European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 c the stars and stripes thursday february 13,1992money matters a telecommunications company announced plans tuesday to provide Telephone service to the 15 former soviet republics. Lc1 International worldwide telecommunications of Columbus Ohio said it expects the Federal communications commission to approve its plan feb. 17. The company will provide Lon distance service to the Commonwealth of Independent states of Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Ana Uzbekistan. It will also serve the former soviet Republic of Georgia and the Baltic states of Estonia Latvia and Lithuania. The rates for placing Calls to the soviet countries will average from $1.65 per minute to $2.10 per minute depending on the time a Call is made said Eric Mattlin lots manager of International services. Conversion rates London up wednesdays 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 $357.00 an ounce Sliver at $4.20. British Pound. German Mark French franc dutch Judder belgian franc italian lira. Swiss franc. Greek drachma turkish lira. Saudi arabian Royal. Spanish peseta portuguese escudo. Canadian Dollar austrian Schilling. Norwegian Krone danish Krone. 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 thursday based on wednesday s noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange feb. 11 feb. 12 .1.80635 1.78585 .1.5885 1.6080 .5.4170 5.4550 .1.7075 1.8030 .32.89 32.96 .1,196.70 1,204.95 .1.42325 1.43450 .183.85 185.27 .5,110.00 5,530.00 .,3,7501 3.7501 .100.02 100.91 .136.76 137.94 .1.1805 1.1810 .11.17 11,22 .6.2300 6.2750 .8.1570 6.2095 new York up York Stock Exchange Stock Uniss corp Maxis Energy chemical Bank Boeing co Philip Morris Citicorp coming inc Glaxo holdings Natl sell concoct Amer express co Chrysler corp Rwjr Nabisco hid Pepsico inc Westinghouse Al Ford motor co a the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on tuesday. Sales 4.162,100 3.747.000 3,086,700 2.873.000 2.756.000 2.629.600 2.555.400 2.461.400 2.366.600 2.141.600 2.023.000 1,977,500 1.953.300 1.719.300 1.619.600 last 94k a it 31 4 47 74 4k 16 Vuk 29 44 29 44 9 5k 21 a it 15 i 10 w 32 v4 19 Vuk 34 Vuk nil Chi i Uncan up 5k off 55 Oil 1 Oft 4k off a a off 4k off 5k up Vuk up Vuk Oft it Otiva up 4k up 5k up Vuk american Exchange new York american Stock Stock go video inc Wang labs inc b us Blo science Amdahl corp fruit of loom Alia corp carnival cruise magma Copper co greyhound lines go video inc it a the to Moil Active stocks in Ange compose to trading tuesday. 3.047.000 1,593,600 1.211.000 724.900 566,700 410,300 409,100 332,500 331.900 302,200 Lett 4 44 4 v4 17 1b4k 34 5k 43 4k 31 v4 7 10 4k 24k Nel chg. Up 44 up up 1 v4 Oil i up 2 Oft 1 5k unch up Vuk up 1 Vuk up 5k Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones doting Range of averages tuesday 30 Indus Nail 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks flak 32/7 28 1404.33 20925 1178 20 Lew 322250 1380 42 206 62 1159.03 Cote 3251 57 1390.32 208 69 1169.01 cd Alee up649 up1 49 up1 25 up 2 64 condensed version of tax plan rejected by House committee Washington a the House ways and Means committee wednesday rejected a slimmed Down version of president Bush a tax plan Clearing the Way for democrats to write their own Bill. By a 23-13 party line vote that followed 90 minutes of bitter political exchanges the committee Defeated a last minute Republican plan to provide Only the capital gains tax Cut and six other proposals sought by Bush to stimulate the Economy. Republicans said those seven provisions should be rushed into Law by March 20. That would have delayed until later in the year action on Bush a Middle income tax proposal As Well As several unpopular tax increases to pay for it and the economic stimulus provisions. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski d-ill., assailed that strategy As offering a promissory note to pay for popular tax cuts that a in the final analysis wont be paid  democrats plan to write a tax Bill that would target Relief on wage earners paying for it with higher taxes on the wealthy. The party a plan could contain some stimulus elements of Bush a program including perhaps some Type of capital gains Cut and credit for Home buyers. The full House would choose from among Bush a full program including an increased exemption for children and some lesser individual tax benefits the package of seven stimulus proposals outline of tax Bills a president Bush a plan would reduce taxes on capital gains increase the $2,300 personal exemption by $500 per dependent child starting oct. 1 and provide a tax credit of up to $5,000 to Home buyers who have not owned a Home in the past three years. 0 House Bill 4200 would strip from the president s Bill everything except seven proposals that Bush wants approved by March 20. These proposals include a Cut in the taxes on capital gains a greater reduction than even Bush propose the $5,000 Home buyer credit and Penaty-1ree Ira withdrawals for Home buying. House Bill 3730 would give each wage earner a tax credit of up to $200 per year $400 for a couple in 1992 and 1993. Culled from that program and the democratic substitute. Bush who outlined the full program in his state of the Union speech agreed tuesday that the seven provisions should be split off and passed separately in the interest of meeting his March 20 dead Home sales costs climb As mortgage rates drop Washington a More renters became buyers As mortgage rates plummeted in the october december Quarter helping to drive up existing Home prices throughout much of the nation a real estate Trade group says. Sales increased in All four regions from the fourth Quarter of 1990 to the fourth Quarter of 1991. That in turn helped boost prices of existing Homes in All but seven of the 117 metropolitan areas surveyed by the National association of realtors the group reported tuesday. The biggest appreciation in Home values occurred in the Interior of the nation where 23 cities posted double digit gains. Major cities along both coasts experienced much slower gains and sometimes even losses. Dorcas t. Helfant the realtors president said sales at the end of the year were concentrated in entry level houses As first time buyers enjoyed the lowest mortgage rates since 1973. Nationally the median Price of a used Home Rose 7.4 percent to $99,000, from the fourth Quarter of 1990 to the same period of 1991. Forty five areas had Price gains exceeding the National increase. The median Means half of the Homes Cost More and half Cost less. Honolulu As usual had the most expensive housing despite a 8.8 percent decline in the median Price to $335,000. Saginaw mich., was the most affordable at $53,600 despite a 14.3 percent spurt in the typical Price. The steepest Price gain occurred in Spokane wash., where prices jumped 19 percent to $67,500. That was followed by Aton Rouge la., up 16.7 percent to $72,700, and Peoria 111., up 16,4 percent to $58,300. Honolulu suffered the sharpest depreciation with its 8.8 percent drop followed by the Monmouth area of new York Down 5.4 percent to $131,400, and Hartford conn., where prices fell 4.1 percent to $146,200. Nationally sales Rose 4,7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.57 million from the final Quarter of 1990 line. But democrats quickly moved to make sure that Bush a full plan a with its tax increases and spending cuts a was not lost in the shuffle. They commissioned House majority Leader Richard a. Gephardt d-mo., to introduce the Bill so they could have something to contrast with their own Middle income tax reductions. A this process is clearly designed to Hurt the president politically and i wont stand for it a exclaimed rep. Bill Archer of Texas senior Republican on the committee. The seven provisions including capital gains a credit of up to $5,000 for some Home buyers and special tax Relief for real estate professionals a will get this country Back to work a Bush said. A weve got a Short term set of proposals that would be the Best Medicine for this Economy a the president said. Other tax proposals including a $500-per-child increase in the personal tax exemption can be considered later Bush told Republican members of the ways and Means committee. Democrats were Quick to Point out that Bush in demanding those incentives was de emphasizing the most visible a Middle class provision in his tax plan the $500-per-child increase in the $2,300 personal exemption. His original Bill would make that change effective oct. 1. Rising Home prices average Price of Homes a amps Greenspan balks at interest rate drop san Antonio a Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan conceded tuesday that rehiring after recession cutbacks a has been particularly slow but stuck to his View that interest rates Are Low enough to bring recovery. Greenspan left open the possibility of further moves to push rates lower and stimulate business. Greenspan spoke at a convention of the Independent Bankers association of America a group of Small town and country Bankers. Although Greenspan a comments echoed testimony delivered a week ago to Congress they were his first since Friday when the labor department reported that . Employers shed an unexpectedly High number of jobs a 91,000 a from their payrolls in january. Analysts were split Over the meaning of the speech and financial markets showed Little reaction to it. A a he a a Little bit worried about the payroll number but not worried enough to change policy a said David Jones of Aubrey g. Lanston amp co. Inc., a government securities dealer in new York. However economist Bruce Steinberg of Merrill Lynch in new York said he believed the Central Bank wanted to nude rates lower soon but did not want to St up markets until after today when the Treasury department was to finish ii three Day auction of $36 billion in government debt. In the speech Greenspan noted the poor employment situation pointing of that in the six months that ended in Jar uary fewer than half the nations Majc industries posted employment gains. He said lower interest rates have encouraged both Consumers and business to reduce debt