European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday december 24, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17 today a tip american express co. Confirmed that it has stopped doing business with Laura Ashley after the upscale British clothing and Home furnishings Chain tried to encourage customers to use other credit cards. As a result Laura Ashley a 520 stores around the world will no longer be Able to accept american express cards. Purchases with american express cards account for about $35 million or 17 percent of Laura Ashley a total . Sales according to figures cited by the Wall Street  rates London up mondays Rales for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $359.20 an ounce Silver at $3.66. Dec. 20 dec. 23 British pound.1.8595 1.8720 German mark.15350 1.5190 French franc.5.3205 5.1957 dutch guilder.1.7350 1.7126 belgian franc.32.65 31.43 italian lira.1.178.40 1,151.00 Swiss iranc.1.3540 1.3920 greek drachma.178.50 174.95 turkish lira.5,063.20 5,016.00 saudi arabian rtyal.3.7499 3.7501 Spanish peseta.99.20 96.78 portuguese escudo.137.71 135.22 Canadian dollar.1.1545 1.1568 austrian schilling.10.95 10.7475 norwegian krone.8.1280 6.00 danish krone.6.0580 6.94 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 1.48 on tuesday based on mondays noontime Price fixing. Mccrory stores to Layoff 2,000 York a. Apr Mccrary corp. Plans to close about 200 stores nationwide next year affecting about 2,000 employees a company official said sunday. A a we be been looking at a group of stores that Haven to had returns like wed hoped a said Tom Russell vice president of personnel. Mccrory corp. Employs 25,000 people nationwide. It has 1,200 stores in More than two dozen states making it the nations largest variety store Chain. The Chain also includes . Murphy . Newberry . Green and . Kress stores. Russell said the planned closures were connected to the closing of 91 stores and a Lubbock Texas distribution Center last january. He declined to be More specific but said the total would be about 200 stores eliminating 2,000jobs. Israelis protest unemployment Jerusalem a about 1,000 israelis and russian immigrants burned tires outside prime minister Yitzhak Shamire a office sunday to protest the High rate of unemployment. The demonstrators who adopted the tire burning tactic from the palestinian uprising shouted for two hours against a jobless rate of nearly 11 percent a the highest in 30 years. It a it. A a5 Monevia Natton rally sends Dow soaring industrials pass 3,000 level Bfrank Sacdalan Exchange and Khamlue higher in . . By Frank Sard Alan up business writer new York up stocks rallied for the second session in a Row in heavy trading monday propelling the Dow to its second biggest one Day gain since the Market soared on the Start of the bombing of Iraq by .-led forces 11 months ago. The Dow Jones Industrial average which jumped 20.12 to 2934.48 Friday surged 89.67 Points to 3024.15, according to an unofficial tally. The surge in the key barometer which Rose More than 50 Points around 2 45 ., triggered the new York Stock exchanges a Dow stick rules that restricts computer driven program buying to help stabilize the Market. Among the Broad based gauges the new York Stock Exchange composite Index Rose 4.54 to 217.67, while Standard amp poor a 500-Stock Index jumped 9.01 to 396.05. Advances clobbered declines 1,358-451 among the 2,199 issues crossing the nose tape. Volume amounted to about 217,260,000 shares at 4  Est compared with 313,810,000 in the same period Friday when volume was inflated by the so called a triple witching hours a a quarterly event when Stock Index futures Stock Index options and individual Stock options All expire the same Day. Stocks ended higher in tandem with big Board issues on the american Stock Exchange and sharply higher in Over the counter trading. Key . Government securities were sharply higher. The bellwether 30-year Bond was ahead 26/32 to 105 20/32, driving its yield Down to around 7.52 percent. Ron Doran director of institutional trading at . King amp associates in Albany n.y., said the Market surged on a buy programs tied to year end buying and follow through buying from fridays  he added that if the upward momentum a holds its a Christmas Bonus  analysts said the Market opened soft on some profit taking following fridays technical rally and the Lack of any encouraging external factors. They said Stock markets in Europe were weak and markets in Tokyo were closed due to a Holiday. Dennis Jarrett chief Market strategist at Kidder Peabody amp co., said the Market was Able to turn around from a weak opening because a profit taking is More than offset by portfolio  he said he expects the Market a to Drift. With positive Bias and trading to slow Down because of the Holiday season. The new York Stock Exchange american Stock Exchange and the National association of securities dealers plan to close at 2  Est on Christmas eve instead of the regular times of 9 30 . To 4  And the extended session ending at 5 15  Tuesdays after hours trading will take place from 2 15 to 2 30  Jack Solomon chief technical analyst at Bear Stearns amp co., cited several factors for the markets turnaround. He said the Market s ability to break through the 2,935 resistance level on the Dow and its oversold condition encouraged buying while dividend reinvestment and less end of the year tax Selling were positive for the Market. Solomon said the Market has a a positive Bias for the near term. It won t be straight up but it will try for the 3,000  on the trading floor As of 3 ., at amp t paced the big Board actives unchanged. Citicorp followed up slightly. Syntax was third up sharply. The pharmaceuticals company announced Friday it received permission from the Federal and draft administration to Market its aug Torado Oral for limited duration use to treat pain. The inject Able form of the prescription analgesic was introduced in the United states last year. Among some of the Blue chips ism was higher general motors was higher general electric was higher american express was up slightly Westinghouse electric was higher and Philip Morris was off slightly. Amdahl led the amex actives higher. Good Guys led the oct actives Down sharply. The retailer of consumer electronic products said it expects lower first Quarter earnings. Don t be a Scrooge on tips this year by Robert m. Andrews the associated press Washington tis the season to be guilty. Here come the newspaper Carrier the baby Sitter and the garbage collector hands outstretched for Christmas tips. The firefighters Are Selling calendars. The cops Are hawking jams and jellies. Schoolchildren Are ringing the Doorbell for Candy orders. What to do give even More to somebody who performs an especially meaningful personal service like a baby Sitter or a  on her list of Christmas tips Baldrige recommends $10 to the kid who delivers the morning newspaper $15 each to the mailman and the garbage collector up to $100 for a longtime maid and up to $50 for a weekly Hairdresser. She would also give checks or gifts a like a sweater or Box of Candy a to such turn them away with a a Bah Humbug a and risk a gift wrapped guilt trip for the holidays or empty the pocketbook with a a who to How for everybody even if it Means busting a family budget already squeezed by the recession its a dilemma that is debated in millions of american households every Holiday season. The Choice seems tougher in Christmas 1991 because of worries about the stagnant Economy Job layoffs and an Uncertain future. But Letitia Baldrige a widely read authority on social etiquette says its a Good time to demonstrate the spirit of Santa Claus rather than Scrooge if people can afford it. A my advice is to give As generously As you can this Christmas considering everyone a economic plight a she said in an interview. A give More to somebody who has served you longer than the others and anybody who makes my incredibly Tough life easier should be rewarded at  Letitta Baldrige people As the health club Trainer regular Barber travel agent dry cleaner apartment superintendent garage manager Secretary and masseuse. A a they re All part of making your life Worth living. Without them i could not function a said Baldrige former chief of staff to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and author of five books on Good manners. A anybody who makes my incredibly Tough life easier should be rewarded at Christmas a she said. Another etiquette expert however offered a different View. A i loathe the whole practice of tipping. I find it highly undignified a said Judith Martin who writes the syndicated column a miss  of course she said she gives Christmas tips because they have become a virtually inescapable social custom. Martin refused to discuss How much she tips but says it s always in Cash. A what am i going to do go out and knit them a sweater a inc said. A i done to know these  a random Survey of maid services newspapers and garbage collectors in the Washington area indicated that most of their employees receive modest Christmas tips a if anything a from the customers. Larry Edwards president of aaa disposal which hauls away garbage from 75,000 Homes in the Virginia suburbs said his truck Crews receive occasional gifts of fruit cookies or Cash. They Are forbidden to accept alcoholic beverages. A a $5 tip for a two Man Crew is More than fair a Edwards advises. The usual Christmas tip is $5 for each House cleaner dispatched by the maid brigade firm said owner Emily Adams. Firm to pay army $8 million for my fraud Detroit up general dynamics land systems inc. Will pay the government $8 million to Settle a claim that it defrauded the army on a contract to manufacture the my Abrams tank the . Attorney said Friday. . Attorney Stephen j. Markman said gals agreed to make the $8 million payment to the United states in a Lump sum 48 hours after it receives a copy of the settlement agreement. The government filed a false claims action in . District court in Detroit in february 1990, charging gals with Vio lating the truth in negotiations act and the false claims act. It said the firm failed to provide the army with its most current Complete and accurate Cost and pricing data on material costs for the fifth year production of the tank in 1983