European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday october 28, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17today s tip this is Detroit a worst year a Ever. General motors corp. Lost $1.1 billion and the Ford motor co. Lost $574.4 million in the third Quarter. Chrysler corp. Reports earnings this week and big losses Are expected. Although sales Are Down for the japanese automakers most Are still showing profits. A a done to blame this on Bob Stempel a said James Womack co author of the machine that changed the world. Stempel is Gmys chairman. The problem Womack said is that As companies move to newer production techniques they Are More vulnerable to the Economy a  and Downs. The japanese manage their Economy better he said so their companies do better. A clean production can to function in the extreme cyclic Lity that is Normal in this country a he said. What will turn things around a i can to see a Way put of this mess without government stepping  he said. 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 $362.25 an ounce Silver at $4.13. Oct. 24 oct. 25 British Pound .1.7100 1.7115 German mark.1.6970 1.7015 French franc.5.7960 5 800 dutch guilder.19169 19121 belgian franc.35.00 35.07 italian lira.1.272 50 1.270.80 Swiss franc.1 4885 1.4895 greek drachma.189 91 190 10 turkish lira.4,925.00 4,923 80 saudi arabian riyal.3.7503 3 7503 Spanish peseta.107.14 106.79 portuguese escudo.146.41 145 89 Canadian dollar.1.1268 1.1256 austrian schilling.11.9675 11.9405 norwegian krone.6.6670 6.6490 danish krone.6.5870 6.57 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 1.66 through monday based on fridays noontime  reports $27 million loss by the new York times new York after taking a $75 million charge for discontinued operations Avon products inc. Has reported a $27.3 million loss for the third Quarter in contrast with a $44.6 million profit in the similar Quarter a year ago. Earnings per share for the cosmetics manufacturer were 59 cents in the year earlier period. Sales increased 4.1 percent to $865.2 million from $830.8 million in the third Quarter of 1990. The charge was taken to write Down notes and other securities Avon received when it sold some health care and other businesses in 1987 and 1988, Avon said. The company said the value of the securities had decreased. A the company expects 1991 income from continuing operations will be Good a said James e. Preston avonts chairman and chief executive. A we continue to Benefit from a global portfolio that Hedges the risk of recessions in individual markets or  a Money matters drug dealers pulled funds just before Bocci crackdown. A Ythi new York times concerns that Bocci May have used a net Lars of Drue Money from other Bocci a by the new York times in 1988, Days before Federal agents made a Surprise arrest of five Bank of credit and Commerce International executives after a Long undercover operation some of the world s most powerful drug dealers withdrew millions of dollars from their Bocci accounts according to internal Bank records. Some government investigators Are now suspicious that the politically connected Bank or its customers were tipped off by sources inside the . Government if there was a leak the source of it is one of several mysteries surrounding the Bank and the american governments bungled efforts to investigate its activities in the United states. But the possibility that some of the worlds most notorious drug dealers could learn of a Long highly secret investigation into Money laundering heightens concerns that Bocci May have used a network of political and intelligence connections to help it evade serious scrutiny. Bank documents including records of hundreds of accounts and correspondence by the Bank s lawyers underscore the enormous amounts of Money that were being cleansed at Bocci branches in Panama Miami new York and other cities. In turn these activities raise More questions As to Why the Bank was Able to Settle for a relatively modest $15 million penalty what was then the largest Money laundering charge in history. In All the Bank records along with interviews with government agents show that drug dealers made a run on the Bank withdrawing at least $10 million in the few weeks before the undercover operation made its arrests in Tampa Fla. As Money poured out of the Bank the almost daily movement of millions of Dol Lars of drug Money from other Bocci accounts also seemed to come to an abrupt halt. On Friday oct. 7. I9n8 a the Day before the undercover arrests a two men described by the government As lieutenants in a Large colombian drug ring contacted acc la a Panama City Branch and insisted that their accounts totalling about $2 million be immediately closed. That same Day drug ring members withdrew $1 million from a separate Bank account in the Panama Branch. Customs service officials acknowledged evidence that the Colombia based Don Che pc organization one of the world s largest drug smuggling rings May have Learned of the undercover operation known As a chasm. But they said this probably resulted from an incident apparently a Blunder that exposed the investigation s cover rather than a tip off. Mccain recalls Keating s anger Over senator s refusal to negotiate los Angeles apr former Lincoln savings operator Charles Keating called . Sen. John Mccain a a a wimp and turned red in anger when Mccain refused to negotiate with Thrift regulators on his behalf the senator testified. A the. Clenched his Teeth and it was obvious he was very unhappy a Mccain told jurors Friday. The Arizona Republican was one of the so called a Keating five senators who accepted major Campaign donations from Keating and met with regulators engaged in a bitter dispute Over the financial shape of Lincoln a savings and loan based in Irvine Calif. Mccain was a Friend whose family had vacationed at Keatings Home in the Bahamas. Mccain received $112,000 in House and Senate Campaign donations from Keating his family and associates. Replaying Senate ethics committee testimony for jurors at Keatings criminal fraud trial Mccain said Lincoln a Parent company Keatings american Continental corp., was one of arizonans biggest employers. That and his duty to All constituents caused him to take Keatings complaints about regulators seriously he said. But he said that unlike arizonans senior senator Dennis Deconcini he thought it improper to travel to san Francisco to meet with regulators questioning the financial stability of Lincoln. A i Felt it was not proper for United states senators to Fly across the country to meet with people who were to be Blunt bureaucrats a and who would feel unduly pressured Mccain said. Furthermore he testified when he and the other four senators did meet in Washington with the san Francisco regulators the regulators persuaded him that their views not Keatings were Correct. A the information that i received at the meeting convinced me that that was the Case a he said. At $2.6 billion Lincoln a failure was the costliest Ever for taxpayers. It was seized and Phoenix based american Continental filed for bankruptcy Protection in april 1989. Keating 67, is charged with 20 counts of duping investors about the safety of american Continental junk Bonds sold at Lincoln branches. The Bonds became sen. John Mccain r-ariz., testifies at the trial of Charles Keating in los Angeles. Worthless when his companies collapsed. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say Bond buyers were never properly alerted to regulators concerns As Early As 1986 that Lincoln was failing in terms of its net Worth requirements the Central test of a Thrift or Bank a strength. Prosecutors called Mccain to show that Keating knew he was in severe trouble Early in the Bond sales program and two full years before Lincoln was seized. Mccain met with Federal Home loan Bank Board chairman de Gray about Lincoln on april 2, 1987. He met with the san Francisco regulators a week later. He said though that he had already fallen out with Keating at a meeting March 24. Keating wanted to discuss his claims that regulators were engaging in a vendetta against him by grossly undervaluing property owned by Lincoln and conducting the longest Thrift examination in history at Lincoln. Mccain said that he took those concerns seriously but that he first angrily told Keating he resented the Quot wimp remark made earlier to Deconcini and relayed by aides. He testified that he told Keating he wanted to help but was unwilling to do improper things such As Fly to san Francisco in his behalf. He said Keating turned red faced with anger and soon stormed out. Under Cross examination Mccain said it was possible that before he left Keating angrily told him never to meet with regulators if Mccain Felt that Way and that he must do what he thought Best As a senator. A Keating aide present at the meeting has testified his Boss made those remarks before leaving. Mccain said he  remember