European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday february 26, 1992 the stars and stripes c Page 17 Money matters today s tip a Swiss Bank lost a . Supreme court Appeal monday seeking to withhold information from . Officials investigating alleged tax violations. The court without comment let stand a ruling that the Bank must provide investigators with account records from its Branch in Panama even though such disclosure would violate panamanian Law. Union Bank of Switzerland which has four Branch offices in the United states was ordered by a Federal judge in Miami last year to turn Over the records. The names of the Bank customers who Are the target of the Federal grand jury tax investigation have not been made Public. Bank officials said they face fines and prison in Panama if they comply with the subpoena. . District judge Lenore c. Nesbitt in Miami upheld the grand july subpoena last june. Conversion 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 s350.65 an ounce Silver at s4.12. Feb. 24 feb. 25 British pound.1.74835 1.75250 German mark.1.6510 1.6305 French franc.5.6350 5.6065 dutch oullder.1.8545 1.8446 belgian franc.33.95 33.71 italian lira.1,243.65 1,237.35 Swiss franc.1.4940 1.4805 greek drachma.191.45 190.09 turkish lira.5,830.30 5,827.40 saudi arabian riyal.3.7501 3.7502 Spanish peseta.104.15 103.41 portuguese escudo.142.90 141.77 Canadian dollar.1.1872 1.1875 austrian schilling.11.6975 11.6105 norwegian krone.6.5090 6.4535 danish krone.6.4435 6.3850 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 wednesday based on tuesdays noontime Price fixing. New York Exchange new York up York Stock Exchange Stock Uniss corp Westinghouse Al Tel Fonos de my Rwjr Nabisco hid adv Micro orcs Glaxo holdings Ford motor co Philip Morris get corp chemical Bank Citicorp Chrysler corp ban America general motors Avistar inti the 15 most Active stocks in new composite trading on monday. Sales 4.286.500 2,305,900 2.221.400 1.841.700 1,011,200 1.794.400 1.665.000 1.591.500 1,577.600 1.526.500 1.498.700 1.436.000 1,353,100 1.316.500 1,300,800 last 9 20% 55% 10% 19% 29 36% 75% 30% 33% 17 16% 42% 37% 4 not chg. Off up % up up of off % off vib up up up Oft off % up off % up % american Exchange new York american Stock Stock spi holdings of Wang labs inc b dog corp Echo Bay mines Hasbro inc carnival cruise metro Mobile b us Bio science Ich corp tax corp the 10 Moat Active stocks in nge composite trading monday. My last Nat chg. 1,718,000 4% up 1,307,000 6% unch 1,065,100 7% off 402,300 7% off Vic 346,700 36 off % 282,500 02 off % 256,000 22% up % Oft % 252,300 14% 211,100 5 off % 210,300 35% off % Dow Jones new York up Dow Jam doting Range of averages monday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks 330 1468.98 205.12 1196 85 3253.58 1441.52 202 55 1177 55 do 3282.42 1451.79 203.74 1186 92 Csc Tim up2.?3 off 15.14 off 0.50 Oil 3 65 news of pm Plant closing devastates employees town North Tarrytown . Apr with a recent make Over and a popular product the general motors Plant in this Village of 8,000 seemed secure. But on monday the North Tarrytown Plant employing 3,456 workers making minivans was marked for closing in three years As part of the automakers big restructuring. A we thought we had a Good Plant and were doing a Good Job a said Richard car iello just hours after general motors corp. Announced the shutdown of its Assembly Plant 30 Miles North of new York City. The closing of the Plant built in 1900 to produce Walker Steamer automobiles will coincide with the retirement of the current generation of pm minivans. The Plant was Only recently retooled to produce the sleek Chevrolet Lumina apr the Oldsmobile Silhouette and the Pontiac trans sport. The closing is part of a plan aimed at reversing a financial tailspin at pm. The company also reported monday record 1991 losses of $4.5 billion the largest annual deficit in . Corporate history. In addition to North Tarrytown the company said it would close a Michigan Assembly Plant and shut Down operations at 10 other factories. Management at the new York Plant Learned the bad news at 10 . Fifteen minutes later the Assembly line was shut Down and the workers were told said Darwin Allen director of Media relations for the Chevrolet Pontiac Canada group. As the workers most of them driving american made cars streamed out of the Plant at the end of the first shift most expressed Shock at the news. The Plant once boasted a work Force of More than 5,000, and government officials have battled for years to preserve the Plant on the Banks of the Hudson River. In the Early 1980s, pm threatened to close the factory citing High Utility costs and High taxes. But it stayed after the local government lowered the property taxes funded training programs got the Plant a reduced electricity rate and persuaded metro North to raise rail Bridges so cars could be shipped by rail. Jerry Puiyat reflects on his 26 years of employment at general motors Plant in North Tarrytown ., whose shutdown in three years will put 3,456 people out of work. In return pm built a $170 million paint shop part of a $250 million investment to upgrade the Plant and the Centrepiece of a 10-year agreement that state Ana local officials thought would keep the Plant running at least through 1995, if not longer. A North Tarrytown is not unique in having had the huge investment a Allen said. A a it a not a matter of Good Plant versus bad  pm was committed to trying to find jobs for its workers elsewhere or offering Job training he said. Denise Dawson a pm worker for 11 years has seen two other pm plants where she worked shut Down in that time a one in Fremont calif., and the other in Kansas City to. North Tarrytown would be the third. A a in a a Pioneer for general motors a she laughed. A i think they just want to make cheaper cars and they can do that  it was the last bastion of Blue Collar work in Westchester a county known for several big name corporate Headquarters including International business machines corp. North Tarrytown Village administrator William Regan said the pm Plant paid $1.1 million in Village property taxes this year or about 20 percent of its total. A if it shuts Down and nothing replaces it there will be a serious effect on the area a he said. The president of United Auto workers local o64, Donald Martino said outside the North Tarrytown Plant a a in a devastated. I can to believe it. A i live Here in Tarrytown. Once they close Here this town will become a ghost  autoworkers at spared pm Plant react with Relief but Little jubilation by Evan Ramstad a business writer Arlington Texas apr tension turned into Relief monday for 3,700 autoworkers who Learned general motors had picked their Auto Assembly Plant Over one in Michigan to make rear wheel drive cars. But there were no loud celebrations. A you could hear a big sigh of Relief. You could hear the Rush a said Doug Mcmillan an assembler describing the reaction when Plant manager Art Hester told workers they would be spared from Gmys Seiler Cost cutting knife. However 4,000 of their colleagues in Ypsilanti township mich., will lose their jobs when that Plant is closed next summer and its operations Are shifted to Arlington. A a we re not going to celebrate because we feel bad for people who Are losing their jobs a said Mike Seiler shop chairman for Law local 276, which represents the Arlington workers. A they Are More or less our pm Brothers and Sisters a said Melvin Mcclendo son a Job Trainer at the Plant. On dec. 18, pm had targeted the Arlington and Willow run plants for closure As part of the giant automakers restructuring. Both plants make big cars such As the chevre it Caprice and Cadillac Brougham and pm said sales have been off so much that Only one of the plants is needed. General motors said Cost location and the Ages of the plants played a role in its decision. But Union representatives said another Factor May have been the willingness of the Arlington labor Force to accept production changes. Labor management relations at Arlington Are considered better than at most pm facilities. In 1986, the Law local adopted a team concept in which workers learn each others jobs. When pm announced its restructuring workers at the Plant voted to accept a we have a Good background of being flexible of being productive a Dave Perdue Law local president a More efficient 10-hour, four Day workweek if the company asked for it. A we have a Good background of being flexible of being productive a said Dave Perdue president of the Law local. A the Plant runs efficiently. We just sold  now Arlington will need to hire 1,000 More workers and add a shift to take on production from the Willow run Plant. A it looks like in a going to make my retirement a said John Mcnamara who has put in 24 years at the Plant and needs six More to retire