European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday july 28, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 15_ Money matters Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of july 21 july 27 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. British Pound one Pound would Cost you $1,675 $1-81 German Mark one Dollar would buy you 1.72 1991 2.13 1.61 1990 i 1986 i a military Exchange rate italian lire one Dollar would buy you 1475 1316 1991 1199 1990 1986 Spanish peseta one Dollar would buy you 137 a amps the Dollar lost More ground last week falling near 1.73 Marks in european trading late Friday with the release of a worse than Rex petted report on the United states Gross National product. A the Economy in the states is in the midst of a very weak recovery a said Robert Thomas economist with Midland Bank in London. Thomas said the fact that the Economy is not bouncing Back vigorously from recession could keep the Dollar in a soft trading Range of 1.72 Marks to 1.77 Marks for the next few weeks. Worse news is that Thomas believes the . Economy is Likely to remain sluggish Well into next year and that could drive the Dollar still lower. Thomas said he expects the . Federal Reserve to be forced to Cut interest rates in the states once again As the months unfold and that could Chase investors away from the Buck toward of higher yielding european currencies. On Friday the Dollar fell by roughly 2 pennies in Europe on news that the . Economy had expanded by a modest 0.4 percent in the second Quarter of the year. Private analysts had expected something on the order of a 1 percent Rise. On Friday afternoon the Dollar was trading in Frankfurt Germany at 1.733 Marks 2 pfennig lower than late thursday. One Pound was Selling for $ 1.695 on the world Market 2 cents More expensive than a Day earlier. Military Exchange rates for the weekend also hit the skids. In Germany the military rate is 1.70 Marks through monday compared with 1.72 Marks one week ago. In the United kingdom 1 Pound is Selling for $1,74 to service members this weekend 2 cents More expensive than a week earlier. The stars and stripes Afes sweepstakes winners find extra Cash hits the spot by Vince Crawley Niernberg Bureau staff sgt. Eleverto Soque is paying off debts making investments and sending some of his $50,000 sweepstakes winnings Home to the Philippines where his parents and Sisters Are still digging out from the volcanic Ash of mount Pinatubo. Spec. Hortensia Reyes is still Home in puerto Rico on emergency leave visiting her father who is in failing health. That a where she was when she found out she had won $20,000. She is putting All of her Money in the Bank. And 3-year-old Megan Larcom who won $10,000 in this weeks cafes Europe sweepstakes has already spent part of her winnings on a Candy land game and muppet soap. The drawing called the Welcome Home sweepstakes was held monday by the army and air Force Exchange service in Europe. Prizes went to More than 700 winners and were provided by cafes Exchange suppliers contractors and concessionaires said Barbara Kirsch a spokeswoman As cafes Europe a Munich Headquarters. Soque who won the $50,000 grand prize is an army Supply sergeant from Karlsruhe Germany. A ten percent will go to outstanding debts a those debts Hurt a said Soque 38, whose Home is Olon Gapo a City near Subic Bay naval facilities in the Philippines. A a they re definitely going to share in this a Little bit a Soque said of his relatives near the Volcano. He credited his winnings to his wife Flora who entered his name three times in the drawing. They have three children Ages 8 to 11. A a Good part of the Money will be converted to Long term accounts a Soque said a something i can rely on in the  an avid camper he said that Money Means this years trip to Normandy France will be a just a Little bit better than the previous  Reyes 29, a Justice department clerk from the san Juan area in puerto Rico was called to Active duty in the army reserves on Jan. 25, during the persian Gulf War. Her finance unit arrived in Dhahran saudi Arabia on feb. 8, and she has since been working there As a military accountant. Reyes returned to puerto Rico two weeks ago on emergency leave however because her 64-year-old father is undergoing a series of operations. A a there a not much to do in Dhahran Quot Reyes said in a Telephone interview on thursday. So during a lunchtime trip to the Post Exchange she a saw the entry Box and said a what the hell got nothing to lose a a Reyes said. She picked up a stack of sweepstakes applications and took them Back to pass around at the office when she found out wednesday that she had won $20,000, Reyes was a kind of surprised a she said because she had filled out Only two or three of the entry forms while other people in her office were entering dozens of times. Reyes did t have any immediate plans for the Money saying. A for me. It s not real  she said she would put it in the Bank. She is More concerned about get Ting her commander s permission to stay longer in puerto Rico. Liz Larcom 31the wife of a company commander in Augsburg. Germany said her husband and three preschool children waited in the ear while she dashed into the Exchange one Day while returning from a camping trip in cd Hie see Germany. Three year old Megan ended up winning $10,000, and the Larcome have decided to share the wealth among themselves. A a we la pay off any liabilities put some toward a College fund and travel a Little Quot Megan s Mother said. Upon finding out she had won. Megan told her Mother she wanted a a Doggy with a Chain a but Larcom said it would be a few years before they invested in any pets. Instead the family went to the toy store and Megan got the Candy land game that she had asked for earlier. It had been sold out on her birthday in May. She also got muppet soap. The youngster was overcome by shyness during a Telephone interview and said nothing. A a she a putting her arms around her Mouth and squirming Quot her Mother explained. Economists say recession is Over but also fear recovery will be slow by the new York times the recession has ended and the recovery is Here according to everyone from Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan to new York real estate agents. But hold the bubbly and break out the Beer. Most economists expect the kind of slow shuffling climb that will cause Many to wonder if the recovery will stick around come labor Day. A the indicators Are mixed in any recovery a said Roger e. Brin Ner chief economist at Dri Mcgraw Hill inc., an economic consulting service. A the weaker the recovery the greater the proportion of negative  indeed the news last week that the Gross National product grew at a trivial 0.4 percent in the Spring fanned fears that the recovery was sputtering. The economists at Dri Mcgraw Hill Are a Shade More upbeat than the Blue Chip consensus of economic forecasters. Even so they expect the Economy to expand at a 3.5 percent rate Over the next year a a crawl compared with the 6.5 percent average for the first year of any postwar recovery. Three forces will probably hold Down the Pace of recovery a a hawkish Federal Reserve and an administration that has not seemed inclined to bolster the Economy with tax cuts or Job programs. A the legacy of shaky debts from the overbuilding in Many of the nation s commercial real estate markets. A the Lack of a 1980s-style consumer spending spree on the horizon households Are forming More slowly and saving is already Low. In retrospect the first stirrings of a re . Gross National product trillions of dollars annual rate 2nd Quarter preliminary $4.13 0.4% source . Dept of Commerce a covery began last Winter Only a month or two after the Bush administration the Federal Reserve and the International monetary fund had declared a recession. Alan Greenspan drove Down Short term interest rates. Long term rates eased As Well. The Money Supply which had barely increased during the fall took off. Oil prices plunged taking inflation Down with them. The consumer Price Index which spurted at a 10 percent rate in october actually fell in March. Most important the persian Gulf War ended in Victory for the United states. Foreigners snapped up the Dollar and investors celebrated by sending the War bludgeoned Stock Market Back to old highs. Because this recession More than any in memory was brought on by a Case of nerves a brightening in consumer spirits was critical. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein a invasion of Kuwait caused a Sharp plunge in consumer Confidence. When Oil prices surged after the invasion Consumers expected a repeat of the 1973 and 1979 Oil crises a surge in inflation and deep recession. Their fears were self fulfilling. Consumers stopped buying big ticket items that could be postponed namely houses and cars and business panicked too cutting production last fall at an even faster rate than sales were declining. The better economic mood in essence set the stage for a reversal of fortunes. Consumers who dragged the Economy into the recession appear to be pulling it out again. That a the indication from fridays Gnu report for the second Quarter. After falling for two consecutive quarters a one of the worst retrenchments in Post world War ii history a consumer spending Rose at a robust 3.6 percent. Outlays for big ticket items jumped even faster by 5.2 percent. Spending bottomed out in january the month the air War against Iraq began and Oil prices plunged. Despite the fact that companies were cutting deeply into their payrolls consumer spending Rose in february As employees worries about layoffs lifted. First to recover was Home buying. As mortgage rates dipped below 10 percent housing became More affordable than at almost any time in More than a decade. By february buyers were straggling Back to car dealers lots and the traffic really picked up when manufacturers started offering better deals in May and june. Consumers began buying a Little More of everything else too though the pattern has been erratic from month to month