European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 07, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday october 7, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17 a. A Money matters today a tip . Gear inc. Said Friday that it lost More than $11 million in the third Quarter As the company used heavy discounting to Clear its shelves of slow Selling merchandise. The tactic Hurt sales and profit margins. The ailing athletic shoe company indicated it would Post another Large loss next Quarter As it continued to review its organizational Structure and business strategies. The review comes As . Gear attempts to regroup with the help of new investors. In september the company accepted a $100 million infusion from Trefoil capital investors a group conceived by Shamrock holdings inc., the investment vehicle for the Roy e. Disney family. . Gear said next quarters results should include write offs increases in reserves and other adjustments that would Likely have a a significant Adverse effect on the company. In trading on the new York Stock Exchange on Friday the company a shares closed at $13. Unchanged from  rates London up Friday s 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 $356.25 an ounce Silver at $4 15 oct 3 oct 4 British pound.1.7500 1.7400 German  1.6800 French franc.5.6515 5.6800 dutch guilder.1.8765 1.8770 belgian franc.34.2275 34 3425 italian lira.1.243 05 1.244 25 Swiss franc.1.4540 1.4655 greek  185.35 turkish  4,719.00 saudi arabian  3.7502 Spanish  105.27 portuguese  143.00 Canadian  1.1318 austrian  11.7000 norwegian  6.5070 danish  6.4135 these Are commercial rates and can be related Only to the use of foreign currency by . Forces for official business. The Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.62 through monday based on fridays noontime  to close 77 of its stores by the associated press Ames department stores inc. Has announced it will close 77 of its 448 stores and Lay off 4,500 workers. The Rocky Hill  company which filed for bankruptcy Protection in april 1990, said the stores were unprofitable and would shut Down Early next year. The bulk of them Are in Indiana Ohio Virginia and West Virginia but stores will also close in Connecticut Delaware Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan new Hampshire new York and Pennsylvania. Ames the nations fourth largest discount retailer closed 234 stores and Laid off 20,000 employees after it sought Protection from creditors under chapter 11 of the . Bankruptcy code. Ames struggling to compete against retail giants such As Wal Mart stores inc. And Kmart corp., lost $793.5 million in 1990. Tougher card Competition undercuts american express by Peter Kerr the new York times american express which last week reported serious financial problems with its Optima credit card actually faces More severe and wider concerns affecting its entire travel division Wall Street analysts and other Industry experts said Friday. The company a travel related services division which epitomized the successful . Service company in the 1980s, has suffered increasing setbacks in recent months on several fronts. They include a the surprising failure of its mail order merchandise service. A growing Competition from less expensive Bank cards. A disgruntled merchants and customers. A poor management in some important areas. While the company s announcement wednesday focused on one relatively new product some experts go further saying the disclosures indicate the $24 billion company is try ing to scale Back to defend its Green Gold and Platinum charge cards and other travel related businesses. A the problems with Optima Are not the main Point Here a said Alison a. Deans an analyst with Smith Barney Harris Upham. A in our opinion the problems at trs Are  on wednesday american express said it was setting aside $250 million for expected defaults on the Optima card and to pay for a reorganization of its charge card business. The company also announced that it was reducing its work Force by 1,700. Optima clearly suffered from severe problems a some analysts said its default rate was nearly double that of comparable Bank cards. However the company a most serious troubles probably concern the growth of its Core business charge cards. Unlike the Optima card which extends a revolving line of credit in Exchange for an annual fee and monthly finance charges. American express charge cards require full payment of balances every month. In the 1970s and 19s0s, american express successfully marketed More than 30 million Green and Gold cards by portraying them As elite products backed by an array of exclusive benefits and customer sen ice. Television commercials and Glossy Magazine advertisements showing affluent lifestyles reinforced the theme that a membership has its  the company hoped that Mastercard and visa by contrast would appear to be Mere plebeian products available to just about anybody. But the growth in the number of cards in Force worldwide has been Flat this year a Down from a 7 percent increase in 1990 and an 11 percent Rise in 1989. In part the experts said that growth has been slowed by a new lineup of competing cards such As Gold and Premium visa cards and Mastercard that have been aggressive in offering new services such As frequent flier Miles to attract More affluent Consumers. Quot bloodcurdling screams Quot by Milken detailed in Book on trading scandals by Stefan Fatsis the associated press new York Michael Milken emerged from his sentencing thinking he had been handed two years in prison and let out a bloodcurdling screams when he Learned he had received 10 years a new Book claims. The Book Den of thieves by James b. Stewart details wrongdoing from the 1980s insider trading scandals that goes Well beyond the guilty pleas entered by Milken former Speculator Ivan Boesky and others. The Book claims Milken traded on inside information hogged lucrative investments for himself and his family and was a ruthless Leader As head of junk Bond trading at Drexel Burnham Lambert inc. It says Milken was so obsessive about work that he once keeled Over at his desk. He was also so greedy that in 1986 he kept for himself nearly 80 percent of $700 million that Drexel Gav e him to Dole out to junk Bond division workers the Book charges. Among its revelations the Book says Milken a apparently did no to hear or understand the judges 10-year sentence consisting of five consecutive two year terms. The Book says that after leaving the courtroom Milken asked his lawyer Arthur Liman a How much did i get. Two years a after he was told the sentence the Book claims Milken and his wife entered a witness room and let out a bloodcurdling screams Quot before Milken collapsed in a chair hyperventilating. A repaid Boesky for More than $10 million in trading losses via a scheme in which clients paid inflated prices for junk Bonds. Milken a lawyer said the government concluded it did not have enough evidence to pursue the charge. A badgered employees at the. Beverly Hills calif., junk Bond office about working hours that matched Milken a 16 or More a Day. The Book says one trader began taking blood pressure Medicine another began smoking four packs of cigarettes daily and a third developed psychological problems. A lawyer for Milken Alan Dershowitz denied Milken engaged in insider trading. A a it a a warmed Over regurgitation of the governments indictment minus what the government dropped and  prove a Dershowitz said referring to prosecutors 98-count indictment of Milken in 1989. He also said the Book relies on Boesky s version of events. Milken was not interviewed for the Book a spokesman said. Milken associates said Boesky and his lawyer were. Boesky had admitted lying to prosecutors during his interrogation a fact that Milken scamp claims discredits anything he has said. Michael Milken leaves court during a pre sentencing hearing last year. Deere Union of tentative agreement Peoria Iii. Apr Union leaders reached a tentative contract agreement with Deere amp co. Saturday after 40 hours of talks. They now must Hammer out an Accord with Caterpillar inc. Caterpillar is eager to resume talks. Negotiators from the company and the United Auto workers have met Only three times since ending six weeks of bickering Over a negotiating site. A hopefully the Deere settlement Means the a awl a principal negotiators will be available to discuss their full proposal a Caterpillar spokesman Keith Butterfield said saturday. But Law spokesman Karl Mantyla said Caterpillar will have to wait for ratification of the Deere agreement by rank and file Union members a 12,000 Active workers and 1,400 employees Laid off in Illinois Iowa Minnesota Georgia Colorado and Kansas. Thirteen Law locals have scheduled meetings oct. 12-13. The three year contract would last through oct. 1, 1994. Neither Side would discuss terms. A we think its a fair and balanced agreement a said Deere spokesman Robert Combs. A both parties Are very pleased to have  the average Law worker at Deer earns $35,000 annually. Deere Ali worlds largest builder of farm Traetow and agricultural machinery employ 37,000 workers worldwide. About 17,000 Law workers at Caleroi Lar inc. Plants in Illinois Pennsylvania co Orado and Tennessee also Are Workin under a contract Extension. The unit plans to use its Deere contract As a Modi in talks with Caterpillar which is based i Peoria. Butterfield said his Bosses Renee using the contract with Deere As a Blue print for an Agi Cement w Ith ate pillar