European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Onday july 22, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17_money matters today a tip american Telephone amp Telegraph co. Has announced that its second Quarter earnings weathered the recession rising 26 percent. But the company warned that it expects to incur major expenses later in the year. The company said it earned $828 million or 75 cents per share in the second Quarter up from $657 million or 60 cents per share in the same period of 1990. Revenue for the Quarter Rose to $9.53 billion from $9.04 billion. Conversion rates London up a fridays 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 $370.75 an ounce Silver at $4,395. July 18 july 19 British pound.1.6665 1.681 German mark.1.7715 1.7555 French franc6.011 5.9835 dutch guilder.2.0125 1.9785 belgian franc36.45 36.15 italian lira1,320.00 1,312.20 Swiss franc.1.5355 1.519052 greek drachma194.35 192.20 turkish lira4,365.90 4,347 30 saudi arabian riyal3.7502 3.7502 Spanish peseta111.58 109.65 portuguese escudo. 152.50 150.55 Canadian dollar1.1535 1.1558 austrian schilling.12.53 12.356 norwegian krone.6.933 6.8365 danish krone.6.8785 6.79 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations. 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 1.72 through monday. Based on fridays noontime Price fixing. Moody s Lowers credit ratings for 6 insurers new York a in another indication of the insurance Industry a woes Moody a investors service inc. Has lowered its credit ratings on six prominent life insurance companies citing their Large holdings in the troubled commercial real estate Market. Moody a downgraded John Hancock Mutual life insurance co. Of Boston Massachusetts Mutual life insurance co. Of Springfield mass. Mutual life insurance co. Of new York new England Mutual life insurance co. Of Boston principal Mutual life insurance co. Of Des Moines Iowa and travellers insurance co. Of Hartford Conn. Moody a cited a the ongoing deterioration of commercial real estate values which will increase under performing real estate Loans and investments. Earnings will be under pressure and capital formation will be slow at those companies with significant real estate  none of the changes pushed the ratings below investment Grade Quality. Moody a decision came amid huge problems facing the insurance Industry. Last week new Jersey regulators seized Mutual Benefit life insurance co. Of Newark the biggest life insurance seizure in . History. Dod to help East bloc turn arms Industry to civilian uses Budapest Hungary apr the . Department of defense is prepared to help Eastern Europe retool its arms heavy industries to serve civilian rather than largely military needs Deputy defense Secretary Donald Atwood said saturday. At the close of a we Klong tour of military production facilities in Poland Czechoslovakia and Hungary Atwood said his delegation was assessing the potential for converting military industries to civilian production and their need for . Help. A a we re not Here just for a Quick look and a Quick fix a Atwood said. A rather we look at it As a longer term  Atwood described the . Governments role As that of a a motivator for Industry american private Industry to work closely with their. Counterparts in developing joint venture business programs which will enhance the employment opportunities and Industrial base  Ernoe Raffay the hungarian defense ministry a political state Secretary emphasized that his government would prefer . Support in the form of technical assistance and business matchmaking rather than a financial bailout. A we asked the delegation not just to give Aid to Hungary but to concentrate on the possibilities for cooperation for Industry and military Industry because that a Good for the ., for Hungary and for hungarian and american enterprises a Raffay told a joint news conference. Atwood said the three country tour had revealed the advantages and disadvantages the Region faces in making the painful transition of its Industry As part of Overall programs to introduce Market economies. Atwood said that production had been almost completely oriented to soviet needs and that products designed for the soviet Market often do not meet world Market standards. A fall in the soviet Union s demand for military goods from these countries and its Lack of hard currency to pay for them has threatened the military industries in the three countries with virtual collapse. Atwood praised the Region s governments for their commitment to the transition and noted the candid Ness of government and Industrial representatives in facing the challenges ahead. Cyril m. Pierce a general manager for general electric co. And a member of the delegation said that Hungary s technological base would be capable of adapting to advanced technologies. Of the three countries the delegation visited Hungary is least affected by the Cut in demand for its military goods. In 1988, the Peak year for hungarian military production defense related output was Only 1.5 percent of Gross National product. Eighty percent of Hungary a military manufacturing was in telecommunications which is particularly suited for the switch to civilian uses. In contrast twice As Many factories need to be converted to civilian production in Czechoslovakia where the military Industrial sector has accounted for about 5 percent of Gross National product. Relieved ism reports no loss new York a International business machines corp. Said Friday that its second Quarter earnings plummeted 92 percent but the computer giant stayed in the Black a just barely. Ism Stock Rose on the news because the Small profit it posted was far better than its gloomiest recent predictions. The worlds largest computer company a criticized by its own chairman for being a too Damn comfortable a a disclosed last month that its earnings would suffer because of the recession intensifying Competition and orders delayed by new product introductions. At the time it did not Rule out a loss. Ism said its earnings were reduced by a charge of about $200 million or 20 cents a share after taxes to pay for the higher than expected Cost of an accelerated program to Cut jobs. The company said at least 17,000 employees will leave voluntarily this year 3,000 More than a previously stated goal. In its warning to investors last month ism indicated a charge might be taken because More employees than expected were opting to take Severance pay packages. Earnings totalled $114 million or 20 cents a share in the three months that ended june 30, Down from $1.4 billion or $2.45 a share in the same period last year. Revenue fell 10.7 percent to $14.7 billion from $16.5 billion. In a conference Call with analysts ism said it had no plans to Cut its Stock dividend. Investors appeared optimistic a or maybe just relieved ism did no to report a loss. In my a Stock was up $2.25 a share on the new York Stock Exchange after gaining $2 thursday. Ism is one of the nations largest and most influential companies and its Stock is one of the 30 that make up the Dow Jones Industrial average. Ism said sales of computer hardware fell almost 22 percent a More than the 17 percent drop in the first Quarter. Declines were seen in All major product lines. However ism said sales of computer work stations Rose. A your second Quarter business performance was affected by continued weakness in global economies competitive pressures and transitions within our product line a ism chairman John Akers said in a statement. Big blues performance second Quarter earnings in billions of dollars $1.6 1.41.21.0a a a 0.80.6i i 0.4a a i a it 0.2 Iofi. 0.0 a a a a a a a a a i i �?�87 �?T88 89 �?T90 �?T91 second Quarter revenues in billions of dollars $18v $14 7 billion 16 14 a 12 a 10 8 6 4 2 0 it it tip a . We 11 Iff in wow Yum pm wow ii m up Yix wow a a six to. Ferrn % amp �?�87 88 89 90 91 $160 140 Stock Price a on last Day of each Quarter 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 source company reports a Alan Baseden