European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 20, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 17today s rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use through monday German mark.1.54 British pound.1.91 dutch gulldor.1.73 a rank drachma 185.659 not it rate above apply it ten the Hoet country. Figures Are expressed m dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies Kalian lira.1,188.50 turkish lira.8,893.90 Span Lah paaata.98.88 Portu guava aseudo.130.35 austrian schilling.11.05 saudi rial.3.75 Bahrain dinar.0.37675 Kulak dinar.0.2895 norwegian krona.6.1415 danish krona.6.0475 British pound.1.8595 Gorman mark.1.5705 Swiss franc.1.4170 French franc .5.2870 dutch guilder.1.7691 belgian franc.32.38 Gold quote $343.75 an ounce Silver quote $4.10 an ounce new York Exchange new York up a the 15 most Active stocks in new York Stock Exchange composite trading on to thursday. Stock sales last Nat chg. Adv Micro orcs 8,343.900 9 off 5% to Lewonos de my 4,921,700 47 up 1ft Federal Home in 4,657,900 33ft off 2ft Chrysler corp 3,500,400 21 vhf up 1vi ism corp 3,186,700 94ft up 17/fc coca cola co 3,158,200 39ft up general motors 2,401,800 42v up 1 a Citicorp 2,090,900 20ft off % Glaxo holdings 2,040,100 26 up at amp to company 2,016,800 41 i off 1ft Rwjr Nabisco hid 1,962,400 9 off k Mart corp 1,947,000 21v up it Boeing co 1,898,500 42ft off 1 Philip Morris 1,858,600 72 up 1 us surgical 1,831,200 96 a Oft 4ft new York up the 10 most Active stocks in american Stock Exchange composite trading thursday. Stock Salsa Lait Nat chg. Fruit of loom 412,500 30ft up7/ Wang laps inc b 383,100 3ft unch Nabors Industry 366,700 6ft unch Era corp 302,500 22ft off it Echo Bay mines 291,100 6 up it Hasbro inc 284,900 27 it up i Elan corp Pic 239,400 39ft up it Excel Industry 225,700 11ft off it inti mum tech 201.700 12ft off it  183,800 5ft off Dow Jones new York up now Jones dosing Range of i trages thursday High Low Creio Kanat 30 Indus Lulli 3313.71 3245.49 3274.12 Ott 13.64 20 transport 1323.99 1297.83 1304.00 Oil 14.20 15utilffim 213 88 211.50 212.69 ofl0.13 65 stocks 1168.94 1146.83 1154.95 Ott 6.59u.k. Jobless rate up London up a the British unemployment rate climbed to a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent in May the country a highest level in nearly five years the government said thursday. The rate reaching its 25th straight month of increases hit 2.717.000 out of work people. That is an increase of 0.1 percent from the revised april figure of 2,695,000, the employment department said. The governments monthly employment figures Are not broken Down by Job category although the departments report said the number of employees in manufacturing industries stood at 4.532.000 in april Down 16,000 from  matters streamlining starts to pay off with gains in . Productivity by the new York times after two years of stagnant sales relentless Belt tightening and Waves of White Collar layoffs the productivity of american businesses is on the rebound. Output per hour in businesses other than farms grew at a robust annual rate of 2.7 percent last Winter the Bureau of labor statistics reported wednesday. That is the biggest spurt in two years. Perrier productivity growth a typical when the Economy recovers from recession a is Good for costs profits and inflation. A from the Point of View of firms its very Good a said Mark Lasky an economist at Dri Mcgraw Hill. For workers the productivity report contains mixed news. On the one hand business can produce More with fewer hands. Indeed total hours have declined for eight straight quarters through the Winter and the number of jobs did not climb above last years Levels until last month. But in the Long run nothing could be better than a productivity revival. The Pace of productivity growth basically determines How quickly living standards a lately a source of worry for Many Ameri cans a can Rise. Higher productivity is also helping to ease Cost pressures. Unit labor costs have been slowing for several quarters and actually fell a bit in the first Quarter the Bureau reported. Pay has also been rising More slowly. The productivity surge reflects efficiency gains in the nations sprawling service Economy a from airlines to Banks to retail chains. And some economists saw that As one of the first Concrete signs that the far reaching Effort to streamline service companies and the ranks of their White Collar work forces is paying off. A the bulk of the efficiency improvements were powered by the tremendous improvements in the service sector a said Stephen Roach chief economist at Morgan Stanley. A services is starting a and i stress starting a to turn the  the process still has a Long Way to go executives and economists agreed. A technology has moved faster than management has been willing to redeploy people a said Scott g. Mcnealy chief executive at Sun Micro systems. Factory productivity actually slipped at a 1 percent annual rate in the first Quarter. But experts shrugged off the dip As a measurement Fluke. A this Isnit a sign that the gains in manufacturing have come to an end absolutely not a said Michael Harper director of the Burcats office of productivity research. A manufacturing output has gone up sharply since january and hours Haven to gone up As  several economists saw the productivity spurt As a sign a if hardly proof a that the nations Long run productivity trend May be improving. Productivity has been stagnating a edging up less than 1 percent a year a for nearly two decades. A a there a a hint of something More than a cyclical recovery a Lasky said. He thinks the latest report is consistent with dries forecast of a slightly better trend for the 1990s a somewhere Between 1 percent and 1.5 percent at an annual rate. To be sure there arc caveats. Productivity always leaps at the Start of recoveries because managers Are typically reluctant to hire new hands and instead fill new orders by driving workers harder. And As always a single Quarter a subject in any Case to future revisions a does not make a trend. Kroger strikers of mediated pact Detroit a Kroger co. Clerks voted thursday to ratify a contract proposed by mediators ending a nine week strike against the nations largest grocery Chain. The vote was 2,078-1,132, said Jill Christoff a spokeswoman for the United food and commercial workers International Union. A few local 876 represents 7,000 clerks at 64 Southeastern Michigan Kroger stores. The clerks and 800 meat cutters struck april 13 after rejecting a company offer that would have Cut health benefits and made it easier to subcontract work. The meat cutters approved the pact wednesday. Kroger agreed in Advance to accept the five year Deal which raises pay by $2 an hour maintains health benefits and up holds full is. Part time staffing Levels. Kroger was to Start recalling employees Friday the last work Day for 2,000 replacement workers hired during the strike. A1 Zack the unions assistant director of negotiations said the new offer is a improved somewhat but a that it was accepted does no to mean everything is Hunky Dory at  a the strike was a Long and harrowing experience for Kroger its employees a both hourly and managerial a and our customers a said Joel Grec Nisan president of Kroger a Michigan division. Labor analysts said Kroger apparently misjudged the willingness of its workers to spend months on the picket line and its customers to Back them. A Kroger blinked a said Josh Stulberg a labor mediation expert at Wayne state University in Detroit. Quot Kroger underestimated the degree of Solidarity among the workers and the degree of Public support for the  the a few represents almost All of the 100,000 hourly workers at Cincinnati based Kroger. Largely empty parking lots at the stores and tons of unsold produce donated to charitable groups gave credence to the unions assertion that sales were off by half or More. That would put lost sales at $115 million based on the of cwt a estimate that Kroger rang up $22 million a week before the strike. Mcdonald s criticized for playground plans Chicago apr business analysts Are less than enthusiastic about Mcdonald a decision to expand to 15 cities its fledgling leaps amp Bounds indoor playground business. But children Are lining up several tots deep for a Chance to Romp at leaps amp Bounds prototype facility in suburban Naperville spokeswoman Terri Capatosto said thursday. A we Are very Happy with our leaps amp Bounds Center a she said. A it has Long waiting lines on a fairly regular basis. There a a lot More we want to learn about this Type of business before we make any bigger  the 11,000-Square-foot facility offers slides climbing ropes crawl tunnels air mattresses and pens full of colourful plastic balls. It costs $4.95 per child per Day. While the centers May make Money for Mcdonald a Michael Mueller an analyst with Montgomery securities in san Francisco said he a concerned the company a image As a hamburger business might suffer. A it seems to make More sense for Mcdonald a to be focusing on its Basic business than to get involved in a totally new business a Mueller said. A i wonder if they re trying to make a statement that a we re better off investing More capital in leaps amp Bounds than we Are in spending the same amount of Money on restaurants in the . Two new centers Are to open in August in Milwaukee and the Chicago suburb of Westmont. More than a dozen others Are planned for 1993 for cities that include Atlanta Houston Indianapolis Philadelphia and Columbus  Middle East broadcasting offers to buy wire service from wire reports Washington a a bidding War erupted for United press International on thursday when Middle East broadcasting Centre ltd., a London based company made a $3.5 million Cash buyout offer. Leon Charncy a new York attorney interested in saving up continued to negotiate a possible $14 million joint venture to run the wire service which is operating under chapter 11 bankruptcy Protection for the second time in seven years. Middle East broadcasting delivered a $3.5 million Cash bid to up and its attorneys said Dennis of Dea a lawyer for the wire services unsecured creditors. Of Ca said Middle East broadcasting wanted to close the Deal within 10 Days. Winnebago reports a profit Forest City Iowa a Strong sales of redesigned motor Homes helped Winnebago industries inc. Break a string of 11 quarterly losses the company said As it announced Thiru Quarter earnings thursday. Winnebago reported a net profit of $2.22 million or 9 cents a share in the three months ending May 30. A year earlier the company had a net loss of $2.25 million or 9 cents a share