European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 28, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 9money matters today a tip 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 Gold was quoted at $356.25 an ounce Silver at $4.18. Jan. 24 Jan. 27 British Pound.1.8055 1.7865 German mark.1.5890 1.6150 French franc.5.4935 5.4740 dutch guilder.1.8163 1.8189 belgian franc.33.12 33.10 italian lira.1,213.95 1,207.00 Swiss franc.1.4205 1.4290 greek drachma.185.76 185.32 turkish lira.5,450.00 5,450.10 saudi arabian rtyal.3.7501 3.7500 Spanish peseta.101.82 101.30 portuguese escudo.138.75 138.28 Cana Olan dollar.1.1665 1.1715 austrian schilling.11.3325 11.2940 norwegian krone.6.3200 6.2970 danish krone.6.2450 6.2240 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 1.57 through tuesday based on mondays noontime Price-fixing.. 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 and 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 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  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 japanese 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 Are now comparable to japanese vehicles. But american automakers also claimed parity in the 1980s when Domestic pc Niclos 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 Way 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 a 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 Belgium 6.0 Netherlands 5.4 a Saiy 5.31 France 4.9j Germany Denmark 4,0 to Sweden to Britain 3.7norway 3.3canada United states 2.9 2.9 change in factory worker production during selected periods a 1960-73 a 1973-79 1979-90 3.1 a 1.4 4.1 United states Japan source  labor department a Brian Garrigan Macy s files for bankruptcy new York a . Macy the but a amp co. Inc., one of the Best known retailers in the world filed for chapter 11 Protection from creditors monday succumbing to slumping sales and a Mountain of debt. The filing Early monday afternoon was confirmed by Michael Freitag an employee of the Public relations firm Kekst amp co. Who acts As a Macy a spokesman. The 134-year-old retailer burdened by $3.5 billion in Loans from its debt financed takeover in 1986, was forced into bankruptcy court after a disappointing Christmas season left it without enough Cash to pay suppliers. Macy a thus joined the ranks of big retailers that collapsed under the weight of junk Bond debt taken out during the buyout Boom of the 1980s. The chapter 11 filing which ended Macy a two year struggle to make ends meet will allow the retailer to remain in business and reorganize its finances without retribution from unpaid creditors. But the filing also tarnished the Vener Able image of the retailer made famous in the film Miracle on 34th Street. Earlier this month Macy a said it was delaying payments to vendors by two weeks until last saturday to comply with terms of its Bank lending agreements. In the meantime the company tried to put together a Rescue plan under which Loews corp. Chairman Laurence Tisch a current Macy a stockholder would have invested another $1 billion in the company. Under the proposal Macy a creditors would have had to agree to restructure their debt. However a major creditor the Prudential insurance co. Of America rejected the proposal and Tisch withdrew his offer Friday. With no other options Macy a was forced to turn to bankruptcy court. The company a Cash shortage came at a critical time As Spring fashions Are being shipped to retailers across the country. If suppliers do not ship their goods Macy a stands to lose even More in sales. But bankruptcy court will alleviate that problem. A chapter 11 filing guarantees vendors payment on future shipments so they could resume sending merchandise to Macy a stores. Suppliers said they were hoping for a filing. A a we re All itchy to ship Macy so said Bud Konheim president of the apparel maker Nicole Miller Ltd. The filing could weaken relations with some suppliers who  receive Money for past shipments until the bankruptcy Case is settled. A by first postponing payment on Jan. 10 and then not paying on the 25th, Macy a reputation has been Hurt a said Walter Loeo a retailing analyst and consultant. But Arie Kopelman president of Chanel inc., disagreed. A i done to think that this Means one ounce less respect for the merchant but there Are question Marks about the financial Side of the company going