European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday april 25, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17 Money matters sales of cars and Light trucks built in North America Rose 10.3 percent in mid april Over the year earlier period when sales were depressed Auto makers reported thursday. Light truck sales increased 18.6 percent based on an average daily Selling rate to 110,612 in the april 11-20 period. Car sales Rose 5.1 percent to 154,818. There were eight Selling Days in mid april compared with nine a year earlier. Tom Webb chief economist with the National automobile dealers association said that in Light of rising employment rates and other factors Auto sales should be better than what they arc. If sales do not improve he warned it will a bring the recovery to a  conversion rates London Fuji 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 $336.55 an ounce Silver at $3.98. April 23 april 24 British Pound.1.7669 1.7735 German mark.1.6600 1.6505 French franc.5.6185 5.5773 dutch flullder.1.8736 1.8578 belgian franc.34.17 missing italian lira.1,252.00 1,242.00 Swiss franc.1.5415 1.5295 greek drachma.194.40 193.00 turkish lira.6,528.70 6,511.90 saudi arabian rfyal.3.7495 3.7495 Spanish peseta.104.29 103.77 portuguese escudo .141.24 140.04 Canadian dollar.1.1860 1.1860 austrian schilling.11.7150 11.63 norwegian krone.6.5070 6.46 danish krone.6.4400 6.3870 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 and British pounds to . Personnel for personal use. Through monday these will be 1.61 Marks to a Dollar and $1.85 for a Pound based on Price fixing Friday afternoon at military banking facilities. New York Exchange new York up York Stock exc Nangi Stock Glaxo holdings Rwjr Nabisco hid Johnson amp Johnsn inti game tech Bristol Myersq Chrysler corp Citicorp Amer express co general motors Ford motor co Chase Manhattan Bank of Boston at amp to company Merck amp co inc ban America american Exchange new York up the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Slock fruit of loom wan labs inc Ivan corp Chambers Dev a Western digital Alza corp Alpha Industry Hasbro inc spi holdings of instrument sys a Tow 15 most Active stocks in new i composite trading on thursday. Salta last net chg. 7,357,000 25ft Oft it 4.195,900 9ft unch 3,994,000 90ft off 2ft 3,254,200 24 o�1ft 2,992,200 73 up it 2,872,600 19ft up it 2,855,500 19 0 1 it 2,619,900 23ft up it 2,518,000 42ft up it 2,498.400 44 it up 1ft 2,159,400 26ft up it 2,088.900 20ft up it Oil it 2,059,700 43ft 1,968,900 139ft off 2ft 1,962,600 46ft off it change solos 936.500 756,700 716.600 470.200 354.600 353.500 346.200 343,000 221,300 219,100 int 36ft 4v� 25ft 8ft 4 4m 3ft 25ft 5 6ft not Cho. Up it on it off it off v4 up Vuk off m up it up it unch off Vuk Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones dosing Range of averages thursday 30 industrials 20 transport 15 utilities 65 stocks High 337634 1361.73 209.13 1192 97 Lew 3298.52 1339.69 20625 1164 39 Cote 3348.61 1375.75 208 38 118521 Svi up 32.14 up 057 up 10 39 . Eases Export restrictions on some High tech products by Terence Hunt the associated press Washington president Bush on thursday further relaxed cold War Trade restrictions on High technology exports and derided the a Flat Earth mentality of opponents of his drive to reduce global Trade barriers. A when we lift barriers to economic Freedom within and among our countries we unleash powerful forces of growth and creativity Quot Bush said. Bush made his comments in a speech to the Council of the americas a hemispheric Trade and business group. Hours earlier the Commerce department announced an easing of Trade restrictions on computers and other products to Western Europe Japan and Australia covering up to $3 billion annually in foreign sales. Bush defended his Campaign to bring Mexico into a Tariff free Trade Alliance with the United states and Canada. A we can to achieve this breakthrough by equiv Cating Between the status quo protectionists and the movement for Freedom and change a he said. Trade is a major Issue in the presidential race and Bush has been hammered from All sides of the political spectrum. Bush a conservative challenger for the presidency Patrick j. Buchanan has espoused an a America first policy to Cut foreign Aid and protect american jobs by restricting imports. Bush a Campaign for a free Trade zone with Mexico has been attacked by a coalition of labor consumer and environmental groups on grounds that american firms would move their plants to Mexico where labor costs Are cheaper and environmental standards Are weaker. A you May have heard some suggest that politics will dictate delaying the North american free Trade agreement until after the election a Bush said. President Bush Speaks to the Council of the americas in Washington on thursday. A Well those voices arc not speaking for me. In be instructed our negotiators to accelerate their work. I believe we can conclude a sound sensible Deal before the  Bush said a free Trade area comprising the United states Canada and Mexico would be the largest Market in the world with 360 million Consumers and a $6 trillion Economy. He said american merchandise exports to Mexico have increased by two thirds Over the last three years while exports of autos Auto parts and telecommunications equipment have doubled. A Trade with Mexico already supports hundreds of thousands of . Jobs a he said adding that a North american free Trade Accord would create thousands Quot today we still have to combat the Flat Earth the mindset that mentality urges us to barricade our Borders against Competition to shut off the free Exchange of food and machinery and skills and ideas a he said. T he president also criticized Congress saying it had failed to appropriate Money for a $1.5 billion Aid fund for latin America or funds for a debt for nature Campaign. In the Campaign the United states would cancel debts owed by foreign countries in return for Steps to improve the environment. The casing of Trade restrictions announced by the Commerce department will permit All computers including supercomputers to be exported to Many european countries without Pri it More. European Val. Prior approx Model cuts studied by pm paper says Detroit apr general motors corp. May be getting ready to drop some of its Best known Auto models in an ongoing reorganization of its Money losing operations. Casualties could include such Large Chevrolet As the Caprice and other Well known names like the Buick regal Oldsmobile Cutlass supreme or the Pontiac grand prix the Washington Post reported Friday. Executives also have been considering whether to fold the Gumc truck division into the Chevrolet truck division the Post reported. The newspaper reported that a number of proposals have been circulated at High level meetings in recent weeks with the aim of Fielding a smaller but More distinctive line of vehicles. Pm chairman Robert Stumpel president John f. Smith or. And other executives planned to address company employees on a nationwide video Hookup Friday. Spokesman Jim Crellin said top management would update employees on recent developments in the company a North american operations but denied a shake up is planned. A we done to discuss future product plans a he said. A we have said repeatedly we done to plan on eliminating any of our marketing  in Advance of the address pm announced Friday morning that it intends to offer 50 million shares of common Stock in a move that could raise about $2.1 billion. The company said its has filed a registration statement covering that plan with the securities and Exchange commission. The company is a trying to improve our liquidity and maintain our favourable credit rating with the offering pm spokesman Bill Winters said. Winters said the shares will be offered pending the secs approval. He said about 630 million shares already Are outstanding. He  say whether Stempel would discuss the offering in fridays address or whether the offering was tied to the massive downsizing the automaker is undergoing. Business Mcdonald s registers gains in earnings franchise sales from wire reports Oak Brook Iii. Mcdonald a corp. On thursday reported record first Quarter earnings of $187.4 million or 51 cents a share up 11 percent compared with $168.5 million or 46 cents a share in the opening Quarter of 1991. System wide sales a including sales of franchised and affiliated restaurants a Rose 9 percent to a record $4.91 billion compared with $4.53 billion a year ago. Total corporate revenues were up 4 percent to a record $1.62 billion compard with $1.5o billion in the 1991 Quarter. Smoking on Rise in Japan Tokyo a smokers in Japan bought a record 328.3 billion cigarettes in fiscal 1991, up 2 percent from a year earlier the tobacco Institute of Japan said. It was the third consecutive year that sales had increased from a year earlier. New procedures paying off new York a american express co. Said thursday its first Quarter profits fell 6 percent before a gain from new accounting procedures As the company spent More to promote its ailing credit card and travel business. The company benefited from Strong performances at its financial services brokerage and investment banking and financial data units. The company was Hurt last year by the recession and problems with its credit card operations. Overall american express reported net income of $465 million or 95 cents per share in the first three months of 1992. But that included a gain of $216 million from the adoption of new financial accounting standards on Jan. 1