European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 2, 1991 the stars and stripes g Page 17, Money matters today s tip the taboo against firing workers and announcing big layoffs around the Holiday season a a practice once widely considered intolerably cruel a is fading fast. Thousands of american workers sat Down at their thanksgiving tables fresh from receiving Pink slips during the past week. And Many More employees Are expected to be dismissed before new years Day by companies hoping to Start 1992 on a stronger financial footing. The notion that this is an unconscionable time of year to dump someone is increasingly giving Way to a sense of urgency among Many employers that they must act swiftly to protect their slumping businesses. Although layoffs always increase in hard times the latest round of dismissals May also signal a swing in the attitudes of . Business executives. A a there a no time period that a sacred anymore a said Dan Lacey editor of the Ohio based newsletter workplace trends. Also employers planning to impose major layoffs Early next year Are making announcements now because of Legal requirements. Under a 1988 Federal Law companies planning to dismiss so or More workers in most cases must notify affected employees at least 60 Days in Advance. Conversion rates London up1 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 $366.25 an ounce Sliver at $4.06. Nov. 28 nov. 29 British pound.1.7685 1.7647 German mark.1.6170 1.6270 French franc.5.5140 5.5770 dutch guilder.1.8208 1.8343 belgian franc.33.28 33.57 italian lira.1,217.25 1,228.50 Swiss franc.1.4275 1.4355 greek drachma.183.51 185.72 turkish lira.5,016.30 5,060.10 saudi arabian riyal.3.7495 3.7495 Spanish peseta. 102.71 103.92 portuguese escudo.143.50 144.57 can ads dollar.1.1343 1.1351 austrian scnhino.11.3375 11.49 norwegian krone.6.3430 6.4220 danish none.6.2625 6.3450 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 1.59 through monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. Us urged to Settle suit Pittsburgh a a Federal magistrate has recommended that us corp. Pay $409 million to former shareholders of Marathon Oil co. To Settle a 9-year-old dispute a spokesman said. The Case stemmed from us a a Purchase of Marathon and was the Lone remaining Issue in a lawsuit filed by Marathon shareholders after the acquisition. The suit alleged that . Steel As us was known then wrongly accepted certain Marathon shares in conjunction with the tender offer for the Oil company said us spokesman William Keslar. New Era dawns for rising Sun As sex invaders Rule asian Trade by Dan Biers the associated press Bangkok Thailand a in the Bangkok Branch of Tokyo a japanese department store Amornrat  was asked about the japanese influences in her life. She paused a moment then ticked them off she works for a japanese pharmaceutical company and has a weekly japanese language class. Her appliances Are japanese camera television stereo radio a everything except the washing machine a the 25-year-old thai woman exclaimed. Half a Century after Japan invaded its neighbors under the Guise of establishing a a co Prosperity sphere a it has carved out an East asian zone of influence based on Trade investment and Aid. Although Amornrat and Many others Welcome the japanese for helping Asia industrialize fears of an Era of japanese domination Are being rekindled in some quarters. A i think basically the japanese Are calling the shots in All of the Asia Pacific a said . Nathan an International relations expert at the University of Malaya in Kuala Bumpur. Wherever you turn in the fast growing Asia of the 1990s, you find the stamp of the rising Sun a in Thailand a new japanese car zooms onto the nations roads every 100 seconds. When traffic stalls in congested Bangkok As it does every Day the City takes on the look of a huge used car lot for Toyota Nissan Mitsubishi and Isuzu. A newly affluent asians flock to about 70 branches of japanese department stores that have opened in just a decade. A Karaoke the japanese pastime of singing to the accompaniment of canned background music and videos is taking Asia by storm. Karaoke bars and clubs became so popular in Taiwan that Law and order prime minister Hau Pei Tsun ordered them to close by 3 . For a social Security  the order was ignored and the ban lifted. Politicians now frequent Karaoke clubs and even Hau has Sung Karaoke at political gatherings. A Malaysia has a rigorous two year language intensive program designed to prepare some of its Best students to study in Japan. For the students its a Chance to hitch their wagons to the japanese Star. A in economics nowadays Japan is no. 1,�?� Syed Mohamad Adli Syed Othman explained after emerging late one afternoon from a Daylong exam on Japan a tortuous system of writing. Most important perhaps has been the role of japanese Money and know How in the regions economic development. An example is the showcase Eastern Seaboard development program just Southeast of Bangkok. The $83 million deep water port was financed primarily with japanese Aid. Japan a influence in Asia 1990 japanese direct investment to selected Aslan countries Hong Kong Thailand Indonesia Singapore Malaysia Taiwan s. Korea All Fig ufos in . Dollars 1990 net capital investment in Asia Japan a . A $25.0 billion $11.0 Europe j $8.2 a Only those countries named above. Source japanese finance in Lotty japanese companies helped build the port and help operate it. An adjacent Industrial Park is filled with japanese affiliated factories such As thai cart co. Ltd., a manufacturer of color television picture tubes in which Mitsubishi has a 30 percent stake. Japanese companies rushed to build plants abroad when the worlds Industrial Powers agreed in 1985 to let the yen grow in value. Shifting manufacturing to other countries also helped sidestep Trade friction with the United states. A severe labor shortage in Japan added to the attractions As did the relaxed policies of some countries on foreign investment. The Rush into Southeast Asia is easing at least temporarily now that japanese companies face a depressed Stock Market and slowing Economy at Home. Nonetheless Japan a recent investment has clearly put it in a position to take maximum advantage of one of the worlds fastest growing regions. Kenneth s. Courtis senior economist at Deutsche Bank capital markets in Tokyo wrote recently that the japanese investment Boom in Southeast Asia a is increasingly driven by the objective of establishing strategic control of the Meg markets of the next  a throughout the Region North american firms Are largely on the defensive while european investment is not keeping up with local Market growth a he said. Courtis estimates net japanese capital investment in Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Hong Kong Taiwan South Korea and Singapore Rose from $10 billion in 1985 to $25 billion last year. European net investment grew from $6.3 billion to $8.2 billion while the . Figure was unchanged at $11 billion. Japanese business is putting Money into a More outward looking Vietnam despite a .-led Trade embargo and Tokyo is expected to play a major role in underwriting Apt Dean capt the fragile peace in Cambodia. Still there is concern particularly in the former japanese colonics of Taiwan and South Korea that the Region is becoming too dependent on capital machinery and components imported from its former military ruler. Taiwan s government has imposed import restrictions on japanese cars agricultural products and cigarettes and docs not allow state run companies to buy from Japan. No japanese cars arc allowed into South Korea. A common complaint is that the japanese Are reluctant to Transfer technology or give local employees top jobs but Are All too willing to bribe officials to win contracts. Even in Thailand the pop group Katon made a splash five years ago with a song decrying the new japanese invasion. A particularly important and dangerous is the japanese venture to buy land farming area Forest mountains everything Man a the lyrics said. Generally however the japanese Are viewed benignly in Thailand and other asian countries where the Imperial army a occupation lasted Only a few years. Nothing but smiles and bouquets greeted emperor Akihito when he toured Thailand Malaysia and Indonesia in october. Any bitter memories were suppressed. A my father was tortured by the japanese yet today he has no problem driving around in a japanese car and he has japanese friends a said Dennis j. Ignatius a ranking malaysian Diplomat. Malaysians prime minister or. Mah Athir Mohamad has shown admiration for the japanese. He formulated a a look East policy a decade ago deciding the key to economic growth Lay in learning from the japanese. Mah Athir now wants Japan to Lead a caucus of asian nations that would express the regions views on economic issues. The United states would be left out. Fed approves two huge Bank mergers Washington a two big Bank mergers a one creating a new York based financial giant the other the largest banking company in the South a have Federal regulators approval. The Federal Reserve Board has announced it had cleared chemical banking corp. To acquire its Park Avenue rival manufacturers Hanover corp. It also approved the combination of a cab corp. And a amps sovran corp. They will become nation Bank operating offices across the South in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Chemical with $135 billion in assets and nation Bank with $118 billion Likely will become the nations third and fourth largest Bank holding companies. For now they would be exceeded in size Only by Citicorp the country a largest with More than $200 billion in assets. A pending merger which has not yet received the Federal reserves Blessing would create the second largest Bank holding company by combining Bank America corp. And Security Pacific corp., two California based Meg Abanks. Both the chemical and nation Bank mergers have already been cleared by stockholders but both await formal approval of stale regulators and the Justice departments antitrust division