European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday february 28, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17money matters today a tip investors enthusiastically backed Stock of synopsis inc. On wednesday after the computer software designer completed its initial Public offering. Synopsis closed wednesday at $31.50 on its first Day of trading compared with the initial Price of $18 a share for the 2 million share offering. Six year old synopsis a maker of automation software for use in developing integrated circuits completed its offering on tuesday. A total of 1.55 million shares was offered by the company and 450,000 shares were offered by Selling stockholders. Synopsis of Mountain View calif., was founded by a team of general electric researchers and initially had sue employees. It currently employs 275 workers and had revenues of $40.5 million in the fiscal year that ended sept. 30. Conversion 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 $350.85 an ounce Silver at $4.08. Feb. 26 feb. 27 British pound.1.74635 1.75440 German mark.1.65301 6440 French franc.5.6370 5.5575 dutch guilder.1.8640 1.8497 belgian franc.34.96 33.72 italian lira.1,243.95 1,227.25 Swiss franc.1.5005 1.4860 greek drachma.191.00 189.65 turkish lira.5,853-00 5,852.10 saudi arabian riyal.3.7503. 3.7502 Spanish peseta.103.84 1 03.21 portuguese escudo.142.42 141.38 Canadian dollar.1.1813 1.1789 austrian schilling.11.653 11.580 norwegian krone.6.487 6.447 danish krone.6.418 6.381 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  through Friday based on thursdays noontime Price fixing. Amtrak wants part of Gas tax Washington a Amtrak president w. Graham Claytor called wednesday on Congress to set aside a Penny a gallon from gasoline taxes and invest it in capital improvements the passenger Railroad says it needs to Prosper. Such an arrangement would raise about $1 billion for each year it was in effect. The Penny would be taken from the 2.5 cents a Gal Lon Gas tax which is now devoted to deficit reduction. A no single piece of legislation would have a More important effect on Amtrak a Claytor told the Senate committee on Commerce science and transportation. Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jonts dosing rings of ivs ass wednesday rfcs i up2549 30 industrials 20 transport 15 mimes 65 stocks he 3305.01 1456.28 206.69 1194.87 Low 3246.20 1426.38 203.74 1173.16 clots 3283.32 1443.76 up 13.64 205.81 up 125 1186.65 up 9.56 pension director says . Faces possible bailout of plan new York a . Taxpayers could be forced to bail out the nations pension insurance plan unless Congress passes reforms the director of the pension Benefit guaranty corp. Says. The director James b. Lockhart said wednesday that if Congress fails to act a we would need to triple the Premium right now in order to cover the existing deficit and expected future  the Federal Agency guarantees the pensions of 40 million americans. It charges companies eligible for the insurance Between $19 and $72 per person covered in the plans. Lockhart said the shortfall in pension plans at 80 companies swelled 25 percent to $40 billion last year a development that threatens the Long term financial health of the governments plan. In prepared remarks before a conference on employee benefits Lockhart said the Overall pension plan is healthy with $1.3 trillion in assets backing up $900 billion in benefits. A despite aggressive efforts to prevent ses the Agency is increasingly vulnerable to Large and growing claims from underfunded pensions a he said. About 3 million workers and retirees Are covered by the 80 companies a most of which Are in the Auto steel and airline industries a whose pension plans Are underfunded an Agency spokeswoman said in Washington. Pension rights activists questioned Lockhart a comments saying he was painting an excessively pessimistic picture. A i done to think the Agency is in real trouble a said Paul h. Jackson of Bethesda md., a retired actuary who has followed the Agency a finances. Jackson said the Agency had Premium income of $764 million last year but paid out $516 million in benefits while enjoying investment income of $945 million. A if you just look at the Cash flow they be got enough Money to run this thing for the next 35 to 40 years a said Jackson. Lockhart acknowledged that the Overall pension plan is healthy. A Cash flow crisis is not our problem a Lockhart told reporters at the seminar sponsored by the conference Board a business research group. A a we re just getting larger and larger deficits and falling further behind. So eventually there May need to be a  he said the Agency a deficit from its single employer insurance program Rose to $2.5 billion last year More than double the shortfall two years ago. But Karen Ferguson director of the pension rights Center in Washington suggested Lockhart was raising the level of rhetoric to ensure passage of pension reforms in Congress. A the prevailing Wisdom in Washington is that you can Only get pension legislation through if you paint a catastrophic scenario a Ferguson said. As for Lockhart a warnings about underfunding Ferguson said the Agency a liability is exaggerated because its highly unlikely that All underfunded companies will terminate pension plans. A there arc quite a few companies that Are on that list that have no intention to terminate their plan Quot Ferguson said. A and if they Are in a bad financial state then their Parent companies would take that  Lockhart called for four reforms to help improve the pension insurance plan. He said the government should a adopt accrual accounting policies which he said More accurately reflect the insurance plans Long term losses. A change bankruptcy Laws to clarify the Agency a standing with other creditors in a company a bankruptcy proceedings. This would ensure that the companies maintained payments to pension plans after restructuring. A Speed up the funding process to have pension plans funded in 10 to 20 years rather than the current 30 years. A guarantee future Benefit increases Only to those plans that Are fully funded. Jackson said that plan would harm so called Flat Benefit plans which arc popular with organized Tabor. But Agency spokeswoman Judith Bek Elman said the proposal Wasny to designed to Hurt labor unions. A a we re trying to get the companies to fund what otherwise would be empty promises a she said. Dime store Chain with debt crunch petitions for bankruptcy Protection new York a five and dime store operator Mccrory corp. Filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy court Protection wednesday. In its petition Mccrory cited pressure from Banks to repay some of its heavy debt Early and a Money crunch caused by the a continuing depression in the nations retail  it joins a list of retailers that have filed chapter 11 in recent months including . Macy amp co. Inc., Seaman furniture co. And jeweler Zale corp. The move had been expected since Mccrory failed to make a debt payment two weeks ago. The bankruptcy announcement follows the company a decision in december to close nearly a Quarter of its 1,030 stores and to let 2,000 employees go. Mccrory employs More than 17,000 people not counting thousands of seasonal workers. Mccrory operates More than 800 stores in 39 states under a variety of names including . Murphy . Newberry . Green and . Kress. Most of the stores Are in Low income Urban areas. Mccrory listed assets of $672 million and liabilities of $543 million. It said the company a outstanding debt totalled about $223 million a More than 85 percent not due until 1995 at the earliest. The stores lost about $16 million in the first nine months of 1991. Sales totalled $960.7 million for the first nine months of 1991, Down from $1.05 billion in the same period the previous year. The company said in a statement that it had lined up $100 million in financing to continue operating. It said the company expected to emerge from bankruptcy court a was an even stronger and More valuable business  pedestrians in the Center City Section of Philadelphia pass a Mccrory store shortly after the Chain filed for chapter u bankruptcy Protection from creditors. Under chapter 11, a company gets a reprieve from debts while working out a Way to pay Bills. Mccrory is controlled by flamboyant corporate financier Meshulam Riklis. Celebrity watchers know Riklis As the husband of Singer actress Pia Zadora. In its petition Mccrory said it was cancelling a contract that paid Riklis More than $2.9 million annually a the bulk of his salary As the company a chief executive. Mccrory attorney Brad Eric Scheler said Riklis would slay on As Mccrory a chief executive. Mccrory is part of Riklis holdings inc., a privately held concern headed by Riklis a native of Istanbul Turkey who came to America from Tel Aviv in 1947. Other Riklis holdings include Elizabeth Arden and Faberge. Rikliss Riviera hotel a Las vegas Casino also has sought bankruptcy Protection