European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 5, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday february 5, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matters the conference Board citing a remarkably stable but Flat labor Market reported monday that its closely watched help wanted advertising Index remained unchanged in december. The seasonally adjusted Index which measures help wanted advertising in 51 major . Newspapers held steady at 89 in december. That was the same Reading As in november but slightly higher than october a level of 88. The Index uses a base of 100 in 1967. In december 1990, the conference Board a private business research organization noted the Index had a Reading of 108. The percentage of the labor Market with rising want and volume slipped 2 percent to 57 percent in december from 59 percent in november but was higher than the 25 percent Reading in october. The Board said its Index measures monthly changes in the local regional and National Supply of jobs because want and volume has proved sensitive to labor Market  rates London up tuesdays 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 s356.20 an ounce Silver at $4.17. Feb. 3 feb. 4 British Pound .1.8000 1.8010 German mark.1.6015 1.5930 French franc.5.4785 5.4475 dutch fluilder.1.7990 1.7990 belgian franc.33.01 32.78 italian lira.1,207.50 1,201.70 Swiss franc.1.4290 1.4220 greek drachma.185.55 184.73 turkish lira.5,514.40 5,513.40 saudi arabian rfyal.3.7498 3.7498 Spanish peseta.101.04 100.57 portuguese escudo.138.34 137.57 Canadian dollar.1.1739 1.1745 austrian schilling.11.3100 11.2425 norwegian krone.6.3040 6.2680 danish krone.6.2280 6.1950 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 wednesday based on tuesdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up York Stock Exchange Slock Rwjr Nabisco hid Upjohn co adv Micro docs Glaxo holdings Amer express co at amp to company genl electric com with Edison Bristol Myersq ism corp Wal Mart stores Citicorp Pepsico inc Mobil corp digital equal pm the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on monday. Sales 3.164.600 2,295,400 2.250.300 2.187.700 1.935.500 1.690.200 1,623,900 1.619.700 1.537.500 1.519.300 1.469.200 1,467,100 1.383.600 1.355.700 1,168,800 last 10v5 43 19 a 30 a 22 a 37 76 36 a 80 91% 54% 15 33 a 64 a 52v net chg. Up a up 1% up off up 1% off % up % off a up a up1% up a unch off a up a up 1 % american Exchange new York up american Stock to Cru a the 10 most Active stocks in Inge composite trading monday. Stock Saida last net chg. Us Bio science 5,491,300 17% off 13% Conti air Hodgs 1,266,800 1% off % Enzo Bochem 532,700 5%. Up Amdahl corp Bat industries 405,100 18v up7/ 270,000 11% unch Echo Bay mines 262,400 8% unch carnival cruise 260,800 26 a off a instrument sys 246,100 7% off % giant food a 184,600 24v up pall corp 179.200 29 a up Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones doting Range of Tva rages monday High Lew close change 30 industrials 326140 3193.43 3234.12 up 10.73 20 transport 1370.52 1341.74 1362.48 up 8.22 211.13 207.69 208.88 Oft 1.50 15u8u8es 65 stocks 1167.94 1144.26 1158.66 up 3.14 construction business figures still show troubled Economy by the los Angeles times with the overbuilt commercial sector leading the Retreat . Construction spending fell 9.3 percent in 1991 for the steepest year to year drop since 1944, the department of Commerce reported monday. In a separate report the National association of purchasing managers said its monthly Index of business activity stayed level at 47.4 percent in december indicating an Economy that is stagnant. Economists took some Comfort in signs that construction spending for single family Homes May have bottomed out a few months ago and May be poised for a Small rebound. A on the single family Side there a no excess Supply of Homes a in fact the Supply is quite Short a said Lyle e. Gram icy chief economist for the mortgage Bankers association. He said Low interest rates might Spur demand for new Homes As might some elements of president Bush a proposed economic recovery plan such As tax credits for first time Home buyers. Total construction spending a residential non residential and Public a was $404.9 billion in 1991, Down from $446.4 billion in 1990, the department of Commerce said. It was the lowest total since 1985�?Ts $377.4 billion and was the first yearly drop since 1982 a the end of the last recession when spending fell 4 percent. A Many people think this has been a consumer led recession but that a a false impression a said economist James Doty president of Chapman University in Orange Calif. A the major reason the recession has been As Long and As deep As it is has been the drop in construction  the purchasing managers Index describes an Economy a in limbo a said Cynthia Latta senior financial economist at Dri a Mcgraw Hill inc. A a Reading below 45 says recession very clearly. A Reading above 50 says recovery very clearly a she said. But the Reading for the last two months has been stuck in the Middle at 47.4 percent. A that says a Well the Economy Isnit going anywhere a but that a better than going Down a Latta said. . Won t try to make Mexico open Oil Industry Trade aide says Mexico City a the top . Trade negotiator said monday that Washington would not pressure Mexico to open its powerful state owned Oil monopoly under a proposed North american free Trade Accord. . Trade representative Carla Hills said the United states a will respect the constitutional limitations of Mexico which closes the Oil Industry to foreign investment or exploration. A we would like As much liberalization in the sectors As possible just As Mexico would a said Hills who arrived in Mexico on saturday with a High powered delegation of 43 members of Congress and business leaders. Hills spoke monday with president Carlos Salinas de Gortari on efforts to draft a free Trade pact covering Mexico the United states and Canada. The Accord would create a Market of 360 million Consumers with an estimated output of $5.6 trillion. On sunday rep. Jim Kolbe r-ariz., said the United states wanted Mexico to open up its Energy and Petroleum Indus tries. It would take a constitutional amendment to break the Mono Opy of pct roles Mexicanos s.a., or Lemex and such a move is not considered Likely. Kolbe said that if the free Trade pact is not signed by september or october the Accord would be delayed until 1993 because of the presidential election. But Hills said the negotiations were going rapidly and she did not expect Progress to be postponed by the election. A this a difficult and Complex negotiation a she said. A a we re about on track. I done to know of any that has gone As expeditiously As this one. Well try to get done As quickly As possible but we done to have a  Hills was also accompanied by lawmakers from California new Mexico Illinois Ohio and North Carolina. Executives from 25 companies also attended including Phillips Petroleum co., try inc., Bethlehem steel corp., ism corp. And Owens Illinois inc. The delegation returned to the United states late monday. A tile Carla Hills Gates fires president in Microsoft shake up by John Markoff the new York times William h. Gates the chairman of Microsoft corp. And the worlds wealthiest computer Programmer said monday that he was dismissing Michael r. Hallman the president he selected two years ago. Gates a Brilliant and demanding Boss known for bombarding employees with electronic mail at All hours of the night bluntly said Hallman just did not measure up. A the was doing a lot of the parts of the Job Well a Gates said in a Telephone interview monday. A but As we were thinking through new strategy i Wasny to satisfied that he was the right person for the  Hallman 46, will be replaced with a three member office of the president in a reorganization that Gates Hopes will further his vision of putting a computer on every desk and in every Home. Hallman who will leave March 1, defended his tenure and said monday that he was disappointed to be leaving. A a in be been at Microsoft for two years and the company has doubled in size a he said in a Telephone interview. A Bill and i have a Good relationship but this is a Complex business to manage. There is no personal  Gates said he had been thinking for some time about the changes announced monday but the decision to ask for Hallmann a resignation came at a saturday meeting of Microsoft a Board. Gates the largest stockholder in the worlds biggest software publisher has kept the company running at supercomputer speeds. Microsoft with More than 100 million customers around the world for its is Dos operating system had revenues of $2.3 billion last year. Operating soft Ware like is Dos controls a computers Basic functions while applications software includes word processing spreadsheets and data sorting. Microsoft a presidency will be shared by a troika of longtime employees who have thrived under the 36-year-old soft Hallman Ware gurus unrelenting gaze Michael j. Maples a former ism software strategist and the head of Microsoft a applications software business since 1988 Steven a. Ballmer one of Gates Harvard University classmates and the head of the operating system business and Francis j. Gaudy Etc who will remain the chief financial officer. Gates said the new office would assume much of the responsibility for running the business freeing him to conceive of new products and plot the company a future. Gates chose Hallman a former executive at Boeing co. And International business machines corp., As president to strengthen Microsoft a business with Large corporate customers. But Industry analysts expect the dismissal to have Little effect on the software publisher based in Redmond Wash. Microsoft a Stock shot up $4.75 monday to $125, in Over the counter trading on news of the resignation. On Friday it plummeted $3.50 based on rumours of impending changes