European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18the stars and stripes thursday april 16, 1992 Money matters today a tip the Dow Jones Industrial average soared to a record High tuesday closing above 3,300 for the first time on surprisingly Strong corporate earnings results. The Dow average the Best known barometer on Wall Street finished tuesday at 3,306.13, up 36.23. The previous record of 3,290.25 was set March 3. 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 $338.00 an ounce Silver at $4.06. April 14 april 15 British Pound.1.7709 1.7598 German mark.1.6455 1.6555 French franc.5.5850 5.5890 dutch guilder.1.8566 1.8630 belgian franc.34.035 33.980 italian lira.1,244.25 1,244.95 Swiss franc.1.5130 1.5245 greek drachma.192.67 193.10 turkish lira.6,380.20 6,414.40 saudi arabian rlyal.3.7495 3.7495 Spanish peseta.103.25 103.60 portuguese escudo.141.51 141.90 Canadian dollar.1.1835 1.1813 austrian schilling.11.6075 11.6425 norwegian krone.6.4520 6.4730 danish krone.6.3925 6.4115 these Are commercial rates and can be related Only to the use of foreign currency by . Forces for official business. The Only official rates concerns the Sale of German Marks and British pounds to . Personnel for personal use and these will be 1.61 Marks to a Dollar and $1.81 for a Pound through thursday based on wednesdays noontime Price fixings. New York Exchange new York up York Stock exc Nangi Slock ism corp Ford motor co Texas utilities general motors at amp to company Citicorp Banc one corp first data corp Glaxo holdings Rwjr Nabisco hid chemical Bank Amer express co Wal Mart stores get corp Tel Fonos de my american Exchange new York up the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock to change composite trading tuesday. Stock Chambers Dev a fibreboard corp fruit of loom Alza corp Plains resource Amdahl corp Wang labs inc b Americus desc into Corona Hasbro inc a the 15 most Active stocks in new i composite trading on tuesday. Sales last net chg. 3,313,800 88% up % 3,266,900 41 up % off 2,797,200 37% 2,690,900 39% up % 2,640,600 42% up % 2,211,400 16% up 2,102,700 45vfc off 1% 2,069,500 23% up % 2,042,100 28% up % 1,971,400 9% up % up 2% 1,859,200 34% 1,840,200 22% up % 1,827,200 54% up 1 % 1,803,300 31 up % 1,710,500 57% up 1 sales last net chg. 1,448,500 7% up 1 up 1% 512,100 8 490,400 37% up % 478,400 46% up 1% 470,600 14 Oft % 451,100 15 up % 401,700 5% up % 383,300 7 up 1 368,700 3% unch 346,100 26% up 1 Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones dosing Range of averages tuesday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks High 3336 54 1377 06 206 06 1181 34 Low 3259.39 1334.45 202 99 1152.61 close 3306.13 1365.47 205.18 1171.55 Okanee up 36.23 up 28.21 up 125 up 15.38 funds for Bhopal Danbury Conn. A Union Carbide corp. Says it will sell its Battery Plant in India to raise up to $17 million for a Hospital in Bhopal to treat victims of the 1984 tragedy when at least 4,037 people were killed and about 20,000 injured after poisonous Gas leaked from a pesticide Plant run by an Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide. Business issues now linked to Security . Envoy says by Vince Crawley staff writer Bonn Germany a business leaders Are joining ranks with statesmen and soldiers As peacekeepers of the world following the end of the cold War the . Ambassador to Germany said wednesday. Business a must now be treated As part of our Overall National Security a ambassador Robert m. Kimmitt told a group of american and German corporate executives in Bonn. A most of us used to think of Security in political and military terms a said Kimmitt a West Point graduate who was wounded in Vietnam. Commercial environmental and cultural issues a were often dormant in our National Security analysis a during the 40-year cold War Kimmitt said but they Are now coming a forcefully to the  Strong business ties Between the United states and Germany will help secure the peace of both countries As Well As that of Europe he said. This requires a the staunch rejection of both isolationism and protectionism a the ambassador said. A these ideologies have no place in the world of Progress and they Are Deaden  Kimmitt said that he finds it encouraging a that american voters appear to have rejected Kimmitt such outmoded doctrines during the course of our presidential primaries despite an understandable concern about Domestic issues. In a confident that our voters recognize the truth that to be Strong at Home we need to be Strong  addressing a luncheon of the american German business club attended by about 75 people he also spoke of a the successful integration of Eastern Germany into the Federal Republic a and said such an integration a is a goal to which we All remain emphatically  More than 100  companies Are doing business with the five new states that make up what was East Germany he said. The top five of those firms have invested at least $1.24 billion and created 20,000 jobs in the five new Eastern states Kimmitt said. Also american companies purchased 25 former East German firms in 1991, Kimmitt said. March retail sales Down sharply Washington a retail sales in March registered the steepest drop in seven months the government said tuesday. Analysts took the report As a sign of an uneven rather than a derailed economic recovery. The Commerce department said retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent from the previous month to $157.1 billion. The dip followed Strong gains of 1.3 percent in february and 2.1 percent in january. The figures Are not adjusted for inflation. A it was inevitable those huge increases in january and february weren to sustainable a said economist Sandra Shaber of the futures group a Washington based consulting firm. March marked the first drop since october and the worst since August. Still even with the decline first Quarter sales were up 2.9 percent from the previous Quarter the Best in More than three years. A this is a relatively Small decline and it certainly does no to signal we re entering another downturn a Shaber said. A i think its probably a useful reminder this Isnit going to be a terrific  most analysts agree economic growth this year will be far weaker than the 6 percent average during the first year of other Post world War ii recoveries. Retail sales represent roughly one third of economic activity Overall and economists had welcomed the Strong gains in the first two months of the year As confirmation the recovery was under Way. They still hold that View attributing much of the March weakness to special factors. Temperatures during the month were lower than Normal in Many parts of the country. Also easter Falls later than usual this year Likely shifting some sales from March to april. Union agrees to end strike at Caterpillar Hinsdale 111. Apr the United Auto workers agreed to end its 5-month-old strike against Caterpillar inc. While contract talks continue. However it was not immediately Clear How Many of the Union members jobs would still be waiting for them. A dispute also developed Over exactly when the employees were to report to work at Caterpillar the worlds largest maker of Earth moving equipment. Caterpillar which claims it can run its plants with up to 15 percent fewer employees said it needs about a week to decide How Many to Call Back. But the Union told the More than 12,000 workers to report wednesday to their jobs in Illinois. The strike Drew wide attention because of caterpillars ultimatum to workers april 6 to return to work or risk losing their jobs to non Union replacements. The showdown represented the first time a major Industrial company had tried to break a Union of the size and strength of the 900,000-member Law. Law bar gainers voted unanimously tuesday to return to work without conditions at the recommendation of Bernard Delury of the Federal mediation and conciliation service said the a awl a Secretary treasurer Bill Casstevens. The Union interpreted the recommendation to mean workers should be on the Job wednesday Casstevens said. Caterpillar agreed to Stop trying to hire replacements but will be allowed to put into effect its last contract offer which raises top minimum pay from $35,318 a year to $39,915 in september 1994. The Union wants $40,458 by then. Negotiations under Federal mediation will continue. The walkout began with a limited strike nov. 4 and spread idling 12,600 workers at plants in East Peoria Aurora Mossville Decatur Pontiac and Mapleton. Caterpillar with More than 56,000 employees worldwide also has plants in York a. Denver and Memphis Tenn. Business Apple s $5.5 billion lawsuit mostly dismissed by judge from wire reports san Francisco a a Federal judge on tuesday dismissed most of Apple computer  $5.5 billion lawsuit accusing Microsoft corp. And Hewlett Packard co. Of illegally copying apples macintosh display technology. . District judge Vaughn Walker ruled that most of apples computer screen display symbols that were the focus of the suit were not protected by copyright Law. Walker scheduled another hearing May 12 to decide whether the displays remaining in the suit presented enough evidence of similarity to go to trial. Ism reports is Quarter profit rebounding from a financially disastrous 1991, ism said tuesday that it moved into the Black in the first Quarter with earnings of $595 million or $1.04 a share. The profit contrasted with a loss of $1.7 billion a year earlier. Analysts said however that it was too soon to credit the upswing to the company a Radical restructuring. For the first Quarter Revenue was up 3.3 percent at $14.04 billion compared with $13.59 billion in the period last year. Operating earnings before taxes Rose 6.9 percent to $991 million from $927 million in the 1991 Quarter. Sprint Russia in phone Deal new York a sprint the third largest . Long distance phone company announced a Deal tuesday to help modernize russians phone system. Sprint said it would build and operate russians first nationwide Public data network. The network which will carry computer data will be built As part of a Moscow based joint venture called sprint networks