European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 30,1991 the stars and stripes Page 19today s tip the american Telephone amp Telegraph co. And a Large japanese company plan to explore How to further develop Small credit card like devices that could carry information like a persons medical records or the repair history of an automobile. At amp to which makes the cards known As a smart cards a and the Nippon Denso co., which makes the equipment that reads them signed an agreement wednesday for the japanese company to develop new applications of the technology. Smart cards Are As Small and thin As a credit card. But unlike credit cards which Are simply a magnetic strip attached to plastic smart cards contain integrated circuits and therefore computer memory. The at amp to smart card contains an 8-bit microcomputer or the equivalent of a Nintendo vide game console. Because there is no Metal to Metal Contact Between the card and the Nippon Denso Reading equipment the card is thought to be especially durable and can be used thousands of  rates London up 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 $351.25 an ounce Silver at $3.94. Aug. 28 aug. 29 British pound.1.6885 1.6855 German mark.1.7415 1.7420 French franc.5 9645 5.8950 dutch guilder.1.9660 1.9515 belgian franc.,.35.87 35.62 italian lira.1,310.25 1,2966.15 Swiss franc. .1.5155 1.5185 greek drachma.194.18 191.63 turkish lira.4,606.00 4,580.80 saudi arabian riyal.3.7501 3.7503 Spanish peseta.109.21 107.93 portuguese escudo.150.17 148.34 Canadian Dollar .1.1412 1.1400 austrian schilling.12.3580 12.1890 norwegian krone.6.8565 6.7750 danish krone.6.7735 6.6920 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 1.69 through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jones closing Range of averages wednesday 30 industrials 20 transports 15 utilities 65 stocks Clinge 3064.85 3018.11 3055.23 up 29.07 High Low close 1216.50 209.19 1088.15 1071.20 1195.52 1212.45 up 10.05 206.37 20b.56 up 2.00 1084.70 up 9.95 up again files for bankruptcy Washington a United press International sought bankruptcy Protection for the second time in six years wednesday saying it owes 4,000 creditors but will continue efforts to find a buyer for the 84-year-old news service. In a petition filed in . Bankruptcy court in new York the company listed liabilities of approximately $65.2 million and said it has assets of about $22.7 million in 47 countries. It said the largest of its creditors is the internal Revenue service to which it owes $2 million. Revised figures show Gnu fell slightly in second Quarter by the los Angeles times Washington a the nations Economy contracted rather than expanded during the second Quarter of this year the government reported wednesday casting a pall on the widely held View that the recession ended last Spring. In a revised report the department of Commerce estimated that the Gross National product the total amount of goods and services produced by the Economy fell at an annual rate of 0.1 percent from april through june rather than rising at a 0.4 percent rate As reported a month ago. The department said that the second Quarter dip was primarily attributable to a sharper than expected decline in business inventories and weaker consumer spending than had been estimated initially the revision is embarrassing for the Bush administration which boasted after the initial report that the Economy was growing again after posting recessionary declines of 1.6 percent in the final Quarter of 1990 and 2.8 percent in the first Quarter of 1991. President Bush expressed Little concern however when asked about the Economy at the Golf course near his vacation Home in Kennebunkport Maine. A i feel All right about things a he told reporters. A a there a some statistics up and some Down but basically i think its doing All  indeed analysts said that the downward revision while unanticipated does not necessarily undermine the consensus View that the Economy has begun to grow and is Likely to keep expanding during the second half of the year. A to the extent that this revision has any importance it is that most of it was a decline in inventories a said economist Bruce Steinberg of Merill Lynch capital markets in new York. A the degree of inventory liquidation during the first half of the year was so Strong that it bodes Well for growth later on a including the cur . Gross National product percent change from previous Quarter 6%" Preli 2nd Quarter preliminary -0.1% i inn -2% 88 -1989 -1990 �?T91 quarterly at annual rate source . Dept of Commerce a rent Quarter. We had recession through the first half but some kind of recovery is now under  according to the revised estimate the Gross National product declined during the second Quarter at an annual rate of $1.1 billion to a total of $4,123 trillion Down $5.4 billion from the previous estimate. The biggest single Factor in the revision was a $5.3 billion annual reduction in inventory accumulation by manufacturers wholesalers and retailers an adjustment that is expected to contribute to economic growth later on. . Business inventories have been shrinking for three consecutive quarters. While the shrinkage causes current Gnu to appear smaller it should provide a firm base for stronger recovery As manufacturers resume higher rates of production. In fact some economists said that the steady inventory liquidation actually reduces the probability of a a double dip recession. A it is on the surface a negative Gnu so lots of people will look at it and say the recession is longer than people thought a said economist Giulio Martini of Sanford c. Bernstein amp co. In new York. A but final demand was unchanged in the revision and there was less inventory accumulation than earlier reported and that a  consumer spending originally reported to have increased at a 3.6 percent annual clip in the second Quarter was trimmed Back to 2.8 percent. But much of the resulting $5.1 billion reduction is attributable to an accounting adjustment involving vehicle sales and does not signify real economic problems. Personal disposable income was revised upward $8.5 billion to an annual rate of $2.9 trillion a substantial improvement Over the first Quarter. That revision in turn pushed the personal saving rate up to a 4.2 percent rate from the 3.7 percent estimated last month. As a result of a Small upward revision in exports of goods and services abroad final sales of . Products to All purchasers Domestic and foreign is now estimated to have increased at a rate of 0.2 percent during the Quarter up from last months estimate of 0.1 percent. A if you look underneath the headline number things did no to change All that much a said analyst David Wyss with Dri Mcgraw Hill a Lexington mass., forecasting firm. A most of the change was inventories and that helps the second half of the year. With disposable incomes higher that suggests people will be coming out of the recession with a higher savings rate than we had  a i 318,000 unemployed exhausted their benefits in july study says Washington a More than 300,000 out of work americans used up their unemployment benefits in july the highest level in at least 40 years said a study released thursday by a group that advocates programs for the poor. About 318,000 americans exhausted their regular unemployment benefits in july Ana were unable to qualify for extended benefits the Center on budget and policy priorities said. The study based on figures from the labor department said the 318,000 was the highest one month total since the government first began tracking monthly statistics in 1951. At the current Pace the study said the number of americans who run out of jobless benefits this year will exceed any year since the nations unemployment insurance program was established in the 1930s. A the problem is Likely to remain acute in the months ahead even if the Economy continues to recover a said Isaac Shapiro who researched the study for the Liberal Washington based Center. It would take months of rebounding economic activity before the Impact is great enough on the jobs Market to bring Down the number of jobless americans exhausting benefits Shapiro said. In Early August Congress passed a $5.2 billion package to extend unemployment benefits to the Long term unemployed. The measure designed to help some of the 1.6 million workers put on unemployment lines by the recession would Nave extended jobless benefits for up to 20 weeks beyond the 26-week Standard. But president Bush noting that Congress offered no Way to pay for the benefits essentially killed the Bill by signing it and then using a technical loophole in last years White House Congress budget agreement to avoid implementing it. Bush who made the decision to Block the Extension of benefits two weeks ago while vacationing in Kennebunkport Maine said a i wont bust the budget and accused democrats of playing presidential politics on Domestic issues. Democrats cite the episode As an example of Bush a neglect of Domestic issues. House majority Leader Richard Gephardt d-mo., said wednesday that when Congress returns from its summer recess sept. 10, lawmakers will Send Bush new legislation to extend unemployment benefits the new version won t give the president the option of using a loophole in the budget Law to avoid implementing the program Gephardt said. Under the nations unemployment system states with High unemployment rates can qualify under certain Federal conditions to extend their benefits beyond 26 weeks. But As of july Only Alaska Maine Oregon Rhode Island Vermont and West Virginia had an extended Benefit program in place the study said. Federal cutbacks Are to blame for the Small number of states offering help to the Long term unemployed the study said. In both the 1981-82 recession and the downturn of the 1970s, a far greater number of jobless americans qualified for extended benefits Shapiro said. Extending benefits helps not Only the unemployed worker and his or her family Shapiro said but also helps the Economy As a whole by keeping the family out of poverty and sustaining its buying Power for goods and services