European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday May 17, 1992the stars and stripes Page 17 Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of May 10 16 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years Mark Money matters1.60 one Dollar would buy you 1.72 1-791992 military Exchange rate 1997british pour done Pound would Cost you 1.78 170 1.65 belgian Francone Dollar would buy you 33.82 35.42 37.59 one Dollar would buy you 1.84 1-95 2.02 j992j 99rj 1987 French Francone Dollar would buy you 5.49 5.86 6.00 1991 1987 greek drachma one Dollar would buy you 193.90 189.15 i 133.65 Ujj 1987 l italian lira one Dollar would buy you 1,229 1,288 1,299 1999 l 1991 1987 Spanish peseta one Dollar would buy you 125.95 102.80 107.04 a j99sj j2sl1 turkish lira one Dollar would buy you 6,692 _ Quot 3,964 1992 Jim immigrants main retailer joins wave of nyc closing by the new York times new York a the death Knell rang for another big new York City retailer Friday As alexanders inc. Closed its 11 stores and filed for bankruptcy Protection. The budget department store company merchant to successive Waves of struggling immigrants said it would reopen the stores for a close out Sale then cease operations. The company which has not turned a profit on its retail operations since 1987, will try to sell or lease its stores some of which occupy prime locations including the flagship store at 58th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Alexanders demise will Hurt the new York Economy. Its 5,200 employees will lose their jobs and a significant amount of Square footage will flood a real estate Market already glutted with empty retail space. The daily news in which alexanders was the second largest advertiser will also be hard hit. Over the last decade alexanders managers and owners became More interested in developing the company a real estate and allowed the retailing business to decline. They failed to address Ever intensifying Competition from new discount stores and Price wars that made depart mint Storc merchandise less expensive. At Many locations the alexanders stores sit in shopping centers where the presence of other Large stores May help diffuse the loss. But the damage will be Felt strongly in the Fordham Road Section of the Bronx where the alexanders on the grand concourse has anchored a thriving shopping District of smaller shops and ornate movie Heaters. Alexanders bought that store its second in 1933 and made it the flagship of its Chain until the company moved into Manhattan in 1963. When its customers began moving out of the City alexanders moved with them establishing beachhead in White Plains and Paramus n.j., offering Middle class shoppers Quality goods at bargain prices. A with its passing the Bronx loses one of its distinctions because even though it moved its Headquarters to Manhattan in the minds of Many Bronx residents it was Alexander s retail business is not viable and there is Little Prospect of turning it around a Alexander chairman Robin Farkas always a Bronx store a said Lloyd Ultan a professor of history at Fairleigh Dickinson University who has written four books about the Bronx. A a alexanders a retail business is not viable and there is Little Prospect of turning it around a said alexanders chairman Robin Farkas. The end of alexanders highlights the extraordinary difficulties the retail Industry h As had in the new York area. Some of the proudest names in the business have closed in the last decade a Gim by la a b. Altman and May Sas Well As Orbach a s. Klein and . Korvette. Others including Bloomingdale a and Macy a filed for bankruptcy but survived. A this is not just an individual Story about a retailer fallen on hard times but another very sad part of the difficulties of the whole retail scene in new York City which has been under siege Quot said Samuel m. Ehrnhalt regional commissioner of the Bureau of labor statistics a division of the labor department. In its heyday in the 1930s, the Alexander s at Fordham Road and the grand concourse boasted More sales per Square foot than any other retailer in the country. Its founder George parkas who named the stores for his father developed the strategy of finding a Niche Between discount houses Selling hardware and housewares and full service department stores. A dad went right in Between with decor and ambience but with style fashion and Price a Robin Farkas said at the time of his fathers death in 1980. A it had not been done that Way alexanders was one of the last department stores to Cater to the needs and wallets of new Yorkus struggling immigrant and working class shoppers. From its unkempt facade to the cheap no frills merchandise it sold alexanders was always a contrast in the department store Industry where Glitz Glamour and excess predominated. With the opening of a third store in White Plains the company adopted the strategy of remaining open in the evening which no other Westchester county department store did at the time. But the company has been in decline since the mid-1980s. In its last five years the Only times the company posted profits were when it sold stores. And sales dropped to $430 million last fiscal year from $525 million in 1988. Parkas said losses Over the last two years reached $40 million and were expected to continue. Stock Market cruises on optimism about steady economic recovery a amps new York a Wall streets Bull Market bandwagon has had a lot of chances lately to show off its Shock absorbers. In just the last few weeks it has had to ride out a series of political social and financial jolts from a variety of unexpected directions. Domestically there was the Specter of violence in los Angeles and some other american cities giving fresh urgency to the nations race relations problem. On the world financial stage investors were faced with the slide in japanese Stock prices and at the end of the past week bankruptcy filings by the worlds biggest real estate Developer Olympia amp York. Yet As if to ratify the Maxim that a a Bull Market climbs a Wall of worry a the Dow Jones Industrial average has held tenaciously at record or near record Levels. One big reason for this resilience analysts agree is news about the . Economy that is sticking very close to Wall Street Erst Ideal script. A moderate paced growth Low inflation Strong profit gains is the Way Richard Rippe economist at Prudential securities sees the picture. A several leading indicators imply that the Economy will continue to or in the words of analysts at Standard amp poor a weekly advisory the Outlook a the economic recovery is com ing together and indications Are that Progress will be gradual and inflation wont be a problem. Earnings Are improving with dividends following Many observers Sec a special importance for the Market in favourable inflation news Given the powerful influence inflation exerts on interest rates and the Federal reserves credit policy. Lower inflation a has Many economic benefits a said Lawrence Kudlow chief economist at Bear Stearns cos. Inc. A besides reducing interest rates and enhancing the purchasing Power of All incomes and savings lower inflation also eases capital thus most traders were Happy in the past week to see that both the producer Price Index of finished goods and the consumer Price Index posted increases of just 0.2 percent in april. The Celebration was muted however in the Stock Market even though the Dow Jones industrials touched another new High on monday. The widely recognized average of 30 Blue chips closed Friday at 3,353.09, Down 16.32 from the week before. Elsewhere the National association of securities dealers composite Index dropped 11.33 to 574.43, and the american Stock Exchange Market value Index was Down 3.75 at 390.37. If Edward Yardeni chief economist at . Lawrence inc., is right in his appraise growth spearheaded by gains in productivity Ratner than rapid increases in Coit Al the Economy is headed for a period of of. He sumption or employment. A productivity led growth is Likely to be far less inflationary than employment led and consumption led growth Yardeni said. A the inflation rate hovered Between 4 percent and 6 percent during most of the 1980s. In the years ahead we predict that the Range will be 2 percent to 4 percent. A if inflation behaves As Well As we expect then government Bond yields will continue to trend lower and probably fall to 6 percent by the end of next Given those conditions and rising corporate profits Yardeni envisions a Dow Reading of 5,000 by the end of 1993. He concludes a we believe 1w2 is the third and final year of a three year transition period Between the excessive but prosperous 1980s and the More conservative 1990s.�?� Dow Jones new Yolk up a Dow Joon doling ring of averages Friday 30 Industrial 20 transport 15 us title 65 stocks 3360 1366 96 213 32 1196 16 Low 3330 45 1361 55 21094 1129 82 Clio 3353 09 13/4 07 21201 1186 38 a King off 15 79 of 2 42 Oft 0 62 off 4 30
