European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 4, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday decembers 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17 Money matters today s tip the nations Economy slowed in november while the manufacturing sectors growth came to a standstill the National association of purchasing management said monday. In its monthly report on the nations manufacturing Economy the business group said its much watched purchasing managers Index plummeted to s0.1 percent in november from 53.5 percent in october. Robert j. Bretz chairman of the purchasing management a business Survey committee said a the economic recovery grew perceptively weaker in november. Although the Overall Economy continued with unpretentious growth the manufacturing sector of the Economy virtually stopped  conversion rates London up tuesdays 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 $366.00 an ounce Silver at $4.07. Dec. 2 dec. 3 British pound.1.7770 1.7728 German mark.1.6075 1.6122 French franc .5.4965 5.5070 dutch guilder.1.8140 1.8188 belgian franc.33.11 33.25 italian lira.1.213.75 1,217.00 Swiss franc.1 -4220 1.4270 greek drachma.183.32 183.93 turkish lira.5,033.60 5,050.20 saudi arabian riyal.3.7490 3.7493 Spanish peseta.102.45 102.84 portuguese escudo.143.29 143.45 Canadian dollar.1.1324 1.1328 austrian schilling.11.3125 11.3560 norwegian krone.6.3290 6.3520 danish krone.6.2490 6.2745 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 1.5/ through wednesday based on tuesdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York us York Stock exc Stock Uniss corp Rwjr Nabisco hid Glaxo holdings Ohio Edison co ism com general motors ban America  haul. A twp mems at amp to company Geni electric Pepsico inc Rwjr Nabisco pop pub Sec ent prs Wal Mart stores Amor express a the is most Active stocks in new be composite trading on monday. Sales last notch. 8.949.400 5vi up 1% 3.077.800 9% unch 2.824.500 29 up 1v� 2.524.400 197/i off i 2.347.800 92% off vow 2,020,700 31 up i 1.962.400 32% up1h 1.943,900 68% up Ivi 1.938.500 36% off i 1.915.400 65% up 1 1,843,100 30% up 1,708,000 10vi unch 1.636.500 27% off i 1.537.600 49% up 1.533.600 19% up american Exchange new York u american Stock i Slock pm group web Hasbro inc fms Floom exsport fan it Bergen Brunswig Iva corp carnival cruise Amdahl corp us Bio science Phil Long 0 Tel a tha 10 most act Foo stocks in Inge composite trading monday. Talas last Natch. 479.800 8% up 469,100 35% up 454,600 23% up 380,600 8% up 368,100 17% on % 285,000 27% up 269,500 24% up 1% 268,800 12% unch 240,600 64% 240,600 28% off Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones closing Range of averages monday 30 industrials 20 transport l5uiimes 65 Sticks High 2941.64 1202.35 221.77 1068.20 Low 2855.32 1158.26 216.95 1035.93 close 2935.38 1199.36 221.64 1066.08 change up  up 27.09 up 2.81 up 17.18 emphasis on Quality safety helps . Car sales critic says Washington a for american car makers the Era of planned obsolescence is Over and Quality and safety Are new watchwords a longtime observer and critic of the Auto Industry says. A planned obsolescence is clearly a thing of the past because today a Consumers plan on keeping their cars for four or five years and the Industry knows it Quot said Jack Gillis author of an annual rating guide to new and used cars. As american automakers produce More Quality cars the Long love affair of american Drivers with japanese vehicles appears to be Cooling Gillis said. A in used cars we re beginning to see Consumers express More honesty about their experience with japanese cars Quot he said. A a we re seeing americans less afraid to say they Are having problems with japanese  for example he said Many owners of the 1989 Toyota camry have registered complaints with the . Department of transportation. Gillis commented in conjunction with the publication of the 1992 editions of the car Book which rates new cars and the used car Book. Both publications Are produced in conjunction with the Center for Auto safety founded by Ralph Nader. Gillis who a year ago said Consumers no longer needed to fear buying an american car said that advice is still Good. A a we re seeing continued improvement in domestically produced cars a he said. The 1992 edition of Gilliss new car Book rates vehicles in the areas of crash safety repair costs fuel Economy warranties insurance costs resale value and complaint history. The following list is the books a Best bets for 1992,&Quot giving emphasis to crash safety and the availability of air bags and anti lock brakes As Well As the other factors Best subcompact Nissan sentry Mazda Miata Volkswagen Golf git Hyundai Excel Kaihatsu charade and the Geo storm. Best compacts Audi 80, Chevrolet Corsica Dodge Shadow Plymouth Sundance Pontiac sunbird and the Chevrolet Cavalier. Best intermediates Dodge spirit Mercury Sable Ford Taurus Saab 9000, Plymouth acclaim and the Volvo 240. Best Large Oldsmobile to Rondao in finite m30, Buick Riviera and the Chevrolet Caprice Best minivans Oldsmobile Silhouette Chevrolet Lumina apr Dodge caravan grand caravan Plymouth voyager grand voyager and the Pontiac trans sport. A Teller sits behind a counter monday in a Moscow Bank which was forced to close because of a shortage of soviet currency. Russia takes Over soviet finances for Good will free tourist Ruble rate Moscow a the russian Republic has taken permanent control of the soviet governments finances and will abolish the Ruble Exchange rate for tourists starting Jan. 1, a russian government official said monday. A the consolidation of russians budget and the Central unions budget is not temporary a it is permanent a said Alexei a Lukanev an aide to russian economics minister Yegor Gaidar. A this is being done on russians terms a a Lukanev said adding that his government plans to abolish the Exchange rate for tourists starting Jan. 1. A Lukanev added however that russians parliament must approve russian president Boris n. Yeltsin a decrees on merging the budgets and freeing the tourist Exchange rate a because the parliament has prerogative Over All budget  soviet foreign ministry spokesman Vitaly Churkin said however that a a final decision has not yet been made on whether Russia would take control of the soviet finances. He denied that the foreign ministry was under russian control. Yeltsin agreed saturday to have his government bail out the Central government after the soviet state Bank announced that it could not meet the Federal december payroll. But Yeltsin did not indicate whether Russia would keep paying the soviet governments Bills after december. A Lukanev said that from now on the russian and the soviet government budgets will be handled by the russian Central Bank and there will be Only one economics ministry. Under a free floating tourist rate Banks would be free to set their own rates he said. Presumably this would mean Many More rubles to the Dollar than the current rate of 47. Western visitors thus would stand to get Many More rubles for their dollars but soviets seeking to Trade their rubles for dollars to travel abroad would find their currency Worth much less. Asked if Russia is dictating the future of the soviet governments finances a Lukanev said a i dislike the word dictating lets just say that Russia will determine the conditions from now  another official said Friday night that the state Bank had stopped All payments to the soviet government because the Bank had run out of Money. The Bank a cutoff of funds to the National Treasury threatened to hold up paychecks to millions of government workers. The action followed the National Legislatures failure thursday to approve soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev a request for 90 billion rubles for the fourth Quarter of the fiscal year which started monday