European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday december 20. 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17 recession weary businesses after cutting Plant and equipment spending in 1991 for the first time in five years plan to boost investments 5.4 percent next year the government said. Still the increase would be less than half of the double digit advances posted before the recession. It reflected anxiety Over whether the Economy can mount a sustained recovery analysts said wednesday. Conversion rates London up thursdays rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted it $357.75 an ounce Sitver at 13.87. A a i j dec. 18 dec. 19 British pound.1.8295 1.8330 German mark.1.5720 1.5570 French franc .5,3695 5.3805 Oirich guilder.1,7669 1.7573 Wollin franc.32.37 32.09 jaftnhn.1,186.75 1.188.70 Swiss franc.1.3900 1.3850 greek drachma.179.70 180.93 turtdshhra.5.068.90 5.084.50 saudi arabian nyal.3.7498 3 7499 Spanish peseta.99.90 99.78 portuguese escudo.138.44 138.97 Canaan dollar.1.1458 1.1466 austrian schilling.11.0320 11.0725 norwegian krone.6.1640 6.1860 danish krone.6.0990 6.1185 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 on Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York Dpi a lha 15 most act Tva Istocka in new York Stock Exchange composite trading on wednesday. Stack  com with Edison general motors Rwjr Nabisco hid us Marathon Delta Woods Ida Glaxo holdings Woolworth bldg in corp adv Micro dues i Al Amer express co sales 2,739.400 2.526.200 2.387.100 2.331.900 2.226.200 2.204.000 2.055.100 1.969.000 1.924.000 1.906.000 1.742.200 1.657.900 1.637.000 1.605.200 1,575,600 last 14% 38 i 27% 10 9 vib 22 15% 30% 24% 86% 15 14% 51 % 17% 18% a Chr up on Oft % of off up off 7% off off up off off off 4% off off american Exchange new York Al Mph a the ten most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading wednesday. Steel Energy service instrument sys Iva corp Amdx Hlcorn solar Phirum co escape nets Echo say mines carnival Mise Rhone Poul cart fruit of loom 456.800 354.900 337.300 320.900 247.800 247.400 226.700 214.100 194.300 181.700 last 1% 5% 32% 13% 10 11% 7% 23% 1% 24% Netchy. Unch up up 1 % off off up 1 % unch off unch o of Dow Jones new York puff a Dow Jones doling Range of average want tyi30 Musette 2921% 2870% 290609 up 20 transports 1217.88 1197.31 1208.52 12.06 15usmh 21539 212.38 214.36 upo.18 65 stocks 1083.08 1045.30 1057.35 up 1.85 travel drop seen new York api fewer americans will take Holiday trips this month the american automobile association predicts. Not surprisingly the sick Economy seems to be the main culprit. Aaa projected that 22 million americans will drive 100 Miles or More from Home during the holidays up from 21.3 million a year ago. Bocci agrees to guilty plea on racketeering charges Washington a the Bank of credit and Commerce International agreed thursday to plead guilty to racketeering charges and forfeit $550 million to reimburse depositors and Shore up two . Banks it secretly controlled. The plea agreement was worked out Between Bocci and Federal prosecutors new York state prosecutors and court appointed receivers of the defunct Bank in Britain Luxembourg and the Cayman islands. A this represents the largest single criminal forfeiture in . History a attorney general William p. Barr told a news conference at the Justice department. A this action successfully resolves All United states charges against Bocci As an institution and forfeits All of Bocci assets in the United states a Barr added. He emphasized that the Deal requires Bocci cooperation in on going investigations to Speed a the Pursuit and prosecution of the individuals involved in the Bank a wrongdoing around the  a this could take years off the time it would otherwise take to investigate and prosecute individual wrongdoers a Barr said. He said the targets Are those responsible for the Bank a crimes a was Well As those who were using Bocci to further their own illegal activities a including drug and arms traffickers and Money  Bocci whose International operations were shut Down july 5, agreed to forfeit All of its . Assets a estimated at $550 million. Half the Money will be placed in an International fund administrated by the Bank a liquidators to compensate depositors and others victimized by the demise of the Bank officials said. The rest will be placed in a . Government fund to be used to recapitalize two financially troubled . Banks in which Bocci now admits it had made substantial secret investments officials said. The Money will be used to help recapitalize Independence Bank of Encino Calif. It will also be used to help Shore up the first american Banks arcs corp. Of Washington the largest banking company in the nations capital. If either Bank fails Money from the settlement would be used to reimburse Federal Deposit insurance funds and profits from their Sale would go to the . Government officials said. Bocci agreed to plead guilty to racketeering charges and admit that it deceived Federal regulators in obtaining secret ownership shares of Independence first american and the National Bank of Georgia. It also agreed to plead guilty to fraudulent dealings in $25 million Worth of Stock in the failed entrust savings Bank of Miami and a Money laundering scheme. In new York state prosecutors said four affiliates of Bocci agreed to plead guilty to state charges and pay a $10 million Fine. The affiliates Are Bank of credit and Commerce International overseas Ltd. Bocci a Bocci holdings Luxembourg International credit and investment co. Overseas Ltd. I december sees jump in jobless claims Washington apr jobless claims surged to 79,000 during the first week of december As the number of americans filing for first time unemployment benefits nearly reached the half million Mark the government said thursday. There were a seasonally adjusted 493.000 people applying for benefits during the week that ended dec. 7, up from 414.000 the previous week according to the labor department. The Rise after last weeks 61,000 decline could portend a further deterioration in the nations labor Market but economists wanted to see if the trend was sustained in succeeding months. Analysts attribute Little significance to week to week fluctuations in the claims numbers which Are extremely volatile. But they have watched with concern As the four week running average has crept steadily higher since Midsummer. The average during the latest four week period was 449,000, up from 443,500 the previous four weeks. Analysts had expected the latest weekly increase but Only around half of the 79,000 Rise reported. Claims during the previous week had been held Down by thanksgiving which left Laid off workers with Only four Days to apply for benefits instead of the usual five. The number of new claims during the first week of december matched the 493,000 filed during the first week of november which had been the highest since april. The initial claims level hit an eight year High in March of 540,000 and then shrank to around 400,000 in july before starting to climb again. The jump in the latest week reported could be a Harbinger of bad news when the unemployment rate for december is released after the new year. The rate was 6.8 percent in november and analysts fear that it could return to the 7 percent level it hit earlier in the recession. Economic slide debunking mobility myth by the Washington Post Washington a it has been a powerful and enduring conviction that every generation of americans would move beyond the social and economic station of its predecessor. But the notion of limitless upward mobility has been shaken of late and today in the Wake of More sobering economic news it May have plummeted into sour pessimism. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan delivering a Bleak economic assessment to Congress wednesday interjected the Specter of that delicate american psyche. In the face of an elusive recovery he said a earlier worries about whether the current generation will live As Well As previous ones  and on a Day when Greenspan a message was accompanied by news of Plant closings by general motors economists pollsters and other experts agreed that not Only is there a new pessimism across the land there also is legitimate cause for that gloom. Looking Back Over . History said Alan Brinkley a Columbia University historian a the Standard of living has constantly and rather dramatically risen despite occasional setbacks. The idea that America is a land of infinite social mobility is something of a myth but usually there has been enough truth to it to support the  but he added a in the last 20 years the possibility of upward social mobility has declined for Many  the Hope isto survive and survive comfortably but there is tremendous  a consultant Judy Langer for Many workers particularly those with Only a High school education. While College educated workers Are doing slightly better than their predecessors two decades ago the growth trend has flattened. A a what a missing is the sense that things Are going up like a rocket a Levy said. For men aged 45 to 54, employed year und and full time wage growth has fallen significantly. While median income e the dampened expectations engendered by that decline have shown themselves in a Range of far reaching developments. Young people Are living at Home with their parents longer than they did in the past. They Are postponing marriage and delaying children. Couples Are relying on two incomes to gain the same Standard of living their parents achieved on one. And new mothers Are remaining in the workforce. Taken together these changes reflect a fundamental rethinking about what american families can afford How far they can expect to climb and what dreams they can hold for their children. All of this is rooted in harsh statistics the median income of american households has increased Over the past two decades but barely. Figures compiled by University of Maryland economist Frank Levy show that wage growth has slowed dramatically Jrew 41 percent in the decade after the late 1950s, it slowed to 14 percent in the �?T70s and less than 1 percent in the �?T80s, Levy said. Those numbers crash rudely into the Day to Day struggle to make ends meet. Judy Langer whose new York consulting firm has conducted focus groups for two decades said that a decade ago she consistently heard Young people announce their intention of making a big  a i think that expectation Isnit there any More a Langer said. A the Hope is to survive and survive comfortably but there is tremendous  while there is no question that the current financial picture is causing hardship some argue that the accompanying pessimism could be positive in the Long run. A this worry is All pretty healthy stuff a Levy said. A a you be got to say it s broke before you re willing to say it needs to be fixed. Worries about schools and management. This is the kind of worry that is a necessary precondition for talking seriously about what to do to Foster economic