European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday november 23, 1992f Money matters the stars and stripes a Page 17 today s rates following arc fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German mark1.54 British Pound. Dutch Guilder. Greek drachma .199.8477 note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in 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 currencies italian lira. 1,369.50 turkish lira8,150.00 Spanish psssta.113.45 portuguese escudo 142.75 austrian schilling11.115 saudi rial3.7495 Bahrain dinar0.37675 Kuwait Dinar 0.2983 norwegian krone6.45 danish krone6.14 British pound1.5315 German mark1.5845 Swiss franc1.4255 French franc.5,3625 dutch guilder1.7645 belgian franc32.51 Canadian dollar1.2773 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $335.55 an ounce Silver quote $3.78 an ounce Monsanto to Cut 3,200 positions shed some assets St. Louis apr Monsanto co. Announced Friday that it will trim 3,200 jobs sell off some assets and slow research to become More competitive in the soft global Economy. The chemical company joins other Large businesses including general motors corp. And Sears Roebuck and co., that have reacted to tougher times by slashing staff and holdings. A Consumers worldwide Are demanding products and services at dramatically lower prices a said Richard j. Mahoney Monsanto a chairman and chief executive. A we must respond in this fiercely competitive environment by significantly reducing our Cost of doing  Monsanto reported $9 billion in sales in 1991. It owns Nutrasweet co., the pharmaceutical firm . Searle and markets Weedkiller such As Roundup and Rodeo. The plan Calls for a 10 recent reduction in Monsanto a 32,000-member work Force. Spokeswoman Scarlett Foster said its too Early to say which of the company a 50 plants will be closed. The changes most expected in 1993, should save the company $200 million before taxes in 1994, Foster said. About 250 of the affected jobs Are in Monsanto corporate offices around the world and another 2,250 Are at Searle. The remaining 700 Are in Monsanto a chemical and agricultural groups and at Nutrasweet. Dec sets currency realignment but germans balk at rate Cut by Joel Havemann los Angeles times Brussels Belgium a the european Community engineered its third realignment of currency values in three months Early sunday in an Effort to head off a new round of chaos on the continents International currency markets. However Germany whose sky High interest rates Are widely blamed not Only for destabilizing the eco a system of fixed Exchange rates but also for choking economic growth across the continent resisted pressure to reduce its rates. The actions came at the end of an 11-hour emergency meeting of Central Bank and finance ministry officials from the dec member nations. Hans Tietmeyer vice president of the Bundesbank Germany scentral Bank was asked As he left the meeting whether Germany had any intention of reducing its rates. A you can be sure that Germany will do what is appropriate a he said. In the currency realignment Spain and Portugal devalued the peseta and the escudo by 6 percent each against the other seven currencies in the european Mone tary system whose values Are linked. The system is designed to assure International investors that currency fluctuations will not eat up profits from their european investments. Ireland and Denmark however did not Bow to pressure to devalue their currencies which also came under attack last week on International currency markets. Jose bras Portugal a Treasury Secretary said he expected no further currency realignments. A this is a very positive movement toward stabilizing the  just two months ago Italy devalued the lira by 7 percent in Exchange for Germany a acceptance of a Small reduction in its interest rates. When that action failed to end turmoil on the markets Italy and Britain pulled their currencies out of the Exchange rate system altogether and Spain devalued the peseta by 5 percent. But pressures erupted on Europe a currency markets again last week. Sweden which is not part of the european Mont any system effectively devalued its currency thursday. Denmark which is inside the Ems and Norway which is not raised interest rates in an Effort to avoid Sweden a Fate. Speculators also put downward pressure on the Spanish portuguese and Irish currencies. Spain went into the weekend meeting seeking another orderly devaluation As an alternative to simply turning its currency Loose to Market forces As Italy and Britain had been forced to do. To keep its peseta from falling below allowable Levels against the German Mark and other Strong european currencies Spain has used billions of dollars Worth of its foreign reserves in recent weeks to buy its own currency on International markets. Germany also sought the devaluation of the peseta and other weak european currencies. Germany has complained that under the system of fixed Exchange rates Between most Ems currencies it has been obliged to spend its valuable Marks to buy the system s weaker currencies. Ems rules require that when a weak currency such As the peseta reaches its lower limit against a Strong currency such As the Mark the two countries involved a in this Case Spain and Germany a must buy pesetas. Big Mac attack a French Farmer throws a tire onto a burning pile of Hay in the european Community. French Farmers were angry at front of a Mcdonald a restaurant saturday in the Northern reductions in subsidies for Grain and in the amount of land French City of Lille. About 20 Farmers protested the Agricula on which Oil seed crops such As soy and Colza could be Tural Accord reached Friday Between the United states and  riled by Caterpillar plan to impose longer workdays a Eoria 111. A Caterpillar inc. Said Friday that it i begin scheduling workers to 10 and 12-hour shifts on involuntary basis imposing the last Batch of terms in a tract offer that caused an unsuccessful 163-Day strike Caterpillar the worlds largest manufacturer of Earth ving equipment ended the strike in april by threaten to hire replacement workers. Fhe company immediately began operating under some is of the rejected contract. The latest changes affect pensions health care and profit sharing take effect c. 1. We need to move ahead with business said Gerald Herty company president. United Auto workers officials described the changes As a further evidence of top management a blatant anti worker Union busting  under an agreement worked out with Federal mediators last Spring the Union went Back to work and the company said it would implement the final contract proposal and continue negotiating. Those talks have stalemated and no new ones Are scheduled. Contract provisions implemented in april included higher wages a six year moratorium on Plant closings and improved pensions. Caterpillar has Long wanted the flexibility to schedule factory workers to four 10-hour Days per week or three 12-hour Days. But flexible hours wont be voluntary. They w ill be determined by the company in plants where production schedules demand around the clock operations. A there will be no overtime Premium for working sunday if that a part of a regularly scheduled shift a said Jerry Brust labor relations director. A but overtime will be paid for extra hours  the a awl a Secretary treasurer Bill Casstevens said in a statement that the flexible work schedules would disrupt workers lives and take away a Long established economic rights to overtime pay for weekends and Holiday work