European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 10, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january 10, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matters today s tip unemployment was rising faster in London than any european City the association of London authorities said. The number of people unemployed in greater London Between april 1990 and april 1991 increased by 3.5 percent to reach 10.4 percent of the work Force the association said. The group s figures were compiled by the statistical Agency eur stat. While the Overall unemployment rate was higher in such countries As Spain Italy and Ireland nowhere did it Rise More steeply than in greater London the association said. By april 1991, using the european calculation 448,000 of London a work Force were without jobs the association said. This figure is higher than that determined by Britain a employment department which uses a different counting method. 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 at $351.65 an ounce Silver at $4 00. Jan. 8 Jan 9 British pound.1 8725 1 8360 German mark.1.5170 1.5405 French ranc.5.1610 5.2150 dutch guilder.1 7046 1.7170 belgian franc.31.21 31.58 italian lira.1,144.00 1,154.90 Swiss franc.1.3510 1.3683 greek drachma.174.73 175.90 turkish lira.5,119.20 5,149.90 saudi arabian riyal.3.7495 3.7493 Spanish peseta.96.37 97.17 portuguese escudo.131.94 132.72 Canadian dollar.1.1427 1.1468 austrian schilling.10.6515 10.7175 norwegian krone.5.9630 6.0050 danish krone.5.8850 5.9250 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 1.49 through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up York Stock exc Nangi Slock Rwjr Nabisco hid Glaxo holdings Pepsico inc Hanson pc adv Micro docs at amp to company Upjohn co Philip Morris ism corp syntax corp Compaq computer Union Carbide Wendy s inti tandem computer waste mgt inc american Exchange new York american Stock Slock Cal Energy inc Americus t Wang labs inc i instrument sys carnival cruise Alza Cora Amdahl corp a the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on wednesday sales last net chg. 9,333,200 11 or up % 5,834,100 33% Oft % 3,748,200 35 % up 1 % 3,656,700 19 0f1% 3,384,000 19 Oft % 2.958.400 41 unch 2,925,800 44% up % 2,440.900 80 % up 2,425,500 92% off 2% 2,408,200 52�?T/. Up 2% 2,363,300 33% off % 2,297,000 23% up % Oil % 2,241,200 11% 2,073,600 12% up 1 a it 2,072,000 44% up % Ivan corp Kirby corp up a the 10 most Active stocks in Exchange composite trading wednesday. Sakai last Nal chg. 768,800 13% off 2% 2 so 691.700 10% unch b 650,700 2% unch 579,800 7% up % 547,600 27% up 1 433,500 52% up 1 % 392,700 15% unch or 346.900 17% off % 339,400 39% up 1% 336.000 13% up 1% Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones dosing Range of averages wednesday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks High 3245 53 1401 72 22321 1181 29 Low 3164.58 1359 49 219 20 1151 18 close 3203 94 1380 42 221 64 1166 28 a Kant off 089 off 2 61 0110 19 off 0 97 wholesale inflation shows first decline in five years Washington a prices paid by wholesalers fell in december and for All of 1991, the first annual decline in five years the government said thursday reporting on one of the few Bright spots in an otherwise dim performance by the Economy. The  department said its producer Price Index which measures prices charged by factories farms and other producers dropped 0.2 percent in december bringing wholesale inflation for the year to minus 0.1 percent. That was a substantial improvement Over 1990�?Ts 5.7 percent increase and the first decline in wholesale prices since they fell 2.3 percent in 1986. A Good portion of the moderation has come from a big swing in Energy prices. They were driven up nearly 30 percent in 1990 by the threat of the persian Gulf War then fell 9.6 percent in 1991 after it became Clear iraqis invasion of Kuwait would not seriously disrupt the Oil Supply. But even factoring that out Price increases Are moderating. Excluding the volatile food and Energy sectors producer prices Rose 3.1 percent in 1991 compared with 3.5 percent in 1990. December s 0.2 percent decline in the Overall Index which followed increases of 0.2 percent in november and 0.7 percent in october was even better than anticipated. Most economists were looking for the Index to remain Flat. In a separate report the labor department said new claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 22.000 to a seasonally adjusted 458, my during the week ended dec. 28. The increase came even though state unemployment insurance offices were closed on Christmas. Analysts caution against Reading too much into any one week s report but they note that that level has been bouncing around for weeks at a recessionary level Between 400,000 and 500,000. The combination of Good inflation news and bad news for economic growth raises the possibility of another interest rate Cut by the Federal Reserve Board to stimulate the Economy. The december decline in the producer Index the first monthly drop since july was helped by a 0.4 percent drop in food prices and a More than expected 1.4 percent drop in Energy prices. The drop in food prices for the month study cites other causes for Dow s nov. Plunge f Washington a Calls by president Bush and Congress to Cap credit card interest rates did not trigger november a big Stock Market drop a securities and Exchange commission study said but some Market professionals reacted to the reports findings with scepticism a if not hostility. In a preliminary report release wednesday the Sec dismissed virtually All the popular theories for Why the Dow Jones Industrial average plunged More than 120 Points on nov. 15 for its fifth worst decline in history. A the Sec report suggests that last Markey november a Market drop was largely the result of internal Market dynamics and Long term investment outlooks not Wall streets fears about possible cuts in credit card interest rates a said rep. Edward Markey d-mass., who requested the study. At the time of the drop which came on a Friday Many Market analysts cited the idea for a Cap on credit card rates As the catalyst. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan even rushed out a letter saying it would have a a number of possible serious Adverse  both Bush and Congress quickly backed away from the idea and the Market steadied the following week. According to the explanation offered by Many Wall Street analysts investors sold off in response to the rate Cap suggestion because they read it As a weak attempt by Washington to Deal with the lingering slowdown in the Economy. Many Bankers and economists said such a move would Hurt Bank profits and reduce already weak consumer spending. The Sec study called for a a a sceptical approach to such potential factors As reaction to the rate Cap. But Many analysts disagree. A i just reject this kind of gibberish out of hand. Its pretty Clear to me that there Are various kinds of specific events that cause people in the Market to perhaps rethink things a said Robert Brusca chief economist for new York investment firm Nikko securities International inc. A i was there that Day. I saw what happened. My own opinion is that it the rate Cap Flap certainly had an effect and i would estimate a pronounced effect on the Market downfall that Day a said Mark Donahoe managing director of institutional trading for Piper Jaffray Hopwood inc. In Minneapolis. Sec chairman Richard Breeden in a letter that accompanied the results of the Markey study said the Agency was seeking additional information from Stock and options exchanges about changing the time for the settlement of Stock Index options and futures which has been blamed by some for causing Market turbulence. The 120.31 Point drop in the Dow average nov. 15 was the biggest Point drop since the 190-Point a mini crash of oct. 13, 1989. The Sec also discounted several other popular scenarios behind the drop including a a Sharp decline in biotechnology stocks that had experienced some of the greatest Price gains in recent months. A numerous rumours about another coup do eat in the then soviet Union. A reports about alleged problems in the real estate portfolios of major insurance companies. The study prepared by the secs division of Market regulation stated that past experience a indicates that most Market swings Are better understood in the context of longer term institutional investment outlooks As Well As the Short term effects of professional and speculative trading in the closely connected Stock options and futures markets. Was led by a 15.2 percent slump in vegetable costs. They had soared 23.6 percent in november because of the White Fly infestation in California. Among Energy items prices for both gasoline and Home heating Oil turned Down after climbing in november. In other categories passenger ear a prices fell 0.8 percent in december. Tobacco prices however jumped 0.8 percent. For the year wholesale tobacco product prices were up 13.1 percent the fifth consecutive double digit Rise. The various changes left the producer Price Index for finished goods at 121.9 in december before adjusting for seasonal factors. This compared to 122.0 in december 1990 and meant that a Market Basket of goods that Cost $122 a year ago Cost $121.90 last month. Prices in december were Down 0.2 percent at the intermediate level of processing and Down 2.2 percent for crude goods. For the year intermediate goods were Down 2.6 percent and Ermle goods fell 11.6 percent. An example of the three processing stages is wheat for crude flour for intermediate and bread for finished. Electronic sales resist recession by the new York times Las vegas a As the consumer electronics Industry gathered wednesday at a Mammoth semiannual show the nations purveyors of color television sets videocassette recorders car stereos and cellular telephones could look Back at 1991 As a year in which they escaped the worst effects of the recession. Sales actually Rose. Figures released this week by the electronic industries association the consumer electronics Trade group show that factory sales totalled a record $33.9 billion up 2.9 percent from the year before. Since electronics prices were virtually unchanged or in some cases lower than a year earlier inflation adjusted sales Rose by More than 3 percent. Home computer and cellular phone sales were Strong As entrepreneurs and Small businesses looked for new ways to gain efficiency and sales. Color televisions remained the Best Selling category but sales were almost Flat while camcorders gained popularity As Consumers sought to upgrade their video systems. Color televisions and projection televisions the biggest Selling category of consumer electronic products with $7 billion of sales were up about 1 percent video cassette recorders with $2.5 billion were up by about the same percentage and audio components about $2 billion were up even less than that. Sales of cellular telephones which can Cost up to $2,5 10 apiece totalled about $1.4 billion. That was a 9.3 percent gain for the year the largest Rise of any leading category of electronic products. Camcorders the video cameras that Cost up to $1,000, were the second strongest growth segment with $2.4 billion in sales up 5.8 percent. Home computers were relatively popular too. With 1991 sales of $4 billion they grew about 6 percent