European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 28, 1992 Money matters the stabs and stripes Page 17today�?Ts rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German mark1.56 British pound1.55 dutch gulldar1.76 Graak drachma .202.6479 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 Curren pics italian lira 1,402.75 turkish lira .8,265.40 Spanish peseta.115.88 portuguese escudo.143.66 austrian Schilling .11.28 saudi hal3.7497 Bahrain dinar0.37675 Kuwait Dinar. A norwegian Krone 6.56 danish krone6.18 British Pound. 1.507 German Mark .1.606 Swiss franc 1.4465 French franc.5.4505 dutch Guilder .1.803 belgian franc. 32.88 Canadian dollar1.2868 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $334.00 an ounce Silver quote s3.75 an ounce Mcdonald s informs Farmers that Fries really Are French by the los Angeles times Paris a militant French Farmers opposed to a .-european agricultural Trade agreement have targeted coca cola Mcdonald a and other High profile american companies As Sites for their sometimes violent demonstrations. But in recent Days the besieged companies have counterattacked with an aggressive publicity Campaign do emphasizing their american roots and stressing their roles As huge Consumers of French agricultural products. A we appreciate the Quality of French products a announced a Mcdonald a newspaper advertising Campaign that began thursday in 70 National and regional publications. The and states that the company buys potatoes from growers in three geographic regions of France meat from nine regions and salad from one Region. That Means that in total the company purchases products from 13 of 22 regions in France. Nothing in a Mcdonald a hamburger sold in France comes from the United states not even the Ketchup company spokeswoman Maric Pierre la Hay stressed thursday. Similarly coca cola in prance distributed a fact Sheet to Farmers describing the company As one of the biggest purchasers of sugar beets in prance accounting for the production of More than 100,000 tons of sugar. A coca cola today is a 100 percent French  spokesman Cyriac do Salaberry said in an interview with la Monde newspaper. The Quick riposte by the . Companies demonstrated a growing sophistication in defusing a highly charged political climate in which internationally known Brand names provide convenient targets. Mcdonald a executives said thursday that they won assurances from farm leaders that the Burger restaurants would escape further actions against their facilities in France. A spokesman for one of the main activist farming groups the National Center of Young Farmers acknowledged talking to a Mcdona is executive but said no promises had been made about limiting protests. Quot they were mostly extreme actions of a group of strongly anti american Farmers Quot said the spokesman. Quot hut i think those kinds of protests Are Over  he said the Farmers movement is now concentrating its efforts on a massive euro Pevide Farmers demonstration in Strasbourg prance set for dec. 1. The anti american protests by Farmers in France began last summer when several Hundred Farmers enraged by . Pressure to reduce european Community farm subsidies blocked the Entrance to the euro Disney theme Park 20 Miles East of Paris. Anti american protests picked up again last week after american and dec representatives negotiated a settlement in a key dispute Over subsidies the Community pays to Oil seed Farmers in Europe. American Farmers contend that the subsidies Cost them $1 billion a year in lost Trade. But Farmers in France the country most affected by the subsidy Issue contend the measures will be the ruin of the French  plans partially of d by Calif Agency Anaheim Calif. A the Southern California association of governments gave qualified support to Disneyland a $3 billion expansion plans saying the proposal adequately addressed environmental concerns. A looking at the regional aspects of air Quality and transportation the project appears to pass Muster a association analyst Glenn f. Blossom said wednesday. The Public Agency monitors the regional Impact of such projects. If the City of Anaheim approves the report Disney could go ahead with plans to build the Disneyland resort which includes three new hotels an Amphitheater and a Wescot Center theme Park. While the association said the plans address most of its concerns it recommended Disney further reduce the projects Impact on transportation demands by recruiting employees locally and encouraging car pools. Ailing Economy mowing Down ranks of White Collar employees by the los Angeles times president elect Clinton who has vowed to put America Back to work will be hard pressed to Rescue a vast new group of workplace refugees the army of White Collar employees squeezed out of jobs since 1990. Middle managers and other White Collar victims of a transforming . Economy account for More than four in 10 of those unemployed since mid-1990, a greatly higher share than in past downturns according to the newest estimates. Yet White House policy makers will be Able to do Little in the Short run to counteract the Cost slashing Campaign in corporate America or the wrenching restructuring of defense and other industries that has spread distress into office suites around the country economists said. A should we As taxpayers be trying to create jobs for White Collar bureaucrats when the marketplace is telling us they re not needed anymore a asked Mickey d. Levy chief economist at cart government securities in new York. The Issue of Opportunity has grown there Are Lew new Obs out there and the ones that Are out there Are distinctly inferior to the ones that were out there before.1 a Harvard economist James l. Medoff acute for workers whose collars Are White Blue or Pink. The number of private sector jobs fell slightly in the last year an astonishingly feeble performance for an Economy that appears to have been growing since mid-1991, albeit sluggishly. In recent Days the Roll of White Collar casualties has lengthened with corporate retrenchments announced by Bank of America Occidental Petroleum Chevron and Bristol Myers to name just a few. A a it a totally unprecedented Quot said Mark m. Zandi an economist with regional financial associates in West Chester pa., who calculated that at this stage of a recovery employment Levels should be 6 percent higher than they Are based on the past. Quot businesses have done everything they can not to hire people a Zandi said. In this austere climate jobs in heavy Industry finance and other Fields have frequently been replaced by lower level services that typically offer employees less  and leaner benefits for health care and pensions a if any benefits at All. A Othery Are few new jobs out there and the ones that Are out there Are distinctly inferior to the ones that were out there before a said James l. Medoff an economist at Harvard University. Medoff a research has found that White Collar workers account for 41 percent of the newly unemployed since july 1990. That is double the figure from the 1981-82 slump just 13 percent of the newly unemployed came from the White Collar ranks in the 1980 recession. Rise in productivity Points to further recovery. A �?~.1.1 1. A a. A _. I. M it i l. It a a it Iii i Iii i l it Ltd it it a Ltd i 1 a / \ l it by the new York times the nations productivity has seen a much needed growth spurt Over the last 18 months a compelling sign that the economic recovery is Likely to endure. After slipping for two years productivity in the nations companies has been rising at a solid 2.6 percent annual rate. Indeed7sihce the Economy is believed to have grown during the summer at a faster rate than previously thought productivity probably surged More than 3.5 percent in the third Quarter. Higher productivity Means that the average american worker a still the most efficient in the world a now turns out More than $28 Worth of goods and services an hour. The figure adjusted for inflation is the highest Ever and nearly a Dollar above the level in the Spring of l n when the recession finally hit Bottom. The productivity rebound has been so Strong that All the additional output of the . Economy in the recovery so far was achieved without adding any jobs or work hours. Since the Spring of 1991, annual output has grow n by $150 billion. The fact that businesses can produce More with the same or fewer people is painful for the unemployed and it poses a Challenge for the new Clinton administration which has promised to create More jobs. But it is also a critical sign of improving economic health. It remains to be seen whether the recent rebound in output per worker hour signals a permanent turnaround in the nations Long run productivity prospects. In the meantime though the pickup is a compelling sign that the economic expansion is developing staying Power. A the growth in productivity Over the past live quarters is a significant event a said Edwin n. Dean an assistant commissioner of the Bureau of labor statistics. Productivity typically spurts Early in recoveries As companies better utilize employees who were not Laid off but who were also not working Flat out because of soft sales. It is also during this period that companies typically Are too cautious to hire new help a its a classic recovery signal Quot said 1 Amie tue h Kudlow. An economist at Bear Stearns in. O. Productivity gains Are holding Down the juice of ser. Ices to Consumers and businesses. They Are also keeping labor costs Flat making businesses More competitive. The gains in productivity appear to be far More widespread than during the Early part of the 1980s expansion. A rough calculation using published government data suggests that the services sector of the Economy a broadly defined to include construction As Well As banking fast food restaurants and retail stores a May have contributed As much As two thirds of the Rise in productivity in the last 18 months. Throughout the 1980s, by contrast productivity did not grow at All for the service sector considered As a whole. The big question is whether productivity will continue to increase or will Slacken when the Economy fully recovers from the recession. W e see a lot of layoffs going on. A lot of restructuring Quot said Robert z. Lawrence an economist at the Kennedy school at Harvard University. A maybe this is the kick in the pants productivity needs and this is sustainable. Or maybe companies Are just very pessimistic about the recovers Quot