European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday december 21, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 17money Mattere fed cuts two key interest rates to invigorate anaemic Economy the veterans affairs department shaved a half percentage Point off the maximum interest rate on the mortgages it guarantees effective Friday. The new rate 8 percent is the lowest in 14 years the department said predicting the decline will Spur veterans to buy Homes and refinance old High rate mortgages. The department said it also is decreasing by one half percentage Point the maximum rates for graduated payment mortgages to 8.25 percent Home improvement Loans to 9.5 percent and Mobile Home and lot Loans to 10 percent. In the fiscal year that ended sept. 30, the a has guaranteed 181,000 Home Loans totalling More than $15.4 billion. Conversion rates London up 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 $358.25 an ounce Silver at $3.87. Dec. 19 dec. 20 British  .8330 1.b595 German mark.t.5570 1.5350 French iranc.5,3805 5.3205 dutch guilder.1.7573 1.7350 belgian franc.32.09 31.65 italian lira.1,188.70 1.178.40 Swiss franc.1.3850 1.3940 greek drachma.180.93 178.50 turkish lira.5.084.50 5,063.20 saudi arabian riyal.3.7499 3.7499 Spanish peseta.99.78 99.20 portuguese escudo.138.97 137.71 Canadian dollar.1.1466 1.1545 austrian schilling.11.0725 10.95 norwegian Krone.6.1860 6.1280 danish Krone. 6.1185 6.0580 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 1.52 on monday based on fridays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up a York Stock Exchange Slock adv Micro orcs fur Nabisco hid Pepsico inc general motors at amp to company Best buy co ism corp us Marathon limited inc Westinghouse Al Glaxo holdings Philip Morris global Marine Boeing co Citicorp the is most Active stacks in new composite trading on thursday. Salai 3.954.700 3.148.700 2.482.300 2.360.200 2.020.400 1.909.800 1.902.300 1.739.800 1.733.200 1.688.400 1.649.200 1,634,500 1.606.800 1.440.200 1.435.400 Tail 16 it 9ft 32 a 26 it 38 it 13 it 84 it 21 a 25 it 14 it 29 it 72 it 1 it 42 it 9 he chg. Up 1 it off it up it off it up1/ off 7ft off 1 it off it off 2 it unch off it up it Oft it up it Oft it american Exchange new York up the 10n most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading thursday. Slock Echo Bay mines tax corp Bolar pharm co Wang labs inc b Amdahl corp carnival cruise fruit of loom Pegasus Gold Edisto resource instrument sys sates 567,000 451.400 334.400 302,800 300,700 265.600 261,300 261,100 238.600 203,500 Lett 6ft 31 it 9ft 2ft 13 23 it 24 it 11 it 1 it 5ft Netcho. Off it off it off it unch off it off it off it off it of it off it Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones dosing Range at averages thursday 30 Hus finals 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks High 2927.10 1212.63 215.45 1063.08 Low 2881.48 1188.34 212.63 104558 Cion Chi 2914.36 up6i 1200.49 off 8.03 213.76 off 0.62 10sg.20 off 1.15 Washington a the Federal Reserve on Friday slashed two key interest rates dropping one of them to the lowest level in 27 years As the Central Bank intensified its efforts to revive an Economy on the Brink of collapse. The fed Cut by a full percentage Point its discount rate a the interest it charges to loan Money to Banks a from 4.5 percent to 3.5 percent. A few hours later it added reserves to the nations banking system in such a manner that analysts said it was pushing its target for the Federal funds rate Down for the 15th time since the recession began in july 1990. Analysts said the fed action appeared to signal a half Point drop in the funds rate from 4.5 percent to 4 percent. The fed does not Issue an announcement on changes in the funds rate As it does for a change in the discount rate. Fridays action marked the first time the discount rate has been reduced by a full percentage Point in a decade and it disaster losses pushed the rate to its lowest level since nov. 24, 1964. A Cut in the discount rate is the most dramatic signal the Central Bank can Send of its desire to shove interest rates lower to prod the Economy. President Bush commended the move As a a significant  the president who has been under fire and sinking in popularity with the waning economic picture said in a written statement a lower interest rates Are important to spurring economic growth and creating jobs and investments. A the discount rate Cut will help when it is passed on to Consumers and  the dramatic Cut in the discount rate prompted Morgan guaranty Trust the country a fourth largest Bank to Cut its prime lending rate by a full percentage Point to 6.5 percent the lowest level for this Benchmark rate for Many business and consumer Loans since 1977. Other major Banks were expected to follow with similar cuts. As the fed was making the announce 1991 has been a costly year for american insurance companies. Below is a breakdown of four major disasters in the United states this year and the amounts paid out to reimburse homeowners and businesses to cover the damage. Oakland Calif fire $1.2 an l Ion Hurricane Bob $620  i Ion various storm systems Tornado in the Midwest in april $365  i ionb$21 0 Mii i Ion storm systems in the Midwest and East coast in March a a a v ment of the discount rate Cut the Commerce department was releasing a report showing the Gross Domestic product grew at Only a 1.8 percent rate in the summer. While that represented a modest 0.1 percentage increase from an earlier 1.7 percent growth estimate analysts said it did not change their View that the recovery stalled in the summer. They said there was a real danger the country could topple Back into recession during the current october december Quarter. Fridays Gap report marked the second appearance of the governments new measurement for the Overall Economy. After a half Century the Gap is replace. Ing the Gross National product. The difference is that the Gap measures output within americans Borders while the Gnu included profits earned by . Companies on their overseas subsidiaries. The new report said the Gap was increasing at an annual rate of $22 billion in the third Quarter $1.7 billion higher than previously estimated. Japanese fall prey to lure of credit cards Tokyo apr not Long ago Japa a Ous Bill Coile inc a a Luck so overwhelmed by gambling debts Nese fleeing tenacious Bill collectors were usually Middle aged men Down on their aps amps Europe facing depression worse than 30s, Bank says London apr Eastern and Central Europe face a depression worse than the 1930s, with millions unemployed raging inflation and political turmoil the european Bank for reconstruction and development said thursday. Bank president Jacques Attali said the european countries need to Export More and accused the Western Powers of erecting Trade barriers in a shortsighted attempt to protect their own recession hit economies. A Western countries. Must recognize it is in their own Long term interests that Trade with the East should grow if they want to avoid millions unemployed in their own countries and millions More without jobs flooding in from the East a Attali told a Neys conference. He said the London based Bank has committed $500 million to projects fostering the development of Market economies in former communist countries. But Attali warned that Aid was no substitute for Trade. Eastern european Trade deficits Are deepening because of Western Trade barriers and the collapse of the soviet Union a a key Market for East european countries. Attali said barriers a in the form of quotas tariffs and unnecessarily Complex regulations a were most obvious in Agri cultural goods steel and textiles. Attali said All Western industrialized countries imposed Trade barriers but cited particularly the United states France Britain and Germany. Eastern european exports to the West have increased he said but not As fast As imports. Across the former East bloc Trade deficits stand at $10 billion on top of $10 billion debt to the West. Inflation and unemployment Are growing fast As output Falls he said. A Eastern Europe and the former soviet Union Are facing a recession worse than the Western world faced in the 1930s,�?� Attali said. A the risks from that Are obvious in terms of political unrest and the threat to emerging  increased investment in the soviet republics was being blocked he said by . And japanese representatives on the Bank a International Board. A there can be no economic development in Central and Eastern Europe without development in the former soviet Union a he said. Attali called for greater links Between the former communist countries and european Community trading bloc. Attali is a longtime adviser to French president Francois Mitterrand and an author of books on a variety of subjects. That they chose to go into hiding or commit suicide. Today a debtor is just As often a High school student Young wife or professional. The traditionally Thrifty japanese increasingly Are succumbing to the Siren Call of buy now pay later. The number of credit cards has skyrocketed As Consumers helped fuel Japan a recent economic growth. But personal bankruptcies Are also increasing a sign that some shoppers just can to say no. As a result business is booming at the Japan credit counselling association where staff members try to save out of control Consumers from disaster. Each time he weans a consumer off credit a process that can take three years Kic Nizio Sakamoto holds a Little ceremony. A we Cut their credit cards into bits a said Sakamoto the counselling group s executive director. But for Many japanese choked on credit there is no Happy ending. One Man in the Southern City of Hiroshima killed himself and his family when he found he could t pay his debts. Unlike americans who have Long carried cards for purchases and to prove credit worthiness japanese normally use Cash. They often carry wads of Bills to pay Home and business expenses. Personal checks Are also rare. Older japanese still View plastic warily. So when restrictions on issuing credit cards were relaxed in the mid-1980s, the More receptive and acquisitive younger generation was targeted. The number of credit cards in Japan has almost tripled to 166 million since 1983, according to the Japan credit Industry association. Kenju Utsunomiya a lawyer specializing in bankruptcies said japanese who come to him have an average debt of about $38,760. The number of personal bankruptcies has soared a from 432 in 1980 to 11,479 last year according to court figures. Unlike the past when bankruptcy court was strictly a Refuge for businesses 92 percent of cases involve individuals