European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes Money matters wednesday october 28.1992 Post office Hopes to sort out dirty mail legible writing can Aid delivery officials say by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington you May never have thought of your mail As being particularly unsavoury but postal officials say that paying More attention to the Hygiene of the letters and cards you Send out can greatly Speed de livery. If customers adopt the Basic rules of a new initiative called address Hygiene their mail will Fly through the sorting process be accurately delivered and receive less handling said maj. Bruce Kinser a spokesman for the military postal service. The initiative also can help lower operating costs and allow the . Postal service to maintain More stable postage rates Kinser said. The guidelines which include using Quality addresses and ensuring that mail is Machinable Are de signed to take advantage of automated sorting equip ment used by the . Postal service he said. A Quality address is one that contains All the Nec Essary information printed neatly and distinctly so it can be read quickly and accurately by computerized characters should t touch each other. If addresses Are Handwritten use All capital letters.1 maj. Bruce Kinser of the military postal service mail sorting machines called optical character readers. Mail is Machinable if its paper Stock size shape and thickness allow it to move easily through the sorting machines. Kinser said the primary address Hygiene Rule is to write legibly. Characters should t touch each other he said. If addresses Are Handwritten use All capital  better still would be address labels that Are typed or computer printed preferably with a letter Quality Printer he said. In both cases Black Ink on White Back ground works Best. Positioning of the address also can help he said. It should be entered in an imaginary rectangle whose top and Bottom Are 2% inches and five eighths of an Inch from the Bottom Edge of the envelope and whose sides Are a half Inch in from both the right and left edges of the envelope. Also use Complete address information Kinser said. Include abbreviated directional indicators such As n for North and so for Southwest and always use two letter state abbreviations or a a and a for Over seas military addresses. Also include Street abbreviations such As St for Street re for Road and in for Lane. Kinser said the . Postal service is expected to have its mail processing fully automated within three years. In Europe illegible addresses Are not a significant problem for our workers said Barbara Lutz spokeswoman for the army postal group Europe. The organization keeps no statistics on the number of letters that Are addressed sloppily she said. Once in Europe All mail is sorted by hand and the human Eye is More tolerant than a machine she said. Contributing to this report staff writer Crystal Laureano. Continental to Cut fares to Europe by 35% Houston a Continental air lines said monday it would Cut fares to Europe by an average 35 percent for travel this Winter. The fare Cut comes As the airline Industry is trying to push fares higher. The Industry has increased fares about $10 to $30 twice in recent months leading Man to believe widespread fare cutting had ended. Continental based in Houston said fares would Range from $358 to $498 for round trips made from dec. 27 through March 20. Continental flies to London Paris Frankfurt and Munich Germany and Madrid Spain. Continental said that the fares Are Pru Dent prices and that they should stimulate travel during the typically slow win Ter season. There was no immediate indication from Continental s competitors on whether they would match the fares. At this Point it s under review Neil Monroe at Delta air lines said. Winter discount fares Are traditional. It is the slower season. Well have to take a  american airlines the nation s largest Carrier said it was studying the cuts. United airlines said it would stay competitive with Continental but was review ing the specifics. Tom Parsons of Arlington based bes fares which tracks airline ticket deals said he was convinced Continental s competitors would match the Sale in at least those european cities that Continental serves. Most of the airlines will be forced to match this and this could open other cities All Over Europe he said. Parsons said the fares would be about $100 cheaper than discount flights now in effect he also speculated that the Continental move was prompted by discounts offered by Kim Royal dutch airlines based in Amsterdam Netherlands. Fares would be particularly attractive for american skiers who will find euro Pean trips in some cases As cheap or even cheaper than those to . Slopes. Continental said tickets for the Dis counted flights must be purchased at least 14 Days in Advance were non refundable and required a saturday night stay. They also must be purchased by dec. 31. Continental said it would allow a one time change in departure and return dates at no charge As Long As the same class of service was available. Under the discount program a los Angeles to Munich trip that normally costs $902 is being offered for $498, a 45 percent savings. A Washington to London flight that normally costs $628 is being offered at $358, a 43 percent savings. A Miami to Munich trip will Cost $448, off 42 percent. A flight from Newark n.j., to Paris will Cost $398, Down 36 percent. And a Cleveland to Frankfurt Jour Ney will Cost $448, Down 40 percent. Homeowners play interest rate guessing game by the los Angeles times an unexpected jump in mortgage interest rates has left Many homeowners in a quandary wondering whether they should refinance their Loans now before rates move higher or wait and Hope they will head South again analysts say. I m completely lost said Lynn Brown a los an Geles Homeowner who s trying to figure out whether she should refinance her Home loan at today s higher rates or delay her plans in the Hope that rates will fall again. My loan broker kept telling me that rates were going Down and now they be jumped Back up again. And if he does t know which Way rates Are going How am i supposed to the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed Mort Gage shot up to 8.23 percent last week from 8.06 per cent the week before. It was the third weekly increase in a Row and the sharpest since mid january. Analysts primarily blame the recent uptick on Bond traders concerns about the effect an election Victory by democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton Wouldhave on Long term rates. There Are really two theories on what effect a Clin ton win would have on interest rates jut both of the have the same result said Paul Havemann of Ash associates a Butler  firm that tracks inter est rate trends. One theory says that Clinton would increase Federal spending which Means that government borrowing would go up and rates would move higher. The other says Clinton would get the Economy Back on track but a recovery would Force rates higher  but no matter who wins Havemann said the Long term trend for rates is  Many homeowners rushed to refinance their existing Loans about midyear when mortgage rates dropped below 8 percent for the first time in two decades. Many others who waited hoping rates had t hit Bot Tom Are now wondering whether they made the right bet. I would say go ahead arid refinance now especially if you plan on staying in the Home Long enough to re coup the costs of setting up the new loan said John Lucas of arcs mortgage a California based subsidiary of Bank of new York. Financial preparation can ease Load on mourning spouse Denver a psychologists say the death of a spouse is typically accompanied by a Range of emotions including denial anger and depression which in turn May Lead to fatigue and confusion. These feelings Combine to make the period surrounding the death of a love done an inappropriate time to make important financial decisions said Jane Walsh an expert on retirement plan Ning with the Denver based College for financial planning. One Way to limit the Odds of making a damaging financial mistake is for partners to share As much information As possible while living. That Way when a partner Dies the other knows at the very least where to find important financial documents and How to pay Rou Tine Bills. Both partners should know How to Contact any tax advisers financial plan ners or insurance agents Walsh said. In addition she said not All financial decisions need be made immediately. One that should be accomplished quickly is getting multiple certified co pies of the death certificate. An insurance company will need that before paying death policy benefits. A death certificate also May be needed to trans Fer title of automobiles. Decisions to avoid during the grieving process include major investment choices particularly those concerning Large Lump sum payouts of life insurance benefits. If a Lump sum is taken Walsh recommends putting the Money aside in a liquid fund such As a Money Market account until Long Range goals have Bee developed. The shift from a couple to a single individual requires a Complete re examination of the financial plan for a surviving spouse Walsh said. Among the issues that couples should examine prior to the death of a partner is life insurance. If the primary wage earner Dies life insurance should be in place to continue income to the surviving spouse. An important element of this equation is the insurance provided by the primary wage earner s employer. Also to be considered Are some Basic estate planning guidelines. Wills and trusts should be updated periodically As tax and personal situations change and beneficiary designations for life insurance individual retirement accounts and pension plans should be checked regularly to ensure the people designated Are those you want to receive proceeds from the investments. Overall the most important step to prepare financially for the death of a loved one is shared information Walsh said. The period surrounding the death of a spouse is rough. The last thing you need to face at this Point is a rash of critical investment