European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 18, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes Money matters monday january 18,1993 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 1.58 British Pound 1.58 dutch Guilder greek drachma 2117174 note Thi rate above apply within Ibe boat 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 1,493.83 turkish lira 8,708.70 Spanish peseta 115.31 portuguese escudo 146.52 austrian Schilling 11.42 saudi rial 3.7501 Bahrain Dinar  0.37675 Kuwait Dinar . 0.30425 norwegian front  6.88 danish Krone  6.2810 British Pound a a a a a a a a 1.5305 Gorman Mark  1.635 Salaa franc 1.49 French franc 5.4915 dutch Guilder 1.8361 belgian franc  33.55 Canadian Dollar  1.2821 note figures Ere expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $327.50 an ounce Pitvor quote $3.68an ounce. By Jeffrey Hoffman a business writer new York if King Midas were around today he might have to take out a loan. Gold is Selling near a seven year Low. Gold based investments were some of the worst performers of 1992. The soft Gold Market flush with huge Selloff by european and other Central Banks does not appear set to improve anytime soon. Few Western investors want the Metal which bears no interest and pays no Divi Gold prices bargaining com aim to boost Job Security Toronto up a the Canadian autoworkers Union said that Job Security Wilt be one of the major issues on the Agenda at negotiations with general motors corp. Scheduled for this summer. Pm has announced closures and Lay offs affecting about .7,500 of its 37,000 Canadian workers in coming months. The unions pm bargaining committee met last week to plot strategy. A there is a real need to the enhance the Job Security language Quot said Rick Chene the Union s pm ban Mittic spokesman Chene also said issues such As the pension plan and the hiring of outside services by pm will be on the Agenda for the summer meetings. A we must continue to ensure that retirees can get out with a fair Standard of living Quot Chene said. A a person should have a secure  an increase in the Basic pension plan has been outlined by the committee. It is aiming to have pm put into the pension plan More Money per year of service. The summer negotiations with pm will Mark the first time since 1987 that the Union will get the Chance to try and revise the pension agreement. Chene said pm is replacing Laid off workers with outside services making it cheaper to produce their cars and trucks. A a lot of retooling sees general motors go to outside services to do the work Chene said. General motors last year announced the closing of one of its largest Canadian giants in St. Catharines and an Axle sundry Plant As Well. Earlier this week pm said it would temporarily Layoff about 7,000 at two Oshawa plants this year with As few As 6,000 being recalled. During the first two weeks of january approximately 16,000 pm workers were temporarily Laid off. Deride especially at a time when paper investments like stocks and Bonds Are providing far higher returns. While demand is Strong in parts of the world either plagued by nigh inflation or lacking sophisticated financial systems Gold s history As a major investment vehicle in North America and Europe May be just that a  Gold a stat performed Well and that s what you have to put on its Tombstone a says Robert Brusca chief financial economist at Nikko securities co. International. A in investment circles its become the quintessential four letter  1 the Metal has lost its Sheen even for speculators who once reaped huge profits when Gold was flying High. Now daily prices it rings exceeding $3 per ounce Are considered Large said a1 Posnick a vice resident and senior Gold trader for mob Ankin corp. A a a 970s and Early a i investors fled to Gold As a hed double digit inflation and Worl stabilise age against a digit anti anon and worldwide Ingold also helped soak up Abun in the late 1970s and Early 80s, skittish tors in a Lily. Dant Middle East Oil dollars. But the factors which at one Point drove Gold to nearly $700 an ounce have largely evaporated since Topping $500 an ounce after the 1987 Stock Market crash Gold prices have tumbled More than 30 percent. Gold ended last year Down 6 percent. Prices last week have hovered around $327.50 an ounce the lowest since 1985. Slack demand has left the Price of Gold on the new York commodity Exchange at its lowest level since 1985. $500 per ounce $450 $400 $350 $300 0 1985 86 �?~87 �?T88 89 90 91 92 source Jujj Ryors Ommond a Carl Fox few people Are predicting a surge in the Gold Market in 1993, and the main debate among Gold watchers is Over whether prices will stabilize or drop below $300 per ounce. Much will depend on the activities of Western Central Banks with huge Gold reserves a More than 33,750 metric tons or 900 million ounces says the International monetary fund a that Dwarf figures for Industrial Supply and demand. In 1992, Banks dampened the Market by dumping More than 520 metric tons representing nearly a Quarter of total Western production for the year. Quot the sentiment from Central Banks is that they re tired of holding Gold a says pain Webber inc. Senior precious metals analyst Bernard Savaiko. A if present trends remain intact it is conceivable we could get Down to $300 an ounce a he said. However Savaiko and others caution that there could be some shocks to the Market particularly if increased Federal spending in a weak Economy arouses new fears of inflation. Quot the Only thing we can say with certainty is that its going to be a turbulent and unpredictable year a he said. He would not Rule out a turnaround. That could be hastened some say by falling Gold production if prices remain Low forcing nigh Cost mines out of business. Another often cited but less Likely Prospect is a disruption of Supply due to instability in South Africa the single largest producer of Gold or mining and distribution problems in the former soviet Union. While prices have continued to fall Industrial demand has outstripped production for the past three years and will probably do so again this year forecasters say. Global demand for Gold in 1992 was 3,750 metric tons while production was 2,250 metric tons said the world Gold Council a Geneva based Industry group. Although Gold has lost much of its investment allure in the West surging demand elsewhere a both for jeweler and investment purposes a has been a Bright spot for the Industry recently. Interest in Gold is Strong in India the Middle East and China where disposable income has soared with economic development. Demand for Gold in China nearly doubled in 1992 to 400 metric tons Gold Council figures show. V Pittsburgh ready to read All about it after eight months without papers i Pittsburgh a Pitt burghers Are eagerly awaiting monday s return of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette eight months after a strike turned their City into a no newspaper town the strike began May 17, when the Pittsburgh press co., which owned the Pittsburgh press and delivered the pos Gazette tried to set up a new distribution system. Delivery Drivers represented by the teamsters Union walked out in a dispute Over Job Security. The strike ended after the press was sold to the rival Post Gazette which closed it. With the Post Gazette scheduled to resume publication monday de Hannon of pleasant Hills was looking Forward to Reading More about the Pittsburgh penguins hockey least a you Don t get the rumours in Usa today a said Hannon 27, looking up from the colourful National paper. Laurie Klingenberg 36, of Gibsonia plans to quickly scan the comics Page. �?o1 Ope they continue Marmaduke a she said Vincent Scaglione 27, of Wilkinsburg said he s relieved the paper will be Back in time for him and his Fiancee to search the classified ads for a new apartment. Television network affiliates attracted viewers during the strike by adding time and new features to their newscasts. Executives said the features would stay with one exception the Reading of obituaries accompanied by somber piano music that closed some news shows Judith Ragan executive director of the funeral _ directors association was Happy with that decision. She was a one woman obituary department for the first four months of the strike providing the list for the to stations. �?o1 really was t getting any work done a said Ragan who hired two Par time workers for the second four months. A few dozen writers prepared for the comeback edition feeding their computer terminals with stories and columns some had stayed with the Post Gazette through it All. Under the Post Gazette s name will now appear the words Quot and the Best of the Pittsburgh  the former owner of the then strike bound press co., Scripps Howard newspapers agreed in october to sell to Blade communications inc. Within a month Blade reached contracts with the teamsters and nine other unions representing production employees. Saes personnel have been re contacting advertisers and circulation managers have rehired paper carriers said co publisher John Robinson Block whose family owns Blade. Airline to reduce seats and offer More legroom Chene s group is not alone in the fight against pm. The coalition for fighting for a working future is trying to generate support to retain pm jobs in the Niagara Hamilton Region of Ontario. The Union will meet again in Early february to plan further strategy. New York a with its planes flying nearly half empty trans world airlines announced it plans to remove entire rows of seats from its jets to offer More legroom in coach and business class sections. The company is trying turn a bad situation a empty seats a into a Selling Point to attract passengers. Twa plans to remove about 8 percent of the seats throughout ils 168-plane Fleet by March. Robert Cozzi Twa s senior marketing advisor said the change will give Twa coach and business class passengers More room than on any other . Airlines Domestic or trans Atlantic Cabins. In december twas Load Factor a a measure of the number of seats filled by paying customers a fell from 66.4 percent in december 1991 to 55.1 percent. Twas Boeing 727s, for instance will Fly with Only 124 seats in coach rather than 134, and its md-80s will lose 10 seats to drop to 120 coach class seats