European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 20, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3market dives despite Bush optimism Washington a the Stock Market took a nose dive tuesday despite reassuring words on the Economy from president Bush who said the underlying fundamentals were sound. Bush in an interview and later in a speech took Issue with All the gloom and doom forecasts. A some fundamentals Point to a Good recovery a the president said via satellite to editors and publishers attending the annual meeting of the Southern newspaper publishers association. A we ought to get it in perspective. Inflation is  related stories on pages 17-18 interest rates Are Way Down. Personal debt is Down. Inventories Are Down. Quality is Way  although Bush called these a very encouraging signs for an economic rebound the Dow Jones Industrial average took its Tumble falling by 61.05 Points at noon a drop that triggered a curb on computerized trading. In an earlier interview Bush said that in order to counteract growing negative sentiment in the country he had to a do better in making Clear what the message is and i think i can do  Bush a earlier comments were made to reporters late monday after the Stock Market had stabilized following fridays 120-Point slide. The drop had raised fears of a possible repeat of Black monday four years ago the worst sell off in . Trade deficit biggest since january Washington a the nations merchandise Trade deficit widened to $6.79 billion in september the biggest imbalance in eight months the government said tuesday. The Commerce department said that the september deficit was 4 percent higher than a revised $6.53 billion August Trade Gap As americans appetite for foreign goods Rose More quickly than . Sales abroad. The september imbalance came As a Surprise to Many analysts who had been looking for a slight improvement in the Trade deficit. It marked the third straight month that the deficit has worsened a disturbing trend Given the fact that an improving Trade balance had been one of the few Bright spots for the struggling . Economy. Although the Bush administration is counting on continued Strong foreign demand for . Products to help lift the country out of recession Many private economists forecast lower Export demand because of spreading economic weakness around the Globe. For september exports climbed 3 percent to $35.43 billion but the gain was offset by a 3.2 percent Rise in imports to $42,22 billion the highest level for imports in almost a year. The Trade deficit is the difference Between imports and exports. The september figures marked the highest monthly Trade imbalance since a $7.37 billion deficit in january. However the deficit for the year is still running at an annual rate of just $65.74 billion far below last years 5101.72 billion deficit. Analysts arc concerned however that the trend is going the wrong Way and that the deficit will Start climbing again in 1992, acting As a drag on Overall economic growth. The markets history. On that Day in october 1987, a 508-Point sell off followed a 108-Point decline the previous Friday. This time around the Dow Jones Industrial average actually Rose by 29.5 Points monday. But Many economists still believe the Stock Market will head lower in the Days and weeks to come As worried investors Are buffeted by further gloomy economic news. A one of the most important determinants for Stock prices is the state of the Economy and the fundamental fact remains that the Economy is in bad shape a said Allen Sinai chief economist of Boston company inc., an investment firm. Economists were split on How Sharp the decline could be. The most pessimistic were forecasting that the Dow Jones average which closed at 2,972.72 on monday could wind up dropping As Low As 2,700 in coming weeks As signs of economic malaise mount. These analysts believe that the Market will remain vulnerable to Sharp sell offs As Long As various business barometers depict a faltering Economy. A fall eyes Are basically on the consumer right now a said David Wyss an economist with Dri Mcgraw Hill. A people arc very nervous out there. Wyss said the recent bad news had forced him to revise downward his own forecast for the Overall Economy As measured by the Gross National product for the current october december Quarter. Earlier he had put Gnu growth at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the final three months of the year. But he has Cut that to Between 0.5 percent and 1 percent a barely negligible level that could easily fade  launch scrubbed Over satellite trouble Cape canaveral Fla. Up Nasa officials postponed the shuttle Atlantis planned tuesday night launch for five to seven Days to replace a suspect navigation unit needed for a $300 million missile warning satellite. Engineers were gearing up to begin fueling Atlantis at 10 31 . Tuesday when engineers completing a final test of the payloads Boeing built inertial upper stage Booster discovered possible problems with a Speed sensor and one of five gyroscopes. Only three of the navigation units gyroscopes Are needed for a successful Mission but flight rules require All five to be operational at launch. Nasa managers had no Choice but to delay this years sixth and final shuttle launch. A a there a still a lot of work to be done to come up with a detailed schedule a said launch director Robert Sieck. A but the Overall activity will take about a week before we re Back into the. Countdown. We May be Able to better  because of High overtime costs and employee morale Nasa managers do not want to launch on thanksgiving Day and a a we re mindful that thanksgiving is next week Quot Sieck said. A but its our Hope that Well have the work done and have this Mission on orbit by thanksgiving a he said. Liftoff on the 10-Day Mission had been planned for 6 51 . Tuesday. With the delay the astronauts a commander Frederick Gregory 50 co Pilot Terence Henricks 39 Story Musgrave 56 Mario Runco 39 James Voss 42 and army guest astronaut Thomas Hennen 39 a probably will return to the Johnson a time exposure photo makes the rotating Structure for servicing Atlantis appear blurred As it is rolled away monday evening before the launch was scrubbed. Space Center in Houston for additional training. The goal of the flight the second of nine Pentagon chartered missions conducted in the open is the deployment of the defense support program missile warning satellite six hours and 19 minutes after  punishment rated toughest in North Florida Pensacola Fla. Apr if you commit a Federal crime particularly a drug offence in Northwest Florida you can expect to do More time than anywhere else in the nation. Last year the average prison sentence in the Northern . District court of Florida was 115 months compared with a 61-month National average and 99 months in second ranked Northern Oklahoma and Eastern Wisconsin said a report from the . Sentencing commission. A i think it has a lot to do with our area a Pensacola defense lawyer Barry bar oct said. A a lot of our population is Rural and conservative. In a Large metropolitan area like Miami cases May be seen in a different less serious  the District covers Only the Northwestern portion of the state including the entire Florida Panhandle. The largest cities in the District Are Pensacola fort Walton Beach Panama City Tallahassee and Gainesville. Average sentence lengths in the two other districts in Florida also were above the National average in 1990 95 months in the Middle District and 81 months in the Southern District. Northern Florida also led the nation with the stiffest drug sentences averaging 160 months compared with 83 months nationally. Northern Oklahoma was a close second with 159 months. Elsewhere in Florida the average was 114 months in the Middle District and 110 months in the Southern District. Northwest Florida also has lower crime rates than the More Urban  Kerrey apologizes for lesbian joke Washington a democratic residential candidate Bob Kerrey  tuesday for repeating an off Colore about lesbians in a quiet Conversa a picked up by a a Span microphone. A during a private conversation at a ast last weekend there were a lot of in prop Riate jokes being told and repeat i made a mistake in repeating one i Oul Dnn to have a the Nebraska senator id in a statement. A if it offended anyone i  Kerrey was talking with a fellow candidate Arkansas gov. Bill Clinton before making Public remarks Friday at a roast in new Hampshire featuring five of the six major democratic candidates. A spans vice president Bruce Collins confirmed tuesday that Kerrey and Clinton a conversation had Heen recorded. It was the first open Mike incident of the Campaign. Collins said the Cable television Public affairs network would not air the segment or release the videotape or a transcript. The network has a policy against airing comments by officials who Are unaware they Are being recorded Collins said. The san Francisco examiner citing two Anonymous sources said the joke was about lesbians and a third presiden tial candidate former California gov. Jerry Brown. According to the newspaper the joke involved sexually explicit language including terms considered derogatory to women. A Gay rights activist contacted the news Media in Washington on tuesday to announce plans for a protest outside Kerrey a Campaign Headquarters. Kerrey himself was campaigning in san Francisco