European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Today a 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 British Pound.1.60 dutch guilder.1.72 greek drachma. 202.9521 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 .1,396.50 turkish lira 8,300.80 Spanish peseta .112.25 portuguese escudo.140.91 austrian schilling.11.0795 saudi rial.3.7501 Bahrain dinar.0.37675 Kuwait dinar.0.29965 norwegian krone.6.80 danish krone.6.088 British Pound .1.566 German Mark. 1.57 Swiss franc .1.4115 French franc.5.354 dutch Guilder .1.764 belgian franc. 32.36 Canadian Dollar.1.274 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $335.25 an ounce Silver quote $3.73 an ounce Toyota expects lower profits from wire reports Tokyo a top japanese automaker Toyota motor corp. Said monday that it expects its pretax profits for fiscal 1993 to be the lowest in at least 10 years. Revising projections for the fiscal year that ends june 30, Toyota said it expects its pretax income to be about 301 billion yen $2.43 billion Down 20 percent from the previous  Dies Saratoga Springs . A Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney the wealthy entrepreneur who co who founded pan am airways and produced the movie gone with the wind died Here sunday. He was 93.homes sold Miami a Hurricane damaged houses have become a hot Selling item in Southern Florida with building contractors investors and worried neighbors buying them in Hopes of turning a Quick profit. About 1,000 storm damaged houses have been bought up since Hurricane Andrew Tore through South Dade county on aug. 24, and hundreds of other deals appear to be on the horizon according to preliminary research by appraisal and real estate economics associates. A right after the storm All of the realtors in South Dade were moaning and groaning in the press that they were going to be out of business a said Michael Cannon president of the group. Instead real estate sales in South Dade county Are 30 percent to 100 percent above october and november of last year. Spending time with taxes now might save Money next year by the new York times a a a  timely tips that Cou a pay off by the new York times time is Short but there Are still two weeks and a few Days left in 1992 to take Steps to reduce this years taxes and just As important to Lay the personal financial foundations for 1993. Planning for some people May be More complicated than in the past because there Are so Many uncertainties about what changes in the tax Laws will be enacted under the Clinton administration. But for others especially those in the Middle income tax brackets this year is More or less like any other year and fairly simple Steps can save hundreds of dollars. The first step is to obtain As quickly As possible some of the Basic publications and tax guides that Are widely available from the internal Revenue. Service bookstores libraries and accountants. People with computers might want to pick up tax preparation software. Even though the tax Laws Are in flux software suppliers will update their programs before the tax deadline of april 15, and even the interim versions Are useful planning tools. If the financial situation is More Complex for a taxpayer a especially someone who is now or might be next year subject to the alternative minimum tax As a result of taking substantial deductions a it would be Wise to make an immediate appointment with a financial adviser who is expert in tax Laws. For such people there is a risk of making the wrong decision at years end if they act blindly. After taking a Day to collect records assess the Lay of the financial landscape and estimate this years tax liability it is time to make a list of options. The following examples come from publications by a amp a Block Grant Thornton Ernst amp Here Are some Steps that vigilant taxpayers can take to shift income and expenditures from one year to another or otherwise preserve tax benefits a dependents to claim an exemption you must provide More than half of a dependents support. Say your child is in College and earned $10,000 at a summer Job while you contribute $8,000 to his or her living expenses. You can still meet the test if the dependent saves part of his or her Earr Ings rather than spending them on living expenses. A housing mortgage interest is deductible when paid which is typically the month after it is accrued. So paying interest that is due in Early january makes it deductible in 1992 if the Cheek is mailed before year end. A capital gains and losses you can save taxes by planning major sales and exchanges of stocks and other securities. There Are so Many variables that no general strategy fits everyone. A few things to remember net capital losses eur be deducted up to $3,000 Short term gains Are taxed at a higher rate than Long term ones Short sales can lock in gains this year without paying tax until 1993. A medical expenses health care costs must exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted Gross income to be deductible. If you Are near or above that ceiling this year it May be advisable to obtain costly medical care and dentistry in the remaining weeks of 1992. Young Coopers amp Lybrand and the research Institute of America. One important step especially for the self employed or those with irregular sources of income is to make sure that estimated taxes and withholding cover the expected tax Bill. You will need the irs tax forms available in the Revenue services offices to make this calculation. If your estimated tax payments Are too Small to cover your anticipated liability you should make up the difference with a payment before the fourth Quarter ends. If your withholding As shown on your salary Check stubs or statements has been too Small there arc two things that still can be done. One is to pay estimated tax for the fourth Quarter. The other is to ask an employer to withhold As much As necessary from the final few paychecks for this year. Withholding from paychecks is treated by the irs As if it had been taken from Cheeks All through the year which could help reduce the penalties on those who did not withhold enough earlier in the year. Next on the year end planning list is to decide whether to accelerate deductions into this year and defer income until next year. Those Steps Are the Standard advice Given to taxpayers in most years but this year things Are different for some. Taxpayers in the highest income brackets a couples who have income in excess of $200,000, for example a can expect a tax increase next year under the Clinton administration and consequently should consider accelerating income into this year and deferring deductions until next year. Soap opera magazines Buck trend daytime to proves booming Market for print Media new York apr magazines de advertising profits. An estimated 40. A 4 re re it i a n n Yvo m n n 1 ,.x a t a Al anew York a magazines de voted to daytime soap operas have begun to flood Newsstands at a time when Many publications Are folding. Some of the hottest magazines around Are those that include features photo spreads favorite recipes and off camera love affairs of the stars of the 11 daytime serials. In recent years the hard hit Magazine Industry has lost a number of established magazines. Connoisseur folded earlier this year after 91 years. So did menus life Fame egg and memories. Family Media inc., which published discover health and five other magazines folded in 1991. Counter to the trend soap magazines were growing in number. There Are now seven magazines devoted to soap operas a five begun in the last four years. The magazines Range from the guiding Light of All daytime periodicals Glossy soap opera digest circulation 1 million to recent upstarts such As the National enquirers soap opera Magazine circulation 350,000. Ask any 10 people if they watch soaps and  say no at first and then confess. Guys especially Are getting hooked More and  a Angela Shapiro the others include soap opera weekly soap opera illustrated soap opera update episodes and the venerable daytime to. Daytime to began publishing in 1970 and has a circulation of 180,000. It also publishes seven special editions a year. A it just exploded a said Lynn Leahey editor in chief of soap opera digest which began publishing in 1975. A we were a Well kept secret for a while. Then other people caught on to what kind of Market this  soaps in general Are a lucrative Market. Daytime serials on the three major networks account for about $1 billion in advertising profits. An estimated 40 million women out of 90 million adult women in the United states watch daytime soap operas. Soap opera Magazine editors attribute the growing interest in their publications to a constantly expanding audience More working women and Vars. Most soap washers now tape soaps but Many skim the tapes to save time. They read magazines to keep up with anything they missed. Angela Shapiro who originated soap opera digest and started soap opera update in 1988, said soaps offer something especially desirable in hard times Romance. Soap magazines bring Romance off the screen into Peoples Homes she said. A ask any 10 people if they watch soaps and  say no at first and then confess a Shapiro said. A Guys especially Are getting hooked More and More. It seems the worse the Economy gets the More people want  firm planning help for 500-Channel Cable to Maze new York a a Cable television programming company has announced plans to develop a souped up Remote control device for a Day when Cable to delivers 500 channels. The device would let viewers push a Button to get a listing on their to screen of programs available by category such As sports hit movies or children a shows. The new Remote control anticipates that digital technology will vastly expand the number of channels on Cable t v systems. Last week the nation s largest Cable operator Tele communications inc., said it would launch digital Cable technology starting in january 1994. By transmitting to signals digitally or in computer language Cable systems could deliver 10 times As Many channels As they do today