European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 20 b the stars and Stripe Money matters a wednesday december 18,1991 today a tip Boeing co. Has announced that Shanghai airlines China a 5-year-old Independent airline had ordered five 757s air planes Worth about $275 million. As configured for Shanghai the 757s will carry 200 passengers 12 in first class 26 in business and 162 in Economy. The planes will be used to increase flight frequency and expand Shanghai a service to new destinations in China and Southeast Asia. The airline now operates 100 flights a week on 12 routes with average passenger loads of More than 80 percent. A total of 760 Boeing 757s have been ordered by 41 customers worldwide. 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 $357.55 an ounce Silver at$3.85. Dec. 16 . 17 British pound.1.6225 1.6235 German mark.1.5761 1.5760 French franc.5.4040 5.3870 Oulch guilder.1.7802 1.7762 belgian franc.32.51 32.46 italian lira.1,193.7 1,189.5 Swiss franc.1.3955 1.3955 greek drachma.181.26 180.65 turkish lira.5,073.80 5,071.70 saudi arabian riyal.3.7498 3.7498 Spanish peseta.100.88 100.38 portuguese escudo.140.52 139.26 Canadian dollar.1.1413 1.1435 austrian schilling.11.1335 11.0920 norwegian krone.6.21 6.19 danish krone.6.1450 6.1190 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 1.53 through wednesday based on tuesdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up a the 15 most Active stocks in new York Stock Exchange composite trading on monday. Stock Philip Morris Rwjr Nabisco hid Amer express co Glaxo holdings Citicorp general motors ban Kamenica Union Carbide us Marathon ism corp Bristol myer so Westinghouse Al genl electric global yield cd Tenn eco inc american Exchange new York up a the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite hading monday. Sain la it Natch. 2,262,900 71 h a pvt 1,921,300 10 i unch 1,876,700 18 i Ort it 1,723,400 30 up a 1,524,500 9h Oil % 1,520,800 28 i unch 1,464.800 33 a off 1 a 1,413,500 19h up 2 a 1,321.300 22 h up a a 1,292,100 86 i off 1 a a 1.207.600 79 a up v4 off 1,202.100 is a 1,187,600 67 a Oft a 1,152,600 7 14 up v4 1,096,000 29 a off 1 a Stock Salai Lail Nal clog. Energy service Bour Dharni co 546,500 1 v4 up a 538,400 10 up 1 a Columbia labs 344,700 8 14 up a Bowne 6 co 328,600 13 a up 2 a us Blo science 279,400 78 44 up 2 Viva Carp 276,400 30 a up 1 h Echo Bay mines 248.600 7 a off v4 Erno Bioc trem 729,600 4 off 14 Bergen Brunswig Wang labs inc a 218,000 16 7a off a 213,600 2 v. Unch Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jonta closing Range of evangel monday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 it met 65 stocks he 46 33 Lew Ctm 2946 33 2900 49 2919.05 1239.91 1205.72 1220.49 21889 213.88 21507 1076 33 1054.72 1063.08 a Kedge up 4.69 s1.68 2.63 off 0.55 fed s candid pessimism reflects scary recession by the new York times for months the Federal Reserve confidently suggested that an economic upturn was just around the Corner. Now for the first time Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan is saying that he has no Clear idea when the Economy a current stagnation might end by Spring by election Day by Early 1993 or perhaps not until later in the decade. That new pessimism suggests that the chairman of the nation s Central Bank now believes new efforts by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates will not necessarily revive the Economy As lower interest rates have in the past. So additional measures might have to be tried among them tax cuts. Until now Greenspan has opposed such fiscal measures on the ground that they would run up the deficit. But his concern that the Economy is dead in the water appears to be overcoming some of his aversion to Federal pump priming. Above All he is concerned that what he has called the a utterly unprecedented debt Burden of Consumers and businesses will not be resolved in some Standard easily measurable Way. A usually the fed Guys Are optimistic As a matter of professional responsibility said Robert Johnson a former Federal Reserve economist. A emr. Greenspan a Essit ism is quite candid and it tells you of scary this recession  Greenspan is scheduled to testify today e his Apfl a fed chairman Alan Greenspan before the House ways and Means committee. The committee is seeking solutions to a recession that showed itself again monday with the announcement that Industrial production fell four tenths of 1 percent in november. Greenspan has not Given any details of the proposals he indicates that he is considering. He does suggest that a responsible Low mortgage rates Spur homeowners to refinance by the los Angeles times mortgage rates Are fast plunging to record Low Levels sparking an explosion of refinancing As Consumers see bargains in both fixed and adjustable rate offerings. About 20 lenders across the United states have begun offering adjustable rate mortgages arms with interest rates of 5 percent or less for the first year. One Lender is even offering a daily adjusting teaser rate of 3sa percent. A a in be never seen rates this Low in my professional career a said Richard peach Deputy chief economist for the mortgage Bankers association a Washington . Trade group. A a it a just great for Consumers. People Are Able to refinance and save significant amounts of  spurred by sluggish borrowing demand brought on by the stalled Economy and moribund real estate Market mortgage rates of All kinds have plunged to their lowest Levels since the mid-1970s. The drop has been particularly precipitous for arms which have Only been offered for about a decade and Are at their lowest level Ever. The National average starting rate on a one year Arm which adjusts annually stood at 6.19 percent Friday Down More than 1.5 percentage Points from this years High of 7.79 percent posted on Jan. 4, according to Ash associates a Butler n.j., company that tracks mortgage rates. Rates on conventional 30-year fixed rate Loans Are also Down to 8.64 percent from 9.83 percent in january. That is the lowest rate in 14 years Ash said. The lower rates have done Little so far to jump Start the sluggish housing Market. But they have fuelled refinancing which Are forecast to jump to $162 billion this year from $72 billion in 1990, Accord ing to the mortgage Bankers association. Yet As Low As mortgage rates already Are Many experts predict they could head lower after the Federal Reserve boards policy setting Federal open Market committee meets tuesday amid evidence the weak Economy May need another round of rate cuts. But experts caution those contemplating new debt. There Are a number of costs associated with taking out a loan including fees for credit applications title reports appraisal and deed recordings. What is More most lenders charge borrowers a fee of 1 percent to 3 percent known As a Points a for making the loan. A Borrower can pay As much As 4 percent of the loan amount on closing costs. To determine whether refinancing a Home is Wise a consumer needs to look at several things the difference Between the old loan rate and current Market rates the amount of equity in the property and How Long you plan to remain there. Generally speaking if you can obtain a loan at an interest rate at least 2 percentage Points below your current rate experts say it May pay to refinance if you intend to remain in your Home for at least two More years. However if you put Down less than 20 percent when you bought your Home or if your Home has decreased significantly in value you May have difficulty refinancing. Today slow mortgage rates make it possible for Many More House Hunters to afford a mortgage. Lenders note that the monthly payment on a $100,000 loan at 5 percent is just $537, less than the rent on apartments in Many areas. Even so lend ers say Many people Are remaining on the sidelines hoping rates go lower. Fiscal package a one that would not raise either the deficit or the inflation rate a is conceivable. But the Small sums involved might not be enough to help the Economy. The essence of Greenspan a alarm about the Economy a the reason he seems willing to debate fiscal policy a lies in what he Calls a a heavy overhang of debt and a the unusual degree of caution that it has generated among businesses Consumers and lenders. Both the debt Load and the Public determination to bring it Down Are without precedent since 1941, in the Greenspan View. As a result no method exists to measure accurately when americans might feel sufficiently solvent to spend and invest again. The problem in sum is More a psychological one than a process that can be measured with statistics Greenspan suggests. Economists must rely More on anecdotal evidence than on such things As income to debt ratios to gauge Progress toward a healthy Economy. Greenspan a pessimism contrasts sharply with his euphoria of last summer when he told Congress a there Are compelling signs that the recession is behind us. Consumption level higher than production was pushing up factory output. In past recessions this has led to More employment growing income More consumption and in sum an expanding Economy. But the incipient improvement halted in october. Complaints filed against Delta by new Day new York More than 50 former pan am employees filed formal complaints with the City human rights commission on monday charging Delta air lines and a company hired to conduct background checks of prospective employees asked illegal Ana probing personal questions. Human rights commissioner Dennis Deleon said monday the complaints against Delta and Equi fax inc. Have soaked an investigation by his office into whether the companies violated Laws dealing with hiring discrimination. The action follows reports last month that personnel representing the Atlanta based airline which purchased pan ainu a european routes last summer asked questions on marital status use of birth control and personal relationships. A they knew More about my family than they did about my Job performance a one flight attendant said. All those interviewed said they answered the questions because they feared that they would not get jobs. Neil Monroe a Delta spokesman responded that there is the potential that some of these people Are  since the interviews last month pan am has stopped flying. A that could be part of the motivation a Monroe said. A your Story Hasni to changed. We hired nearly 8,000 former pan am people Over a two month period. We be reviewed the questions with our interviewers and we Are confident that our policies and procedures were perfectly