European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pa$4 16 a b the stars and stripes Money matters saturday january 16,1993 re today s rates following arc fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark �����?��?��?��?�4t 1.58 British Pound 1.50 dutch Guilder �?��?��?��?��?�ft1.78 greek drachma 211.7174 note the rates above apply within the. Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following arc Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the u a Dollar to foreign currencies italian lira 1,483.83 turkish lira .8,708.70 Spanish Patata 115.31 portuguese escudo 146.52 austrian Schilling 11.42 saudi rial 3.7501 Bahrain Dinar. 0.37675 Kuwait Dinar 0.30425 norwegian Krone. 6.88 danish Krone 6.2610 British Pound 1.5305 German Mark 1.635 Wlee franc 1.49 French franc a a a a it a a a a a a a 5.4915 dutch Guilder. 1.8361 belgian franc. 33.55 Canadian Dollar 1.2821 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar. Gold quote $327.50 an ounce Silver quote g3.6s denounce. New York Exchange new York up the 15 most Active stocks in Nee York Slock Exchange composite aiding on thursday. Stock fast last nil Chol. Digital equal pm 5,537,400 42 up 7 Eastman Kodak 5,218,200 49 up 1 Voda fone group 5,052,600 63vi up 1 Merck 4 co inc 4,667,600 42 a Fol Tucson elect or 4,330,200 2 up Vomm Corn 4,275,500 46 up Glaxo holdings 3,658,000 21v off Citicorp 3,Tot ,600 22v up Motorola inc 3,065,200 t23 updo Uniss corp 3,0 4,400 to up Morgan up 4 co 2,468,100 61 w off 3vs coca cola co 2,466,500 43% up Amer express co 2,349.200 25vk up Compaq computer 2,332,700 53 up 3 a Walt Disney co 2,217,200 44 up 1v c american Exchange new York up american Slock then a the 10 most Active stocks in me composite trading thursday. Stuck Talee lad Natch. Amdahl Carp 1.991,100 7 up fruit of loom 1,614,900 44 of Tow Royal Oak mines 909.200 1 uric Echo Bay mines 877.100 4% off 5-16 enter Ditl comm 493,100 10 off charter med cup 462,200 10 up Cheyenne so Flor 375,300 34 up to expo rate co la 362,100 1 unch Gulf cd re secs 324.600 2 7-t6 off Viacom inc b 317,700 42 up Dow Jones new York up a Doe Jones closing Range of averages thursday High Lew coca chivas 30 industrials 329706 3230.87 3267.68 up 432 20 transport 1501.16 1467.54 1496 34 up 29.41 15 utilities 221.77 21908 221.33 up 0.56 65 stocks 1217.93 1194 05 1210 64 up 6.98miller seeks a share in Canadian brewery Milwaukee a the Miller brewing co., trying to boost its business despite a sluggish . Beer Market has agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in Mol son breweries Canada s largest Brewer. The $273 million Deal faces regulatory hurdles in both nations. It would give Miller rights to Market and distribute Molson a brands including Fosters in the United states. Molson companies Ltd. And Fosters brewing group of Melbourne Australia each own 40 percent of Toronto based Molson breweries retail sales figures continue to is by the new York times Washington in a mixed report that nonetheless confirmed Banner Holiday merchandising and continuing economic growth retail sates climbed 1.2 percent in december to stand. 8 percent above Levels a year earlier Commerce department figures showed thursday. Automobiles and other durable goods jumped 2.5 percent from november Levels while nondurable gained a modest four tenths of 1 percent. The upbeat data on retail sales which account for one third of economic activity were regarded by analysts As More evidence that the expansion now has solid footing. Since sates Are outpacing income growth however Many expect the consumer will be forced to Cut Back in coming months. Quot the momentum is still quite extraordinary Quot said Laurence h. Meyer head of a St. Louis consulting firm that bears his name. Quot but retrenchment is  Meyer said he hoped the Gap can be fitted by inventory rebuilding and other activity perhaps Home building. R and another report the labor department y weekly tabulation of first time claims for unemployment benefits disclosed a big jump of 52,000 for the week that ended Jan. 2. The increase More than wiped out the preceding weeks 40,000 decline the jobless claims figures Are always interpreted cautiously but analysts said there was particular reason to do so in Light of Back to Back Holiday weeks in which Many factors were at work including closed claims offices and a reluctance of some employers to. Dismiss workers at this time of year. A. Other government data thursday showed that inflation at. The producer level Rose Overall by just two tenths of 1 recent last month and by three tenths of percent when the erratic food and Energy components Are excluded. This was slightly More than expected but caused Little anxiety. # retailers rang up a total of $166.8 billion in sales last month aided by aggressive automobile promotions that included a contest Between Ford motor co. And Honda motor co. Of Japan for the year s Best Selling car. Disregarding the automotive sector the retail sales gain was halved to six tenths of 1 percent the Commerce departments report showed. Analysts also noted a substantial downward revision in retail sales for november a which reversed what was Ini f tally thought to have been a four tenths of 1 percent gain a to a five tenths of 1 percent decline. This lowered the base for the december results causing the 1.2 percent gain to look stronger than it was. But analysts insisted this was not at Odds with the belief that Holiday sales were exceptionally Strong this year pointing out that merchants generally make their comparisons on a year to year basis not from month to month. By this measure according to historic figures supplied by Ronald Piencykoski of the Commerce department the results were impressive indeed. For general merchandise a proxy for gift giving activity december 1992 sales were 10.3 percent ahead of the december 1991 level. They were the Best since a 13.5 percent jump in 1977 when inflation was running twice As High. The sales figures Are adjusted for seasonal Holiday and trading Day differences but not for Price changes. Gains in general merchandise were 2.4 percent in december 1991, two tenths of 1 percent in december 1990, 6,5 percent in december 1989,5,6 percent in december 1988 and 9.2 percent in december 1987 a the year of the Stock Market crash. Spring Hill Tenn. A members of the United Auto workers at the Saturn car Plant have voted More than 2-to-1 to keep their innovative contract that relies on teamwork Between management and labor officials said thursday. Nearly 4,700 of the 5,600 eligible employees voted in balloting that ended wednesday night. The final tally was 3,321 to keep the contract and 1,366 to reject it said Dora Mack recording Secretary for Law local 1853. The Union and Saturn a division of general motors corp., operate tinder a contract unlike master agreements with the big three automakers the pact fets workers participate in management decisions and bonuses As japanese car makers have done. Gap during the Bush years Gross Domestic product the Gap measures All the goods and services produced by workers and capital located in the United states regardless of ownership. Percent change from previous Quarter -2% i i m n -4% -1888 -1989 quarterly at annual rate -1990 -1991 -1992 souk. U $. Vepr. Of Commerce Low mortgage rates Spur first time buyers Chicago a the share of Homes sold to first time buyers reached the highest level in at least 16 years during 1992, the nation s largest title insurer said  lowest mortgage rates in almost 20 years helped push first time purchases to 47.7 percent of All Homes sold the Chicago title and Trust co. Said. It was the greatest participation in the housing Market. By first time buyers since Chicago title began reporting on Home buying trends in 1976. The share of repeat buyers fell to 52.3 percent from 54.9 percent in 1991, reflecting the reluctance of Home owners to Trade up in the face of economic uncertainty said Chicago title vice president John Pfister. A the recession we just went through was a White Collar recession. A lot of Middle and upper income people who would More than Likely be repeat Home buyers were scared to buy a House at this time a a said Pfister who compiled the re port. First time buyers accounted for 45.1 percent of Home sales in 1991 and 41.9 percent in 1990, the company reported Samuel Kahan chief economist in the Chicago office of Fuji securities inc., said the upward trend in first time Home purchases reflected an unleashing of pent up demand triggered by falling mortgage rates. The interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages reached a 19-year Low of 7.84 percent in Early september the rate is currently near 8 percent. Never married buyers represented a a a larger share of the 1992 housing Market accounting for 19 percent of All Home sales compared with 15 percent in 1991. One in seven Homes Soldi was purchased by a first Lime never married buyer Chicago title said. Married couples accounted for 69.2 percent of the 1992 housing Market Down from 76.1 percent the previous year according to the report. The average age of first time buyers continued to Rise reaching 31 years in 1992, compared with 30.7 in 1991 and 30.5 in 1990. In 1976, the average firs time buyer was 28.1 years old. Kahan said the rising age of first time buyers reflected the increasing difficulty of accumulating a Down payment. Chicago titled said first time buyers saved 2.8 years for a Down payment compared with 2.9 years in 1991 and 2.5 years in 1990. The company said 42.2 percent of buyers needed a Down payment of 10 percent or less. Home prices continued to Rise. The report said the median Price of Homes purchased by first time buyers was $122,400, up from $118,700 a year earlier. The median Price of Homes purchased by repeat buyers was $158,000, compared with $152,500 a year earlier. The median is the midpoint of the Overall Price Range