European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday november 26, 1991 the stars and stripes _ b Page 17today s tip gasoline prices nationwide Rose an average of Only a fraction of a Penny in the past two weeks leveling off from an earlier Rise the Lundberg Survey reported sunday. The average pump Price including All grades at full and self service stations was $1.24 a gallon As of nov. 22, said Oil Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg. That was an increase of Only .14 cent Over the nov. 8 Survey. The Lundberg Survey canvasses 13,000 Gas stations nationwide. The Price had fallen More than v/2 cents Between sept. 20 and oct. 11, then Rose a half cent by oct. 25 and More than a Penny by nov. 8, Lundberg said. The Lundberg Survey showed that the average Price for gasoline at self service pumps was $1.11 for regular unleaded $1.27 for Premium unleaded and $1.05 for regular leaded. At full service stations the average per gallon Price was $1.38 for regular unleaded $1.54 Premium unleaded and $1.38 regular  rates London up mondays 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 $369.00 an ounce Silver at 14.17. Nov. 22 nov. 25 British pound.1.7980 1.7995 German mark.1.5880 1.5850 French franc.5.4275 5.4130 dutch milder.1.8084 1.7840 belgian franc.32.68 32.64 italian lira.1,200.65 1,198.90 Swiss franc.1.4115 1.4093 greek drachma.181.64 180.29 turkish lira .4.947.50 4,931.00 saudi arabian rtyal.3.7498 3.7498 Spanish peseta.101.66 101.23 portuguese escudo.140.15 140.21 Canadian dollar.1.1360 1.1377 austrian schilling.11.234 11.130 norwegian krone.6.2830 6.2320 danish krone.6.2040 6.1450 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 1.55 through tuesday based on mondays noontime  firm will Lay off 400 workers Marina Del Rey Calif. Apr . Gear said it would Shea much of its Money losing clothing business and consolidate its staff and offices at one los Angeles area site to save $25 million annually. . Gear said it will immediately hand out 250 Layoff notices and will Cut a total of 400 positions Over the next nine to 12 months. The sneaker maker which has stumbled Over the past year and a half said it will record pretax charges of $22.5 million in the fourth Quarter to cover the costs of the retrenchment. Its president and chief operating officer Mark Goldston said a review of operations and strategies is under Way and fourth Quarter earnings could be Hurt by still More write offs additions to reserves and other adjustments. Retailers keep fingers crossed As season gets terrible Start by Joyce m. Rosenberg a business writer Paramus . A the parking lot was jammed and there were plenty of people inside the Garden state Plaza mall just As you would expect on the saturday before thanksgiving. But shoppers were looking not buying a a sign this will indeed be a difficult Christmas for Many retailers. Despite a a Sale signs in stores including Macy a Nordstrom limited and . Penney there were few lines at Cash registers. There were few store bags in shoppers hands. A a it a a terrible season. Its gotten off to a terrible Start a said Sandra Shaber an economist with the futures group a Washington based forecasting concern. The slow Pace of business is no Surprise Given the weakness of the Economy and the increasing number of americans out of work. Analysts and retailers watching a consumer spending slump have been forecasting a painful Holiday season for months. But its wrong to make a single prediction on How Christmas will turn out. Business will Likely be fragmented with some retail segments such As discount stores faring better than others As wary Consumers search for the lowest prices on gifts. Moreover the season will be easier for retailers in some parts of the country where the recession has not been so severe. A nationwide Consumers Are not in a buying mood due to continued layoffs in the Economy and too much debt a said Larry Wipf an economist at Norwest corp., a Minneapolis investment firm. But a the Midwest and great Plains Economy is in considerably better shape than the nation. Wipf said. A was a result retail sales in the upper Midwest and Plains states will be More positive than the National  general growth Center cos. Said the 73 shopping centers it manages in 29people Are not making frivolous  Janice Rosenblum District director of a gift shop Chain states and the District of Columbia had encouraging business in Early november. A we Are looking at sales figures and traffic figures and specific results from merchandising promotions that Are very very Good a said Douglas Kline a vice president with the company. Business was slower in the Northeast. A a there a no tire kickers around a said John Nuckols assistant manager at Eastern Mountain sports in Boston which Sells Winter sportswear and recreational goods. A in the past we would get crowded and it would be easier to turn a browser into a buyer a he said. A people Are not making frivolous purchases said Janice Rosenblum northeastern District director for the nature company a Chain of gift shops. She said her stores have stocked items such As children a books telescopes games Bird feeders and other gifts families can enjoy together. The thanksgiving weekend is considered the traditional Start of the Christmas shopping season but while it was once the most lucrative time of the holidays for retailers it has lost importance in recent years. As women have increasingly returned to the work Force they have begun shopping later and later and retailers now make most of their sales in the 10 Days before Christmas. But store owners will be anxiously watching business throughout the season. If they done to get the sales they want in the Early Days of december they will slash prices to lure customers a an event Many shoppers Are awaiting eagerly. The season already is under Way for Catalon companies which report mixed results so far. At Spiegel inc., which includes Spiegel Eddie Bauer and Honeybee Cata logs spokesman Rob Longan Dyke said there have been a both Good and bad  a your electronics area and our career fashions Are doing quite Well but other areas like toys and Nome accessories for Christmas Are not looking As Good a he said. High Cost of High definition to turning off customers in Japan by David Thurber the associated press Tokyo a a High definition television set with a Crystal Clear picture greets customers at the Entrance of a showroom in Tokyo a bustling electronics District. Almost everyone stops to look a but few customers Are buying. Japan began the worlds first full scale a div broadcasting monday and a div sets have been on Sale for a year Here. But Only about 200 reportedly have been sold mostly to businesses. The reason even in wealthy Japan the Price is simply too High. At the Yamagiwa to showroom an a div set Sells for $35,000, while a High definition Var Sells for $154,000. This week a satellite began beaming about eight hours of a div programming each Day directly to japanese viewers up from the one hour daily test broadcasts that began in 1989. The a div programs can also be seen on Normal televisions with Normal Quality provided viewers Purchase a $1,700 decoder a $190 satellite dish and a $230 tuner. But the programs Are in relatively Short Supply a and expensive to produce. Ironically the Large screens on a div sets make poor Quality pictures look even worse in regular programming including Many news broadcasts. Japanese companies have spent about $1.5 billion Over the past 20 years developing a div according to Toshiba corp. That head Start analysts in the United states and Europe have said May a Man takes a dose look at the image on a High Deal Netlon television in Tokyo. Give japanese companies a Chance to strengthen their domination of the world electronics Industry. But some of the optimism about a div is fading. Several years ago advocates of a div envisioned a $1574 billion annual Market in Japan for receivers by the year 2000. Now Industry officials say those forecasts were too Rosy. In addition some analysts say that in pursuing a div technology Japan May have ended up with a system that is inferior to the All digital ones currently being evaluated in the United states. In the United states a decision on an a div format by the Federal communications commission is not due until june 1993. The United states is expected to select an All digital system. Advocates say that system allows More flexibility and easier combinations of computer and to technology