European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 2, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17_. / Money matter today s tip coca cola enterprises the largest Coke bottler has announced plans in Atlanta to acquire the Tennessee based Johnston coca cola bottling group inc. The proposed merger in the form of a Stock transaction would result in 55 percent of the . Coke bottling system under a single operational and financial Structure. Under the Deal negotiated Between Johnston and the coca cola co., Johnston would be acquired by ice for 30 million newly issued shares of coca cola enterprises common Stock. Ice Stock closed thursday at $14.63 a  the coca cola co. Would own 43 percent of a Cen a outstanding common Stock compared with its current 49 percent ownership. Last year Johnston had revenues of $967 million on sales of 129 million cases of the soft drinks. Coke estimated that the combined company would have had Case sales of 700 million and revenues of $5  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 $347 50 an ounce Silver at $3 83 aug. 29 aug 30 British pound.1.6855 1 6815 German Mark .1 7420 1 7505 French franc. .5 8950 5 9155 dutch guilder.1.9515 1.9610 belgian franc.35.62 35.82 italian lira.1,296.15 1,300.1 Swiss franc.1.5185 1.5305 greek drachma.191.63 1 92.50 turkish lira.4,580 80 4,585.60 saudi arabian riyal.3.7503 3.7503 Spanish peseta.107.93 108.35 portuguese escudo.148.34 118.84 Canadian dollar.1.1400 1.1412 austrian schilling.12.1890 12.2470 norwegian krone.6.7750 6.8020 danish krone.6.6920 6.7190 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 1.70 through monday based on Friday s noontime  Bank computerized White Plains n y. Up a International business machines corp. Said the first Branch of a polish Bank to be fully computerized opened As part of an Overall program to update the Bank s operations. The first Branch of Bank Slaski was opened in Czestochowa Poland about 150 Miles Southeast of Warsaw. Marian Rajczyk the Bank president said a your Branch network will be fully integrated by the end of 1992 in an ambitious program making Bank Slaski competitive in International terms giving us Market leadership and providing us with a base for developing services to our  Bank Slaski one of nine commercial Banks formed from the de nationalized Bank of Poland selected ism As the prime contractor and systems integrator to transform the Bank a daily operations using the latest computer technology. Money continues to plow in to Mutual funds at record rate by Floyd Norris the new York times with individual investors growing More and More confident about both the Stock and Bond markets Cash is pouring into Many Mutual fund groups at a record rate. A business is excellent a Michael Hines of Fidelity investments said adding a the Money continues to plow  some Mutual fund companies said thursday that August would be the Best month in their histories in terms of taking in Cash from customers. A in july we set a record and this August will be 25 percent better a said Gavin Quill a spokesman for Scudder Stevens amp Clark inc. The strength is across the Board covering both fund groups that sell mainly through brokers and those that Market their funds directly to customers. Some managers said Stock funds had been gaining in popularity with customers but others said the bulk of their business was still on the Bond Side. That flow of Cash was interrupted Only briefly during the Market upheavals caused by the abortive soviet coup. Most fund groups said some Cash was taken out of funds on the morning of aug. 19, when the coup began As Stock prices were plunging but much of it came Back that afternoon. By the end of that week Many groups said they had net Cash inflows into Stock funds. A investors Are starting to learn that markets overreact the first Day a said Bruce Speca a senior vice president of the the fund group. That willingness to buy helped push Stock prices to record Levels. The Dow Jones Industrial average set a record last week and broke it on wednesday before slipping a bit thursday. The comments came As the investment company Institute a Trade group released figures showing that july saw More Money invested in Long term Mutual funds than any month in More than four years. Stock funds saw a revival of interest and had their Best month since last May with $3.7 billion in net Cash flow up from $967 million in june. But the real Story continued to be the Rush into Bond funds. In july. $6.9 billion poured into Bond funds up from $4.4 billion in june and the highest figure since March 1987. Just before the Bond Market crashed. At Vanguard funds Brian Mattes a vice president said that july saw $640 million in Cash flow into that group s Bond funds a record that was approached in August and might be surpassed by the time thursdays sales Are tallied up. At t. Rowe Price Steven Norwitz reported that August was a an exceptionally Strong month for Bond fund Cash flow Quot adding that it was concentrated in More conservative funds including Short term Bond funds that offer higher yields than Money Market funds with Little risk of loss if interest rates fluctuate. Although several fund managers attributed the exceptionally Strong sales in Bond funds to an outflow from Money Market funds the Industry figures show that Money Market fund assets Rose slightly in july and arc Likely to do so again in August. That would seem to indicate that a lot of Money going into Bond funds is coming out of Banks and savings and Loans. So far this year the Bond funds have had inflows of $32.2 billion almost twice the total amount that came in during the prior four years combined. The Cash flow figures include new sales redemption and net transfers among funds in the same families. They do not include reinvested dividends. Within the Bond area there was strength across the Board but several managers singled out funds that invest in mortgage obligations. In july those funds took in $887 million the highest for any month since March 1987. Municipal Bond funds took in $2.7 billion the highest for any month since february 1987. Among Stock funds there was also widespread strength. While some fund groups said there was More interest in conservative Stock funds there was also a surge of Cash into aggressive growth funds the one july Bond Market investment in Mutual fund groups increased at a record level in  Are some examples and the Dollar amounts taken in from customers. Stock funds it. To nov $3.7 billion Bond funds 3 $6.9 billion mortgage Bonds $887 million municipal Bonds $2.7 billion aggressive growth Bonds $923 million most inclined to invest in Small growth stocks. Those funds took in $923 million in july after seeing an outflow of $175 million the prior month. The professionals who manage Stock Mutual funds were not Able to invest All he Cash from their july deluge and Cash reserves in Stock funds edged up $245 million to $27 billion. But with Stock prices rising sharply during the month the proportion of Stock Puiul assets in Cash fell to 8.6 percent from 9 percent the prior month and was the lowest since it hit the same level in february 1986. Relatively Low Cash Levels in Stock funds have Long been used by some analysts As an indicator of excessive optimism among fund managers and As a possible indication that the Stock Market could be vulnerable. In 1986, however prices were Able to keep rising. In 1987, when investor optimism again Rose the Cash level fell to a Low of 8.8 percent in August the month in which Stock prices peaked prior to the october crash. 4 who resigned in Bond scandal May get millions in Severance pay by the Washington Post new York a four senior Salomon Bros. Inc. Executives a who resigned in August in a major Bond trading scandal a could still receive Severance packages potentially Worth millions of dollars. It All depends on the results of an internal investigation of the affair the company said Friday. The company a directors already have granted a special exemption that could make it possible for three of the four former executives to Benefit from a lucrative Bonus plan set up in 1988, even though they failed to fulfil the plans requirement that they stay at the firm through the end of this year. Under that program alone former president Thomas w. Strauss is slated to receive at least $3.5 million according to the company a 1991 proxy statement filed with the securities and Exchange commission in March. In a separate development Salomon Bros said Friday that the Law firm that has been advising it on the investigation was stepping aside a so As to get on with the task of forming a new team at Salo Mon. The four former executives who May still receive hefty Severance packages Are Strauss former chairman John h. Gut Freund former vice chairman John Mer in Ether and former chief lawyer Donald Feuerstein. They All were forced to resign following the admission that they knew As Early As april that Salomon had violated rules in . Treasury securities auctions but had failed to report the violations to regulatory authorities. Sources said the Board of directors will decide on the size of the Severance packages for the four according to How much responsibility each individual bore for the firms wrongdoing. If the investigation clears any of the executives the Board does no to want them to suffer the loss of both their jobs and compensation they stood to receive the source said. To Date circumstances for the four former senior executives Are significantly better than those of the two former senior Bond traders Paul Mozer and Thomas Murphy who were in charge of the trading desk where the violations originated. Both Mozer and Murphy were fired and they also have been barred from receiving Money under the 1988 Bonus plan Are paying their own Legal fees and Are not receiving office space from the firm. Meriwether and Feuerstein Are eligible to receive bonuses under the 1988 plan but Gutfreund is not. An expert on executive compensation said directors frequently Reward executives in such eases by changing rules such As by amending the Date when Stock options May be exercised or simply Quot by writing fat  in the Case of Salomon Bros., however. Graef s. Crystal editor of a newsletter on executive compensation said a the question is Why should you give these Guys a Nickel of Severance they be caused the shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. They be imperilled the livelihood of 9,000 employees. You could say they should be brought before the shareholders and Given a beating a said Crystal who once worked As a consultant advising Salomon Bros and others on executive pay issues