European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 b the stars and Stripe Money matters thursday december 19, 1991 mailing Christmas cards will Cost the average american household $6.78 in postage this year according to Renee Hershey a spokeswoman for Kansas City  hallmark cards. Hershey said 75 percent of the cards sent Are mailed to people who hear from you Only once a year a in that card. Hershey said the average american household exchanges 26 cards each year with 90 percent sent through the . Mail system. According to the 1990 census there Are 91,947,410 households. If the average household mails out 23 cards americans will mail More than 2.1 billion cards. In february the . Postal service raised the Cost of a stamp for a first class letter from 25 cents to 29 cents. If americans mail 2.1 billion cards it will Cost them $609 million a $84 million More than last year. Conversion rates London up wednesdays 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 $357.50 an ounce Silver at $3.86. Dec. 17 dec. 1b British pound.1,8220 1,8265 German mart.1.5720 1,5700 French franc.5.3760 5.3605 dutch guilder.1.7750 1.7669 belgian franc.32.33 32.37 italian lira.1,189.05 1,186.15 Swiss franc.1.3880 1.3925 greek drachma.180 65 179 70 turkish lira.5,071.70 5.068.90 saudi arabian riyal.3.7498 3 7498 Spanish peseta.100.38 99,90 portuguese escudo.139.26 138 44 Canadian dollar.1,1435 1.1458 austrian schilling.11.0920 11.0320 norwegian krone.6.19 6.1640 danish krone.6.1190 6.0990 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 thursday based on wednesdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up York Stock Exchange Stock Citicorp Rwjr Nabisco hid Glaxo holdings general motors us Marathon Temeco inc Pip Triton Energy Owens Illinois Philip Morris at amp to company ism corp Woolworth bldg Union Carbide Pepsico inc limited inc tin 15 most Aethra stocks in new composite trading on tuesday. Sales 5,945,100 3.105.200 2,611,600 2,107,600 2.025.900 1.935.300 1,753,700 1.596.300 1,566,boo 1.520.200 1.481.900 1.367,000 1.333.200 1.292.900 1.290.200 last 94k to i 30 it 27 it 21 a 29 a 32 a 10 71 a 38 85 a 24 4k 19 i 31 i 27 v4 Nelcha. Off a Oft a up i on it off 1 Vic unch of 3 a off a up a up i 0� 1 it off off it up it off it american Exchange new York up american Stock sex Conj Slack instrument sys Echo Bay mines Energy service Boia pharm co Wano Lata inc b Era corp Plains resource am medical bldg foundation hath Bowne amp co Etta 10 most it tvs i Kkt in Ange composite trading tuesday. Sons last it Lucli. 1.233,100 54k up it off it 520,900 7 Vuk 473,000 1 Vuk unch 409,300 10 in up it 348,600 2 Vuk off it 332,900 31 Vuk up 1 236,600 13 i up 4k off it 231,700 7ft 220,200 33 a up it Offut 216,600 12 it Dow Jones ice York up Dow Jones doting Range it averages tuesday. He Law Closa Chang 30 industrials 2936.27 2886.40 2902.20 off 1677 20 transport 1223.09 1199.74 1206.46 off 14.02 15uhtfes 216.07 213.38 214 20 off 0.07 65 stocks 1060.02 1049.96 1055.50 off 7.58 Bush officials admit reality of persistent . Recession Washington a in a sudden about face the White House on tuesday said the nation is still gripped by recession and the administration reportedly began to consider seriously giving tax rebates of up to $300 to taxpayers. The Washington Post quoting congressional officials reported in its wednesday editions that the administration was considering a one time rebate. Officials Hope the tax Cut which would Cost $30 billion will encourage Consumers to spend reinvigorating the Economy. The administration blamed anxiety Over the Economy for a plunge in president Bush a approval rating to the lowest Point in his presidency. Bush had been Balking at use of the word a a recession to describe the economic state. But that changed tuesday. Quot for All practical purposes the recession continues a White House press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said. Later he said the administration does not actually believe there is a recession in a technical sense but is now using the term because that is the Way most americans View the Economy. A but people have adopted the word a recession As the description of the pain that they feel a he said. A we just simply adopted the word As Well to let people know we understand the depth of the  the adjustment in terminology came As an Abc news Washington Post poll gave Bush bad news about How americans rate his handling of the Economy. It showed his Job approval rating at 47 percent a stunning drop from his record 90 percent nine months ago. The new figure is the lowest of his presidency. In another worst Ever for Bush the poll said seven in 10 americans disapprove of his handling of the Economy. And for the first time a solid majority a 63 percent a say they want new direction for the country. Amid a sea of Stormy economic tidings Bush has been trying for weeks to highlight sunny spots. Shifting course. White House strategists decided it was time to Jettison technical economic definitions and acknowledge what most americans believe that the recession continues. The great recession the current recession the ninth since world War ii is probably the least understood of All the recessions not just by the Public but by Quot experts Quot too. Here Are clues from some folks who have attempted to penetrate the mystery. H Quot in simple terms we accumulated too much a stuff. Until this stuff depreciates or becomes utilized there is Little economic incentive to create More of  a economist William Dunkelberg Dean of Temple University s school of business and management  Levels in this country Are extremely unwieldy. Over the first half of 1991, debt was almost two and a half times greater than Gross National product and almost 50 percent higher than the Long term  a Lacy h. Hunt chief economist of Carroll Mcentee amp Mcginley a securities firm consumer debt Lon term 1990 source the associated press a amps Sharon Kilday Tarrant poll says rebate won t help by the Washington Post Washington an idea being weighed by the Bush administration to give $200 to $300 to every person who files a tax return this Spring would have virtually no stimulative effect on the Economy a poll shows. A Washington Post Abc news poll in october indicated that Only one in five americans would go out and spend the Money they received from a tax Cut Well below the 4 percent to 60 percent of tax cuts americans have spent in the past. One government economist estimated it would boost the nations output by no More than two tenths of a percentage Point. Economists in general have belittled tax cuts of the magnitude being prescribed to cure the ills of a $5.5 trillion Economy. Under the Bush plan the tax Cut would total $30 billion. A in effect a $10 billion tax Cut is insufficient to allow each citizen to buy a Bas Kin Robbins ice Cream every week a said Gene Steuerle senior fellow at the Urban Institute. The current proposal is reminiscent of a scheme proposed by president Carter in the fall of 1977 to give a $50 tax rebate to americans a proposal that was eventually abandoned but that like this one was intended to Spur an Economy that Wasny to moving fast enough after the end of a recession. Steuerle called that proposal a one of Jimmy Carters worst  one effect of such a tax Cut would be to inflate the already bloated Federal budget deficit expected to hit a record High of $362 billion or More during the 1992 fiscal year that started oct. 1. As a result americans would be paying interest on this addition to the National debt for years to come. . Shoppers finding a new outlet by the Washington Post for years factory outlet stores such As Corning Glass Bass shoes and Liz Claiborne have been retailing a poor cousins patronized largely by die hard shoppers willing to tramp Over Cement floors and rummage through piles of goods in search of that one incredible bargain. Not anymore. This Christmas Selling season should propel factory malls much closer to the shopping mainstream. While the weak Economy has dragged Down sales at Many retailers the outlet stores have thrived. Since Early 1990, More than 100 factory outlet malls nationwide have opened or Are near completion making this the fastest growing retail segment experts said. Their main attraction a Brand name products at discount prices a plays perfectly into the recession psychology of cautious spending. During such unpredictable economic times Consumers Are increasingly willing  convenience for Price surveys show. A i done to think there a any question that the recession has helped them win Over people from higher priced department stores Quot said Terry Dunham publisher of the Trade publication value retail news. The arrival of outlets also is transforming Many communities. A i put my Little prayer Blanket Down every morning and Bow toward the outlet stores Quot said mayor Anthony Senecal of Martinsburg . A a they be been a tremendous Boon to this  in Martinsburg the unemployment rate was hovering around 12 percent a decade ago. Now Many of the towns old factory buildings a once shuttered a have been reborn As factory outlets a process that has added 625 jobs and spurred development that has helped to reduce the rate to closer to 5 percent. Initially outlet stores were used largely to unload discontinued imperfect an returned goods. And to protect the retailers they depended on to sell most of their goods manufacturers made sure that the outlets were far from Urban shops. Intrigued by their initial Success manufacturers have refined the outlet mall formula using them not just As a place to dump leftovers but increasingly As another Channel of distribution. While the bulk of what outlets sell is still made up of leftovers some stores Are getting merchandise soon after it hits the Mam retailers and the variety of goods is far better than in years past. By malting such improvements the outlet malls Are appealing to a broader base of shoppers. And other research shows that As the recession has intensified shoppers Are looking to buy Brand name merchandise widening the Pool of shoppers. A the key customer for a factory outlet is a person enamoured with brands and saving Money a said John Morton of total research corp., a Market research m i Princeton , a in this Economy our studies indicate that those sentiments Are very much in