European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 28, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 9money matters a leading rating Agency has lowered its assessment of Prudential insurance co. Of America the nations largest insurer marking the latest in a string of downgrading in the troubled insurance Industry. Moody a investors service inc. Said in new York that the revised assessment reflects concerns about Prudential a concentration of assets a in commercial real estate and its above average holdings in junk  rates London up mondays rates for the . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars of a Haold was quoted at 1354.85 an ounce Sorvar at $4.15. Jan. 27 1.7885 1.6045 5.4665 1.8072 33.02 1,206.00 1.4250 185.32 5,450.10 3.7500 101.30 138.28 1.1715 11.2940 6.2970 6.2240 Jan. 24 British Pound.1.8055 German mark.1.5890 French franc.5.4935 dutch guilder.1.8163 belgian franc.33.12 italian lira.1,213.95 Swiss franc.1.4205 greek drachma.185.76 turkish lira.5,450.00 saudi arabian tlyal.3.7501 Spanish peseta.101.82 portuguese escudo.138.75 Canadian dollar.1.1665 austrian schilling.11.3325 norwegian krone.6.3200 danish krone.6.2450 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 British pounds to . Personnel for personal use. Through tuesday this will be $1.83 for a Pound based on a Price fixing monday afternoon at military banking facilities.. Gas prices keep dropping los Angeles up gasoline prices continue to experience a Sharp decline across the United states dropping to their lowest level in a year an Oil Industry analyst said sunday. A nationwide Survey of pump prices conducted Jan. 24 found the average composite Price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.18, or Down 1.87 cents Over the previous Survey conducted Jan. 10. A a it a very difficult to say if this downward trend will continue for Long because the last few Days the decline in crude prices has ceased a said Trilby Lundberg author of the Lundberg Survey. Nevertheless Lundberg said the most popular Type of Gas a unleaded regular purchased at the self service pump a was at its lowest Price in a year at $1.03 a gallon. Lundbergh a Survey of More than 13,000 service stations nationwide found slight decreases in All grades of gasoline at the full Ana self service pumps. At the self service pump the Survey found regular unleaded Gas Selling for $1.03, Premium unleaded. $1.21 and regular leaded 99.8 cents. Motorists at the full service pump were paying $1.34 for regular unleaded $1.49 for Premium unleaded and $1.39 for regular leaded. The composite Price includes All state and local taxes. Detroit automakers Rev up a buy american Campaign by Doron p. Levin the new York times Detroit a motown a emotions have been rubbed raw by disparagement of american cars and the workers who build them. But the latest crack by a japanese politician May have pushed Detroit to a new level of irritation. A Chevrolet dealer invited shoppers to Pound a japanese made truck with sledgehammers. Flag waving members of the United Auto workers picketed Toyota dealerships. The exhortation to a buy american a increasingly chorused around the nation in recent weeks has always been part of Detroit a Credo and is being sounded in the City More insistently than Ever. For Detroi ters the american car has always been a Symbol of Pride the embodiment of their accomplishments. As the big three automakers struggle to pull out of their tailspin people in Detroit Are worried that their schools churches unions clubs a their whole Way of life a May vanish. Last week the Industry reported that mid january sales of american made cars and Light trucks fell 1.9 percent this year from last years Levels. Increasingly that worry is expressed As anger. Lee a. Iacocca chairman of the Chrysler corp., delivered a Bellicose broadside before the Detroit economic club on Jan. 10, calling for America to confront Japan a i for one am fed up hearing from the japanese and i might say from some americans too that All our problems Are our own Damn  Iacocca swords were dismissed by Many outside the rust Belt As parochial and myopic. A poll last week by the Detroit free press showed that 67 percent of car owners think Japan gets too much blame for american problems. The Michigan congressional delegation has sponsored legislation that would protect the big three from imports though it is questionable How popular the proposal would be outside the Midwest. In Auto country the Iacocca speech and proposals in Washington were heard As a Call to action. Read Patton president of the Franklin Bank in Southfield Mich., was so inspired that his Bank is offering $100 to employees of commercial customers who buy a car made by general motors Ford or Chrysler. Patton concedes that his promotion is meant to drum up business for his Bank As Well As the big three. A the Fate of Southeast Michigan is tied to the Auto Industry a he said. The Monsanto co. Of St. Louis which has a subsidiary supplying the Auto Industry based in Auburn Hills Mich., promised $1,000 to any of its 12,000 workers who buys a car assembled in North America before july 31. Monsanto a offer also applies to japanese models built on . Soil. Franklin on the other hand excludes All Japan Csc Brand cars from its offer it is the consensus that Detroit a products have improved vastly in recent years but the japanese cars have also improved so much that gaps remain. Big three Auto executives go one step further insisting that their products arc now comparable to japanese vehicles. But american automakers also claimed parity in the 1980s when Domestic vehicles were demonstrably inferior. The resulting Gap in Detroit a credibility has left some buyers of japanese cars wondering what reason there is to switch Back except perhaps for one the nations economic vitality May depend on the big three. Most economists say it is debatable whether a buying american is a strategy that can fortify the Economy which is better driven by Competition than by sentiment. However if the big three can convince shoppers that buying a Taurus instead of a Toyota carries some cachet then buying an american Brand May represent added value in the same was that buyers pay extra for the prestige of owning a Cadillac or Mercedes said Clifford Winston a senior research associate for the Brookings institution. It can also make sense for a buyer to support the local Economy. A if these Consumers Are at the same time workers in the Auto Industry then they re certainly helping themselves by buying american said Edward Gramlich who teaches economics at the University of Michigan. Many doctors lawyers and merchants living in or near Auto manufacturing centers would not dream of owning a foreign car for fear of displeasing clients who work for the automakers. A my personal opinion is that we should stick with the americans whether they Are bad cars or Good cars a said Michael j. Chetcuti manager of Quality act a Craft in the Detroit suburb of Livonia Mich. A a it a our economic survival. I  care if the cars have Cement tires on  productivity annual percent change in production for factory workers 1960-90 output per hour Japan belgium6.0 Netherlands 5.4 Italy 5.3 France 4.9 Germany 4.0 Denmark 4.0 Sweden 4.0 Britain 3.7 Norway 3.3 Canada United states 2.9 2.9 change in factory worker production during selected periods a 1960-73 a 1973-79 a 1979-90 3.1 4.1 United states Japan source . Labor department a Brlan Garrigan Iowa pork ettes trim the fat with merger Des Moines Iowa a first it was the ladies pork journal. Now the Iowa pork ettes Are disappearing from the farm scene in the no. 1 nog state. On thursday the Iowa pork ettes a the 5,482-member women a auxiliary of the Iowa pork producers association a will merge into the 11,270-member association a group that is More than 90 percent male. Helen Pollock pork ettes president said the merger reflects the changing status of women in society. A none of us has the luxury of being just a wife a she said. A i am the computer operator the bookkeeper. I help out with our three sons livestock. In a a Gofer and part time tractor  the Only other state that has merged a pork women a group with a producers association is Minnesota according to the Iowa pork producers. Pollock conceded there was a lot of kidding about being a Perkette. But in the 28 years since it was formed the group has refused to follow the Lead of similar groups in other states and take a name such As pork Council women. A there were a lot of women who Felt strongly that pork ettes was a Good name a name Iowa people knew and recognized and Felt a Strong identification with a Pollock said. Iowa accounts for one out of every four hogs raised for Market in the United states and hog farming in Iowa is a $3 billion business. Until last year the pork ettes published the ladies pork journal a collection of pork information recipes poetry and household advice. A 1989 Issue included this tip a if you can to sleep because a Cricket is chirping Here a a sure cure. Put a wet Washcloth in your Kitchen or bathroom sink at night a you la find your noisy neighbor hiding there in the morning. The ladies pork journal was replaced last year with a special Page in the Iowa pork producers Magazine As a More economical Way to reach farm families. Stuart Swanson program director of the Iowa pork producers said the merger will provide a More efficient Way to manage $40 million in annual promotional and education efforts. A we can find and identify the Best possible leaders rather than the Best male and Best female Leader a he said. In the Early years said past president Margaret Ledger pork ettes handed out samples at grocery stores and discussed nutrition Ana recipes with shoppers. As issues of diet food safely and animal rights gained prominence the women were handling questions about nitrates cholesterol fat and vegetarianism said Ledger a member since 1965. Her husband Jim is president of the Iowa pork producers. The underlying message has remained the same a that pork is a Good Choice for the consumer. But today a message notes that with changes in Breeding and processing pork is leaner More nutritious and healthier than yesterdays pork