European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 29, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17today�?Ts tip the army and air Force Exchange service has rescinded its recent warning that 12-Inch and 16-Inch dual voltage Raks oscillation fans May be a fire Hazard. Extensive testing by the cafes Europe Quality Assurance office has indicated that the fans Are electronically Safe and that no defects Are present an Exchange service spokesman said. Cafes advises customers that the Raks fans As Well As any electrical products can be used in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. Conversion rates London up 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 $364.75 an ounce Silver at $4.11. July 25 july 26 British Pound.1.676 1.6895 German mark.1.752 1.7385 French franc.5.939 5.9425 dutch guilder.1.9675 1.9682 belgian franc.35.96 35.955 italian lira.1,302.80 1,303.00 Swiss franc.1.5275 1.5125 greek drachma.191.60 191.69 turkish lira.4,365.00 4,374,30 saudi arabian riyal.3.7502 3.7502 Spanish peseta.108.80 109.44 portuguese escudo.149,50 149.86 Canadian dollar.1.1523 1.1493 austrian schilling.12.285 12.291 norwegian krone.6.8015 6.812 danish Krone .6.741 6.751 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 British pounds to . Personnel for personal use. Through monday this will be $1.74 for a Pound based on a Price fixing Friday afternoon at military banking  seeking to land More overseas jobs Beijing up China is looking to the soviet Union Hong Kong and several persian Gulf nations As sources of work and hard currency for growing numbers of chinese overseas labourers a government newspaper said sunday. About 70,000 chinese labourers Are working abroad on contracts that will produce $2.25 billion in earnings this year the English language China daily reported. The government Hopes to raise that to 80,000 workers by years end and has signed labor and project contracts in the first half of 1991 Worth $1.28 billion 6.7 percent higher than the same period last year. Chen Rongcai director of foreign economic cooperation for China a ministry of foreign eco i nomic relations and Trade told the newspaper that the govern i ment is considering Hong Kong the soviet Union and the Gulf As places for expanded labor services. More than 10,000 chinese workers were forced to leave Iraq and Kuwait during the Gulf conflict with most unable to return. The China daily said a 53-member chinese team will leave for Kuwait next month to fight Oil fires still burning in the Gulf emirate. A pan am jetliner Heads skyward in Washington while officials on the ground try to work out the airlines future. Pan am creditors to sort through bids made by Twa Delta United by Edwin Mcdowell the new York times new York a the unsecured creditors committee of pan am has scheduled a meeting for today to decide whether to sup Ort any offers made by trans world air Ines Delta air lines and United airlines. In what analysts View As a Long shot the creditors committee is hoping to keep pan am intact in order to protect if not enhance the value of pan am a assets. But it also wants to oust the management of the Carrier which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Protection in january. A that management As presently constituted is viewed As not being realistic about the airlines future a said one person close to the committee who spoke on condition that he not be identified. Several Days ago United and Delta the nations no. 2 and no. 3 carriers respectively discussed the possibility of jointly bidding for pan am a assets. Any such offer presumably would have topped the $450 million presented to pan am last week by Twa and american airlines the nations largest airline. But the plan broke Down someone close to the negotiations said presumably because of business and Legal issues involving How the two carriers would Deal with each other if their joint offer was rejected or otherwise failed. A i can to see any advantage to their being involved jointly in the first place a said Robert Decker an analyst for Duff amp Phelps Mcm in Chicago. A they both have different interests and i would expect Well eventually now see higher bids from both of  United in fact did raise its bid for pan am a latin american routes from about $200 million which the pan am creditors committee rejected As too Low to $235 million. At the moment however Delta appears to be sticking with its original $260 million bid for pan am a routes to Europe Asia and Africa its East coast shuttle and 45 planes. The Atlanta based Carrier also has said it is considering investing in pan am if the bankruptcy court approves its $260 million offer. It has conditioned such an investment on pan am a continuing to operate its Miami Hub from which it flies to Many latin and Caribbean cities. But while the Delta proposal was under discussion Twa made its Surprise offer in partnership with american. Twa offered $310 million for pan am a assets and said it would sponsor a $140 million equity infusion for pan am possibly with outside investors. American would Supply $250 million of the total in return for Trie pan am shuttle and pan am a routes to Italy Spain and Portugal. While americans participation made analysts pay More attention to the offer than they otherwise would have Decker said he still had misgivings about it because of twas fragile financial condition. A it Isnit far fetched to envision Twa Selling its own assets like pan am a he said. Twa narrowly survived bankruptcy thursday when it reached a last minute agreement with bondholders by granting them new concessions. But a new hearing on Bondholder complaints has been scheduled for tuesday. Investors beware of the experts by John Cunniff the associated press new York a a lesson Ordinary folks might learn from recent economic events is to be a bit More demanding of those who proclaim themselves experts in How personal funds should be spent. It Isnit that there Arentt experts in personal financial matters. There May be but not Many a certainly fewer than the number who claim to be and but a tiny fraction of those referred to As experts by the Media. In recent years the term has come to be used loosely to indicate someone who specializes in a certain area or who knows a great Deal about a subject or even someone who simply sounds off a lot about something. Unfortunately the term has become so common that it now connotes As Little intellectual substance As the word a celebrity a which seems to define someone always in the news without displaying any specific expertise. But excluding from the definition Mere authorities self promoters and celebrities and limiting it to Bankers financiers brokers insurers accountants and investment advisers the need for wariness persists. Bankers Are the people who made a collectible Loans to third world nations and real estate developers with a Story and Little else. Thousands of brokers who Are really salespeople but who have been known to pose As experts on stocks have lost their analysis jobs to say nothing of their customers funds. And Many an insurer is fighting for its corporate life. Accountants Are often perceived of As Mere counters but they also offer opinions and several prestigious accounting firms Are in trouble because they declared a company sound that really was not. And advisers there Are True experts among them and they have Long term track records to document their claim. How can you argue with an expert like John Templeton who turned $100,000 into $12 million in three decades but there Are also investment advisers who pose As experts merely because they have registered with the securities and Exchange commission. There Are 17,000 of them and the commission is Able to inspect them Only once a decade. The record of a a experts often is not Good and the cataclysmic events of the past few years a the Stock Market collapse of 1987, the credit Pinch the recession a have demonstrated the vulnerability of those who depend on them. That would mean Many millions of americans because it is a Well known peculiarity of people that while they will travel Miles to find a lower priced can of Beans they will invest thousands of dollars on the advice of others. True experts have been known to agree with the Contention that America is an expert Ridden nation a nation of people trained to listen to the advice of others. No fiduciary they say no matter How Rudent he or she might be could Possi by have the same sense of responsibility to your financial welfare As you should have for yourself. E