European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 5, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday septembers 1991 the stars and stripes c Page 17�?� Mon a today a tip an important business gauge showed . Manufacturing improved sharply in August and economists said the Advance should help strengthen the nations rebound from the recession. The monthly Survey by the National association of purchasing management which followed a series of conflicting economic reports last week coincided with positive news from the government that construction spending Rose in july. The purchasing managers said their Index of business activity Rose to 54.8 percent last month from july a 51.8 percent. When the Index exceeds 50 percent it generally indicates the manufacturing Economy is expanding. Conversion rates London up wednesdays 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 s348.75 an ounce Silver at $3,925. Sept 3 sept 4 British pound.1.6920 1.6945 German mark.1.7400 1.7390 French franc.5.9140 5.9050 dutch guilder.1.9580 1.9555 belgian franc.35.8000 35.7275 italian lira.1.298.55 1,296.70 Swiss franc.1.5255 1.5255 greekdrachma.192.30 191.62 turkish lira.4,609.00 4,613.00 saudi arabian riyal.3.7503 3.7503 Spanish peseta.108.37 108.20 portuguese escudo.148.92 148.50 Canadian dollar.1.1402 1.1410 austrian schilling.12.2375 12.2075 a norwegian krone.6.8010 6.7780 danish krone.6.7115 6.7000 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 thursday based on wednesdays noontime Price fixing. Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones closing Range of averages tuesday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks Low 3066.64 3013 64 1221.26 1192.35 High >64 209.44 1089.92 206.56 1069.61 close change 3017.67 off 25.93 1196.76 off 15.51 207.12 Oft 113 1071 97 off 10.09 casinos hit Jackpot with record profits Atlantic City . Up a the Seaside City a 12 casinos raked in a record $312.9 million from gamblers in August the second record breaking month in a Row the Casino association of new Jersey reported tuesday. Last months a a win figure was 10 percent higher than the Gross Revenue in August 1990 and even topped july a record revenues of $303 million according to the Trade association. The win or Gross Revenue is the amount of Money taken in by casinos after winners Are paid but before taxes and other expenses Are taken out. All but one of the casinos posted higher revenues last month than their August 1990 win. Revenues at Bally a grand dropped 3 percent to $19.71 million. Lufthansa treaty Appeal May complicate Delta Deal Frankfurt Germany a Lufthansa Germany a National Flag Carrier raised the possibility of new trouble for pan am  Sale of assets to Delta air lines by asking the German government tuesday to Block the Deal. Jurgen Weber chairman of Lufthansa a executive Board said the airline made the request because it wants to renegotiate a 1955 civil aviation treaty with the United states. The treaty he said a no longer fits current Competition conditions and places German airlines at a  it Wasny to Clear How or whether the German government would respond to Lufthansa a demand which if granted might present a significant obstacle to Delta a expansion into Europe. Delta acquired most of pan am a assets in a $1.39 billion Deal announced aug. 12. Some of the most valuable components of that Sale Are in Germany where pan am had extensive operations that made it a leading european Carrier. At pan am s new York Headquarters spokesman Alan Loflin said he did t believe the Lufthansa request presented a problem. At Delta s Atlanta Headquarters spokesman Neil Monroe said. A a this is simply part of the ongoing review that was expected. We remain confident that the transaction will  Lufthansa has Long complained about what it considers the inequities of the .-German aviation treaty. Lufthansa officials said the Delta pan am Deal is the latest example of How that treaty hurts the German carriers ability to compete. In a press statement Weber said that if agreement revisions Are not made a German air transport will be reduced to an inner German delivery service for the big american trans Atlantic services within 10  Weber said that while . Airlines Are free to Fly All routes in Germany Lufthansa is a limited to Only 10 locations in the Continental United  a this gives them the . Carriers direct Access to the Strong German and european markets a Weber said a while protecting the . Home Market with  currently Lufthansa has rights to Fly to Boston new York Philadelphia Washington. Atlanta. Miami. Chicago. Houston san Francisco and los Angeles. The airline also serves Charlotte n.c., and the Dallas fort Worth area. Weber also alleged that the americans discriminate against Lufthansa in the Way the Carrier is listed in the . Central computer reservations system by making . Carriers the preferable choices. The Lufthansa chairman said he was risking the German government to negotiate equal conditions with the United states and to decline approval of Delta air lines taking Over pan american airlines network in Germany until Equality was achieved. The Delta pan am Deal requires regulatory approval of the transportation department in Washington. The european Community is also reviewing the transaction. Bill Mosley a transportation department spokesman in Washington said both countries were scheduled to discuss the aviation treaty in Bonn on sept. 1011. A wide Range of issues will be discussed at the meeting but Mosley said it was unclear whether the Delta pan am Deal would be on the Agenda. Pius Ivyll. Nil Viiu .1 it to Iuliu Vum Umi a a a i. Cd insurance companies will survive Bob damage claims experts say new York apr insurance com bobs far out distancing Bob As history s and $180 million was expected to repo new York apr insurance companies Are expecting some huge claims from history a second most expensive Hurricane but analysts said Hurricane Bob wont be catastrophic to insurers profits. Several major insurers said tuesday that payouts stemming from Hurricane Bob on aug. 18-19 will Force them to take substantial third Quarter charges eroding profits and eating into Cash reserves. Still when the last Check for insured damages is written the Northeast coastline will have been clobbered harder than insurers Bottom lines. Despite recent Well publicized losses from bad real estate and junk Bond investments the Industry is considered d generally Well positioned to fund the bulk of the hurricanes estimated $780 million Price tag. A we done to expect anyone will really get hit that hard a said Alan Levin an analyst for Standard amp poor a insurance ratings services group. A most of the damage is fairly  unlike the far stronger Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which slammed into South Carolinas coastline and then turned Inland Bob basically skimmed the shores of North Carolina and new York s Long Island before coming ashore in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. As a result insured damages from Hugo were More than four times that of bobs far out distancing Bob As history s most expensive Hurricane. Moreover Many structures on the Northeast coastline were better maintained and sturdier than some of the year round Homes in South Carolina s coast Many of which belonged to Low in come owners. Further exacerbating insurers ability to absorb losses from the 1989 Hurricane was its timing a just Tine month before the devastating october earthquake in California. Property and casualty insurers have generally avoided the Worlof Money losing investments a in real estate and High yield corporate Bonds a that recently have tested Many investors Confidence in the Industry. State regulators this year seized two units of first executive corp., first capital life insurance co. And others after news of the bad investments prompted runs by policyholders. But insurers involved in Bob related payouts have largely stayed Clear of those problems. Aetna life amp casualty co., one of the biggest insurers for Hurricane damage said last week it would take a $27 million charge against its third Quarter income to pay for roughly 25,900 claims stemming from the Hurricane. That came to about 25 cents per share. The company coming off first and second Quarter profits of $137 million and $180 million was expected to report an Overall profit when the third quarters results Are posted at the end of october. The payout is a substantial one they re going to notice and not going to like. But it s part of Normal business a said economist David Wyss of Del Mcgraw Hill a Lexington mass. Consulting firm. A a this in t the same kind of pain its investment  Boston based Liberty Mutual insurance group the nation s sixth largest property and casualty insurer estimated it would have to pay slightly less than $15 million to cover a projected 9,9 10 claims. However for regional companies the Impact could be More severe. A i would say we re going to be impacted dramatically there s no question about Thiol Quot said Fred Newell assistant vice president and claims Secretary at the Andover group based in Andover mass. The firm is the number one Home insurer in Massachusetts which sustained $525 million in insured damages trom the Hurricane. Newell said the company expected $19 million in Hurricane related payouts. I he company writes about $189 million in insurance premiums the bulk of which is for homeowners insurance. Overall the company would probably break even in the third Quarter after several profitable quarters he said. Sharp increase projected for student loan defaults by the Washington Post Washington a the education department has projected that student loan defaults this year will total about $3.6 billion nearly a 5 1 percent increase despite recent attempts to curb the escalating defaults. Administration officials attributed the jump in defaults to accelerated losses from a bankrupt loan guarantee Agency. The recessions Impact on the Job prospects of recent graduates and fundamental flaws in the system for collecting the federally guaranteed Loans. Student loan defaults Hist year Cost the government $2.4 billion an amount that the education department initially estimated would Rise to $2.8 billion in the current fiscal year which ends sept. 30. That estimate was revised upward to $3.55 billion after Michael j. Farrell a former business executive was mimed acting assistant Secretary Lor pos secondary education in april. Congressional aides suggested the new default estimate would build momentum behind additional Calls for change and inspire More frustration because of the failure of previous efforts to control default costs