European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday november 16, 1392 Money matters the stars and stripes Page 17 re today s rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark 1.53 Britley Pound .1.58 dutch Guilder .1.72 greek drachma a a a a a a a a a a a 200.245 note Itte rate above apply written tha Hoat country. Elgur a Ara apr Aazaad in Dohara to tha British Pound Othar eur Ranolda to tha Dollar following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the  Dollar to foreign currencies italian lira.1,342.50 turkish lira a a a a a  6063a90 Spanish is sati. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 112.31 portuguese escudo  130.47 austrian schilling.11.07 saudi rial .3.7495 Bahrain Dinar. 0.37675 Kuwait Dinar a a  0.2975 norwegian Krona a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 6.395 danish krone.�. 6.028 British Pound.1.541 Gorman Mark 1.5712 Swiss franc. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a i 1.419 Pranc franc a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 5.303 dutch Guilder. 1.7743 belgian franc a Canadian Dollar.1.2595 not figure Are exp remd in Dorian to tha British Pound Othar Curran daa to tha Dollar Odd quota $334.25 an Tunoa Silver quote $3.80 an ounce increases in quarterly profits Point to improving Economy . Car makers report sales up 17.7% percent Detroit up a figures released by . Automakers Friday showed Domestic car and Light truck sales up a combined 17.7 percent for Early november. The companies reported a 5.7 percent increase in car sales during the nov. 1-10 period from 119,398 last year to 126,177 this year. There were eight Selling Days in both periods. Light truck sales Rose 38.3 percent from 69,854 in the year ago period to 96,581 units in the most recent period. Ford led the dig three in Domestic car sales showing sales of 39,133, a 20.5 percent increase from the 32,466 reported in Early november 1991. General motors reported sales of 54,106, Down 4.3 percent from 56,508, while Chrysler a sales were estimated at 14,500, off 1.4 percent from the year ago figure of 14,700. Nissan reported . Car sales up 211.9 percent Subaru up 72.4 percent and Mazda up 6.9 percent. Mitsubishi reported Domestic car sales Down 46.5 percent and Toyota reported a 3.9 percent decline. For the year so far pm said car sales were Down 0.7 percent Ford reported a 7.7 percent increase and Chrysler sales were off 6,1 percent. Other year to Date figures were Honda off 4.1 percent Toyota up 3.1 percent Mazda off 6.9 percent Mitsubishi Down 3.1 percent Subaru Down 0,1 percent and Suzuki Down 82,5 percent. For the period Ford reported a 41.6 percent increase in Light duty truck sales rising from 24,439 to 34,607. General motors sales increased 32.9 percent from 26,574 to 35,323, and Chrysler s sales were up an estimated 34,5 percent from 16,500 to 22,200. Nissan. Toyota and Isuzu reported increases in Light truck sales while Mazda showed a 46 percent decline. For the year Chrysler Domestic truck sales were up 26.4 percent Ford up 16.5 percent Ana pm up 9.7 percent. Mazda showed truck sales off thus far in 1991 but Nissan Isuzu and Suzuki All reported increases. By John Cunniff a business analyst new York Public companies seem beset by a Host of problems these Days but collectively they appear to have made Progress in overcoming one trouble with profits after five straight quarters of declines corporate profits have now risen for the third straight time the latest increase a 16 percent year to year Rise in the third Quarter. The improvement is important for the entire Economy and especially significant in several areas Stock prices productivity and jobs. A for stocks the increase lessens the disparity Between Price and earnings a situation that had. Led Many analysts to warn of Sharp Price declines. Prices had been far in excess of historical relationships with earnings. A productivity and perhaps exports Are aided because the earnings improvements have been made without equivalent increases in sales. Thinned Down companies Are More competitive earning More per Sale. A jobs might be bolstered because it could be argued that some companies have achieved their slimmed Down goals and having improved their profits could be ready for selective hiring. Figures compiled by Wright investors service indicate that excluding unusual items third Quarter earnings for the companies in the Standard amp poor a 500-Stock Index were 16 percent higher and 24 percent higher for the a amp a Industrial companies. _ eliminate the unusual items a non recurring write offs by ism Sears and american express Tor example a and the gains look even More impressive 32 percent for the a amp a 500 and 41 percent for the a amp a industrials. The gains arc Broad based too encompassing most of the traditional Industry groupings. Positive results were shown for the Oil Gas Coal group despite sluggish demand in printing and publishing because of higher advertising spending and in construction and Metal products manufacturing which were weak a year ago. There were indeed some downturns but not nearly As Many As upturns. Poor results were shown by paper companies caused in part by overcapacity and in aerospace manufacturing and apparel. The bad news was the exception however and in some instances the bad bugs alive was t As bad As it had been. The automotive category for example lost $942 million but in the comparable period of 1991 the loss was $2.05 billion. Moreover improvement in the automotive category is Likely to continue. Chrysler already has been put on better footing and Ford and general motors arc Likely to improve their performances if the Economy avoids a fall. Much of the Good news about earnings has been muted by the negative news the troubles of some of the biggest business names in the world a ism general motors and scars for example and by Overly optimistic expectations by Wall Street. Overestimates by the latter have been a continuing phenomenon helping to produce Stock prices higher than the Ong term standards. In such a context increases that failed to reach expectations were viewed negatively. Realistically however the increases add further evidence of economic Progress however slow. They Lessen the possibility of a Sharp downturn in the Stock Market and they offer some Hope that hiring will pick up. And for the longer Range they suggest that the downsizing and experiments with productivity enhancing measures have paid off Ana might continue to do so. Pm to Cut jobs by 17 percent Warren Mich. Up the head of general motors Chevrolet division unveiled a restructuring plan Friday that includes a 17 percent reduction in Overall employment. By the first Quarter of 1993, said general manager Jim Perkins most of the division s marketing Center functions a including distribution a will be relocated to 14 regional sales and marketing offices supported by 28 Small zoned  i those regional offices will be formed from 14 of the 22 Chevrolet Branch offices. Most of the Small zoned offices will be in cities where there previously was a full Branch office he said. Branches being closed Are Houston Pittsburgh Portland Ore. St Louis Syracuse and Tarrytown . Tampa Fla. And Washington . The bulk of the staff reduction Perkins said will be accomplished through Early retirements and attrition. Workers Check the wiring on new Volkswagen Beetle taxis saturday in Monterrey Mexico. The cars were lined up for inspection before being put into service As part or a new transit program in the City. Volkswagen stopped Selling the Bug shaped cars in the United states during the 1970s, but they Are still made in Mexico. Jeep wranglers doors on Mazda probed Washington a the government is investigating overheating in some jeep a pro e wranglers and has upgraded its e into inadvertent door openings on certain Mazda 626 and 929 models the National Highway traffic safety administration also opened two investigations involving fuel tank leaks the overheating investigation focuses on 1987-1989 Chrysler jeep wranglers with 4.2-liter v-6 engines. Federal officials have received five complaints that overheated catalytic converters cause the carpet or the rear seat to catch fire. There Are 99,138 of the wranglers on the Road. A a we re aware of it and we Are cooperating with Nitsa in their preliminary evaluation a said James Kenyon a Chrysler corp. Spokesman. The governments traffic safety Agency broadened its investigation into doors inadvertently opening on 1988-89 Mazda 929s and 1988-91 Mazda 626s. Federal officials have received reports that in some cases doors have flown open when windows were rolled Down the result of a door handle Assembly problem. The safety Agency said that although it has received Only 10 complaints from Consumers Mazda has said it sold 11,536 parts to dealers for replacement. The Agency said the automaker acknowledged that the Assembly is susceptible to failure and redesigned it. Mazda spokesman Thomas Mcdonald said Friday that the automaker would cooperate fully with the investigation. There Are 372,796 of the Mazda on the Road. The investigation eventually could Lead to a recall of the vehicles. In its monthly report the safety Agency said that in addition to the jeep wrangler inquiry it had opened six investigations into a 1991 Chevrolet Samaros and Pontiac firebirds because of four complaints of fuel tank leakage. An estimated 131, xxx Are on the Road. A Allf series Ford Broncos for 199092. Nine complaints cited failure of a valve Between the trucks fuel tanks causing one of the tanks to overflow. About 350,000 of the trucks Are on the Road. A 1989-92 Blue Bird school buses using an International Chassis. A school District complained of 13 incidents in which the front Brake Hose cracked. A Takata Gerico Gerry guard secure lock car seats no. 690 and 695. Seven complaints detailed difficulty in attaching the seat buckle mechanism a j992 Ford explorers and navajos. Three complaints said the indicator showing Drivers which gear they Are in gets out of alignment. About 225,000 of the vehicles were sold. A 1990-92 pm Chevrolet caprices and Buick Road masters. Ten complaints claimed the rear seat Belt is too Short. About 200,000 of the cars Are on the Road