European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january 31, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matter today s tip Mcdonald a corp. Said wednesday that profits increased 8 percent in the fourth Quarter As it benefited from discount pricing in the United states and healthy sales overseas. Mcdonald a the worlds largest restaurant operator said fourth Quarter profits increased to a quarterly record for the company of $200 million compared with $186 million for the corresponding Quarter last year. Earnings per share were 54 cents for the Quarter compared with 51 cents a share a year earlier. Revenues Rose to $1.73 billion from $1.70 billion. The company said operations in a number of countries reported a excellent results in spite of the Impact of changing foreign currencies. Results were particularly Strong in Japan France Germany Hong Kong Australia and across latin America the company  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 $356.50 an ounce Silver at $4.21. Jan. 29 Jan. 30 British pound.1.8070 1.7755 German mark.1.5880 1.6125 French franc5.4160 5.4675 dutch guilder.1.7880 1.8260 belgian franc32.67 33.05 italian lira1,195.901,205.50 Swiss franc.1.4140 1.4300 greek drachma183.65 185.30 turkish lira5,441.20 5,484.50 saudi arabian Riyal 3.7502 3.7499 Spanish peseta100.15 100.78 portuguese escudo136.86 137.92 Canadian dollar1.1729 1.1760 austrian schilling.11.1730 11.2900 norwegian krone.6.2300 6.2860 danish krone.6.1560 6.2090 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 1.56 through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up a York Stock Exchange Slock Margaretten Amer express co Rwjr Nabisco hid Glaxo holdings Citicorp Philip Morns Compaq computer Bristol Myersq at amp to company Boeing co chemical Bank Westinghouse Al Uniss corp Kellogg co general motors Home depot inc the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on wednesday. Sale Lait net chg. 4,841,300 20% unch 4,386,200 21 % off 1 3,399,200 10 % off /4 3,323,500 30 off % 3,110,700 15 % of a a 3,042,600 75% of % 2,899,600 29% off 3% 2,806,200 79 v4 off % 2,593,500 37% off % 2,523,300 50 i off 3 2,458,500 27 i off 1 is 2,065,000 18% up % 2,007,200 7 % off �?T/4 1,930,700 55 % off 2% 1,924,000 32% off 1 i 1,817,600 62% 0f1% american Exchange new York up the ten most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading wednesday Stock Rhone Poul cart Conti air Hodgs us Bio science nor up instrument sys Bio pharmaceutics Alza corp pm group web Ich corp Americus desc sales last net chg. 1,483,600 1 % unch 1,169,800 1 % unch 861,100 34 % up % 731,800 1 % up % 475,100 7 a up i 405,500 3% up % 387,600 48 % off % 384,900 10 up % 365,000 5 a of i 340,500 9 off % Dow Jones new York up wednesday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks Dow Jones closing Range of averages High 331351 137668 214 82 1182 95 Low 3204 16 1334 64 21094 1147 12 Chang 47 in clot 3224 96 of 47 1348.65 212 13 1155 75 0 17 67 Oft 1 38 Oil 12 66 exports fuel slight Gap gain of .03% in last Quarter of 91 by the Washington Post Washington the . Economy barely grew in the final three months of last year As a surge in demand for american exports kept the nation s production of goods and services from actually shrinking the Commerce department reported wednesday. The department said the nations Gross Domestic product Rose at an annual rate of Only 0.3 percent in the fourth Quarter after adjustment for inflation Down from increases of 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent in the two previous quarters. The recessions Impact was seen More clearly in the fact that Gap for last year was Down 0.7 percent from the 1990 level. It was the first annual decline since a 2.2 percent drop in 1982t most forecasters expect another weak showing in the current january March period followed by at least a modest acceleration in economic growth. The Bush administration for example said wednesday that it expects real Gap to grow 2.2 percent Over the course of 1992, up from the scant 0.2 percent increase last year. Michael j. Boskin chairman of the Council of economic advisers said the a very Flat sluggish position the Economy a been in since the late summer will continue. In the Early part of 1992.�?� if president Bush a various proposals to stimulate the Economy Are quickly adopted a people will  a demonstrably higher rate of growth by the Middle of the year he said. Alan Greenspan testifying at a Senate banking committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to a second four year term As chairman of the Federal Reserve said he also expects a rebound later this year even without further cuts in interest rates tax cuts or spending in Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan testifies on Capitol Hill on wednesday. Creases by the government. Greenspan cautioned however that some of the factors such As High debt burdens of businesses and households that caused the economic recovery to falter last fall have no precedent in recent . Economic history. A i would expect the Economy to quicken its Pace a he said a but i am spending a lot More time watching the Economy than  the Commerce department emphasized that the Small gain in the fourth Quarter was based on incomplete and preliminary data. The figure will be revised As More data arc available once in late february and again in late March. But the Small gain Means that the . Economy has now grown for three consecutive quarters after it dropped into a recession beginning in August 1990. While conceding that the Economy has been a a Flat recently Greenspan told the committee that a the Economy is up from its lows and is More than half Way Back from where it started Down. It is up from the  the biggest trouble spots in the fourth Quarter were consumer spending which fell at a 1.1 percent annual rate business investment in buildings and other structures and government spending particularly for defense. Housing construction buoyed by the lowest loan interest Rales in years chalked up a third consecutive quarterly gain rising at nearly an 11 percent Pace. Bush plan won t bring Quick recovery by the Washington Post Washington a president Bush has promised that the initiatives he detailed in his budget this week will a lift this nation out of hard times Inch by  but economists interviewed wednesday said that with the Economy advancing just one Inch at a time there will be no Quick return to Prosperity. The White House plan is to steadily dribble Sand on the Scales until the Economy returns to balance rather than to toss out weighty new programs that might risk Tilting the system. That approach satisfies Many economists who believe the nation is gradually growing out of the recession. Many fear that new efforts to give the system a bigger Jolt might reignite inflation. The president has proposed a a Nice mix of sound policies a said economist Jerry Jasinowski president of the National association of manufacturers. But the limited scope of the programs makes it Clear that the administrations main strategy for economic revival is a continued Reliance on lower interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve he added. A the has avoided the problem of going Forward with extreme programs that would raise Long term interest rates a Jasinowski said. A a extreme in this sense would be a much bigger package of tax cuts that could give a big boost to consumer spending but also Send prices sharply upward. However the benefits of each one of the dozens of tax spending and economic if it does t work economically it s not going to work politically a economist Fabian Linden policy changes proposed by the White House Are difficult to measure. Those who support the presidents approach worry that they May not add up to enough to achieve either the political or economic goals that Are desired. A if it does no to work economically its not going to work politically a warned Fabian Linden chief economist for the conference Board a business organization that regularly monitors consumer Confidence. Linden generally supportive of the administration plan said Quot the instincts Are perfectly Fine to get More Bucks into the hands of the Guy who is going to run Down to his local retailer and buy  but the Impact of Many of the presidents proposals will be so minimal a that you la need a magnifying Glass to find it a he said. Linden noted that even the administrations biggest economic incentive for Consumers a a proposed $5,000 tax credit for first time Home buyers a a was a contribution to buying a House is a less than imposing sum. The one big fix in the administration package is aimed at the housing Industry. Last year construction of new Homes and apartments fell to the lowest level since 1946. Kent Colton executive vice president of the National association of Home builders predicted the package will result in 250,000 additional housing starts 415,000 More jobs and $20 billion in additional economic benefits when buyers go shopping for furniture paint lawnmowers and everything else a new House needs. The Home builders presented Bush with a wish list of incentives and got virtually every one of them the first time buyers tax credit penalty free withdrawals from individual retirement accounts for first time Home buyers restoration of special investment loss deductions for real estate Industry professionals tax deductions for losses on sales of Homes and an Extension of Low income housing credits. For most families however the shot wont be anywhere close to big enough to make the payments on a new car. A trip to Mcdonald a is what most families can expect from the Cut in Federal income tax withholding ordered by Treasury Secretary Nicholas f. Brady. A typical family of four with one wage earner bringing in $700 a week will find an extra $6.60 a week in the paycheck As a result of the withholding change. A single person making $25,000 a year would get an extra $15 a month administration officials calculated