European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday february 24, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17 Money matters pm expected to reveal losses for 91, site of Plant closure Tant group in Tappan n.j., said the the Cost of living it up is rising but not As fast As the Cost of merely living. The governments Marke Basket of essential items used in forming the consumer Price Index went up 3.1 percent in 1991. But Moet champagnes Marke Basket of goodies Tor the Rich released last week went up just 1.8 percent. And some luxuries Are even getting cheaper. The Price of Beluga caviar declined 15 percent. Women a fur Coats went Down 7 percent. Limousine rentals Broadway tickets imported chocolate truffles rolex watches a Rolls Royce convertible and a visit to an upscale Beauty Salon Cost about the same As they did last year. Among the few items that increased sharply was round trip air fare on the concorde up 9 percent to $6,388.conversion rates London up fridays 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 $352.00 an ounce Silver at $4.12. Feb. 20 feb. 21 British pound.1.75035 1.7453 German mark.1.6550 1.6460 French franc.5.6255 5.6190 dutch guilder.1.6530 1.8622 belgian franc.34.03 33.94 italian lira.1,241.25 1,240.3 Swiss franc.1.4945 1.4950 greek drachma.190.77 189.86 turkish lira .5,788.50 5,787.00 saudi arabian rlyal.3.7501 3.7501 Spanish peseta.103.57 103.30 portuguese escudo.142.11 141.52 Canadian dollar.1.1865 1.1836 austrian schilling.11.6570 11.5890 norwegian krone.6.4815 6.4530 danish krone.8.4085 6.3820 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 1.61 through monday based on fridays noontime Price  of Lee wrangler hiring More workers Wyomissing a. A the apparel manufacturer that makes the Well known brands Lee wrangler and vanity fair says its doing so Well it will boost its work Force by 8.6 percent this year. Of coro., based in Wyomissing said it will add More than 3,500 employees. The company which added 3,000 in 1991, employed 40,847 workers As of Jan. 1. The news comes after the com any announced record sales of 2.9 billion in 1991, a 13 percent increase from $2.6 billion m sales from 1990. Earnings nearly doubled to $161.3 billion in 1991 from $81.1 million in 1990. The company a Success shows that businesses can still thrive in the United states said Lawrence Pugh chairman and chief executive. The company said 85 percent of its manufacturing facilities Are in the United states mainly in the South. A we Are proof that american manufacturers can compete in this environment a he said. Detroit up a the uncertainty for thousands of workers at general motors corp. Plants was to end today in a satellite speech beamed to workers. The Auto giant was expected to announce record multimillion losses for 1991 As Well As its decision to close one of its plants either at Ypsilanti mich., or in Arlington Texas. Pm chairman Robert Stempel also could announce the Auto giants specific plans on closing 20 other plants by 1995. Stempel was to unveil Cost cutting measures beyond those announced in late december to Deal with a 1991 loss that an by Jim Luther the associated press Washington a a Man who tipped the internal Revenue service that his employer had not paid his taxes told a Senate panel that the Agency rewarded him by Billing him for $120,000. A a we be answered every question asked by the irs a Stewart Joslin Iii of Kenner la., testified. A a we be provided every document they requested. No matter what we do my lawyer and i seem to have no effect on the irs in a not responsible for this  Joslin said that because of his concern for the company he had informed the irs that the firm was behind in turning Over taxes withheld from workers paychecks. The company eventually was sold. Joslin testified before the Senate finance subcommittee that oversees the irs. The panel is considering a Bill by its chairman sen. David h. Pryor d-ark., to broaden the rights of taxpayers involved in disputes with the irs. Carol Bettencourt of Raleigh n.c., by Bill Doyle q. My broker says he cannot give me accurate information about the dates various stocks will pay dividends and the size of those dividends. He says he can Only estimate the amounts and dates. Are there any publications that list such information a. There Are lots but you cannot count on them to be 100 percent accurate. That a because a company can raise lower or omit the dividend on its common Stock As its operating profit increases or decreases. Dates on which companies have paid dividends and their amounts Are carried in manuals printed and updated by Standard amp poor a Moody a Fitch value line and other financial publishing houses which you will find in most brokerage offices and Many Public libraries. Many stocks pay dividends a a quarterly a every three months. Others pay monthly semiannually or annually. Some pay irregularly or never. Once a company has established a policy of paying a certain dividend on its common Stock at announced intervals such As �?o50 cents quarterly for a $2 annual rate its reasonable to expect those dividends to continue. Nonetheless they might be changed. As an investor your natural Hope is that the dividends on stocks you own will Alyss say will be at least $3.5 billion. Gmys 1991 loss could be significantly larger than $3.5 billion depending on How a $3 billion charge for closing plants and idling 74,000 workers is accounted for in the financial statement. But analysts already have indicated that 1991 is the worst year for the big three a pm Chrysler corp. And Ford motor co. Earlier this month Ford announced it lost $2.26 billion for 1991 and Chrysler pegged its loses at $765 million. With the pm estimate the minimum loss for the big three will be about $6.5 billion. Michael Luckey of the Luckey Consul said she was going to College and supporting her three children As a $4.50-an-Nour Cook when the irs informed her she would have to pay $3,600 in Back taxes owed by her former husband. The irs said he could not be located. Bettencourt said she eventually called an irs problem solving office which was created to serve As an internal court of last resort for taxpayers. That office she said offered Only this advice a if you do not pay us we can Garnish your wages or collect in any Way we  she ultimately got Relief when her Story was told by a newspaper columnist she said. A i would really like to know what Type of Justice is in All of this a Bettencourt told the senators. The  taxpayer Bill of rights would create in the irs a taxpayer advocate appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. This advocate who would replace the present taxpayer ombudsman would have authority to forgive interest Grant refund requests and halt collection activity. The Irso 300 officers working on prob be raised. Besides raising the stated rate companies sometimes accomplish that by paying a a extra or a additional Quot dividends. Q. After my husband died i took the Stock certificates that were registered in both our names to a broker and requested that the registration be changed to my name alone. I also asked that All dividends be sent directly to me. I soon realized the broker had put All the Stock in Street name. I did not give permission for this to be done. It has Een More than six months  and i am sick and tired of the  guide i have touched Only briefly on the problems i have had with the broker. How can i get in touch with the securities and Exchange commission a. The Sec the top cop of our nations securities business has its Headquarters at 450 fifth Street ., Washington .20549. However your problem should be handled and corrected by Industry self regulatory organizations a Sros for Short. If the brokerage firm is a member of the  York Stock Exchange write to that Exchange at 11 Wall Street  York by 10005. Otherwise Contact that National association of securities dealers worst previous year for the big three was 1980 with a combined loss of $4 billion. Newspapers in Detroit and Dallas quoted High level but Anonymous pm sources As saying from Dallas that the Arlington Plant would be spared while Detroit Media said the Willow run Plant in Ypsilanti would remain open. Stempel touched off a juror Dee. 18 when he announced the unprecedented Plant closings and layoffs. He gave few specifics then but did say pm would consolidate Large car production either at Willow run or  abuse Lem Resolution Are  hired by District offices. Under the Bill they would instead be hired by the advocate. Moreover the Bill would require the irs to be More compassionate in dealing with taxpayer hardships including cases in which a person is being billed for taxes owed by a former spouse. It also would Benefit employees such As Joslin who arc neither officers nor owners of a business but who  can be held liable for certain tax underpayments by the company. Irs commissioner Shirley d. Peterson testifying before Congress for the first time said the administration supports some parts of the Bill but opposes others. A if we Are not careful a she said a the taxpayer Bill of rights will be just one More Bill that taxpayers will have to  Fred t. Goldberg a former irs commissioner who is  assistant Treasury Secretary for tax policy said the administration specifically opposes the taxpayer advocate provision As counterproductive. Presidential appointment a would unnecessarily politicize the ombudsman function a he said. 1735 k Street  Washington . 20016. While your stocks Are in Street name the brokerage is the registered owner and is acting As your  you Are the a beneficial owners a the real owner. The statements you receive from the brokerage firm either monthly or quarterly show what is being held in your account. Many brokerages automatically put customers stocks in Street name unless instructed otherwise. That pleases Many people especially those who like to have most of their bookkeeping done for them and or those traders who buy and sell frequently. Other folks much prefer to receive their Stock certificates and Salt them away in Safe Deposit boxes. The big hang up with the Street name arrangement is that dividends go to the stocks registered owner a the brokerage firm. And As has been noted Many times in this column All too Many brokerage firms Are pain Billy slow in sending that Money along to the stocks beneficial owners. Because you have had your problem for More than six months its Likely the brokerage has Possession of some of your dividends. When this mess is finally squared away make sure you receive not Only your Stock certificates but also All the Money you have coming to you. C kor avg feature panel hears stories of while reviewing taxpayers rights firms can change policies on dividends