projection last week Security Pacific said it was adding $200 million in commercial real estate Loans to its Pool of troubled Loans. Wells Imago said real estate Loans w arc not a serious Factor in its problems. First interstate reported some moderate problems and warned that the California real estate Market Quot retains elements of unpredictability that May result in changes in the level of non performing assets As Well As in further exposure to credit losses.�?�, the other big question is How soon the states once robust Economy will Bounce Back. Economists said California will probably lag behind the National recovery from the recession because the drought continuing layoffs in the aerospace business and a bad slump in housing construction will continue for some months at least. The states budget crisis is not helping either. The package of tax increases and spending cuts being pieced together by gov. Pete Wilson and the legislature to close a $14.3 billion budget deficit could leave Consumers and businesses with less Money to spend. More layoffs in state and local government could also result. Program brings meetings to life. New Day for seven Days in 1962 a As the United states faced the threat of nuclear War a president Kennedy and his staff struggled to shape the right response to soviet missile bases in Cuba. A study of their meetings became the basis of decision making a Book published in the Early 1970s that spawned the term a a Groupthink a lock step behaviour by individuals who wont speak their mind for fear of upsetting the Apple cart a or the Boss. Today almost 30 years later managers Are still trying to overcome the Groupthink that plagues staff meetings. Increasingly they Are turning to computer software to make meetings More productive and help employees Well do the right think. Convinced that fear of authority stunts inventive employee a exchanges at meetings University of Arizona researchers led by Jay Nunamaker have spent five years developing group systems. The computer program is designed to break Down the Hierarchy that dominates conventional meetings. At meetings where group systems is employed participants Type on a keyboard and their ideas Are projected onto a screen a without the ideas source being identified. The anonymity encourages people to participate. The High tech push to make meetings More useful is a response to an age old problem Long Boring pointless meetings. The 3m co., a Minneapolis based manufacturer found the problem so per invasive that it set up its own meetings management Institute in 1987. It now funds research and disseminates Litera Ture on making meetings More efficient. A shift in thinking about How companies a and meetings a should be managed was spurred a few years ago by an article written by management guru Peter Drucker in the Harvard business review. Drucker maintained that successful companies were those that had skilled away from Hierarchy and individualism toward a Structure he likened to an orchestra where teams of specialists Are coordinated by a conductor. Quot there Are very simple things you can do to improve meetings a said Bernard Dekoven founder of the Institute for better meetings whose clients include american express Procter amp Gamble co and the City of los Angeles. Quot and computer technology has opened a window onto a whole Range of powerful new  financial problems of . Cities growing Washington up the finances of . Cities Large and Small Are deteriorating. One in four faces a budget Gap of More than 5 percent this year an annual Survey showed. The study released monday by the National league of cities found that better than seven in 10 cities reported being in worse financial shape this year. Of the 525 cities surveyed 26.5 percent said 1991 expenditures would exceed revenues by More than 5 percent. Nearly 30 percent of the communities with populations below 100,000 faced budget shortfalls of 5 percent or More. Bridgeport conn., last month declared bankruptcy. New Orleans mayor Sidney Barthelemy president of the Nolc said the Survey results showed that other cities could face similar fates. A a what a documented in the Nolc Survey and what we Are seeing in Bridgeport Are the effects of choices made to redirect National priorities away from investments in our cities and away from americans future a Barthelemy said. A local governments cannot by themselves endure the pressures that Are straining their budgets. A he said. A it is time Federal and state governments join us in examining the assignment of functions and the allocations of  the Survey found that City finances generally were worsening in All regions. Quot seven years ago More than 30 percent of our cities had a Strong positive budget balance and about 8 percent were strongly negative a said Donald Borut Nolc executive director a now its the reverse More than 26 percent negative and Only 5 percent.  per capita spending was growing at a rate of 5.5 percent in 1991, the Survey found while revenues were growing by Only 2.2 percent