European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 6, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Today s rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark. 1.g1 British Pound. 1.49 dutch Guilder .1.80 greek drachma .216.1556 note the Ratos above apply within the Host country. Figures Ere express of in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar a following arc Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curran i Csc a italian lira. 1,564.24 turkish lira 9,266.60 Spanish peseta 118.20 portuguese escudo 152.10 austrian Schilling. 11.59 saudi rial 3.7495 Bahrain Dinar 0.3768 Kuwait dinar.0.3069 norwegian Krone.6.995 danish Krone. 6.318 British Pound .1.449 German Mark. 1.666 Swiss franc .1.5425 French franc. 5.5855 dutch Guilder .1,8753 belgian franc.34.20 Canadian Dollar .1.2475 note figure Ere expressed in Dollar to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $330.00 an ounce. Silver quote s3.61 an ounce. New York Exchange Quot new York up a the 15 most Active stocks in new York Stock do tinge composite trading on thursday. Slock a Sites lest net chg. Wal Mart stores 4,559,600 32ft off it Rob Nabisco mid 3.952,200 6ft off it Philip Morris 3,675,500 65ft off tit Bristol Myersq 3,347,400 56ft off 1ft Uniss corp 3.096,900 13ft up it Chrysler corp 2.751,200 38ft off it at4t company 2,575.900 57ft off it merc Scovie 2,086,600 37ft off it Pogo producing 2,028,500 14ft off it Johnson s Johnsn 1,625,500 41ft off 1ft Tiff game Tecklt 1,919,300 55 off 4 Glaxo holdings 1.739,000 19ft off it get corp 1,705,700 36ft off it a corp 1.670,100 54ft off United inc 1,662,000 24ft off american Exchange new York up american Stock to Conj it 10 most Active stocks in nge composite trading thursday. Buck betas lest not Chi. Off it end Torain co u 708.800 1 fraud of loom 632,500 45 of Flat Ich corp 615,900 6ft up it Amdahl corp 605,200 8ft up it Hll Thivien corp Nabors Industry 558,300 35-16 unch 393,600 6 up it Kirby corp Royet Oak mines 347,800 12ft up it 296,600 25-16 uncut Hasbro inc 285,900 3tft off it Energy service 272,700 1ft unch Dow Jones new York up a Dow Jones closing Range of averages thursday High Low close change 30 industrials 3423.77 3372.43 3398 91 Oft 5.13 20 transport 153019 1508.43 1520.11 up 6,44 1s utilities 242.99 240.36 241.30 off 0.31 65 stocks 1267.91 1250 08 1259.04 up 0.42fbi raids businesses suspected Washington a the Fri raided More than 50 businesses in 12 states and the District of Columbia on thursday in what Law enforcement officials described As the biggest crackdown Ever against Telephone sales swindlers. As-kmp.m., some 800 Fri agents involved in a three year undercover investigation of telemarketing fraud had arrested 116 people in raids on 53 locations where the Telephone pitches were made a Bureau spokeswoman said. Fri director William sessions said the investigation had identified 548 individuals involved in 123 illegal telemarketing operations across the country. At least 240 arrests were expected officials said. A by the time this investigation is concluded we expect to find victims in virtually every state in the Union a sessions had. The tragic dimension is. That the largest category of victims arc the elderly those who May be least Able to recover from financial  acting attorney general Stuart Ger son a Bush administration Holdover until president Clinton gets his nominee for the Job in place said Consumers Are being conned out of billions of dollars a year through the fraudulent offers. The raids were conducted on telemarketing operations in or near Washington Baltimore Atlanta Chicago Detroit Las vegas Salt Lake City Phoenix los Angeles san Diego Dallas Houston new Orleans Buffalo and Albany n.y.,-Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville Fla. Billed As operation disconnect the investigation began in Salt Lake City with Fri agents posing As sales representatives for a company that leased one of a kind computerized automatic dealing systems. It was so effective in learning the details of the operations that the same tactic was utilized in the 17 Othet cities sessions said. Most of the schemes officials said involved con artists calling people by phone and saying they were eligible to enter some sweepstakes or had already won a prize. The victims however were then told they had to pay a service fee or Purchase something through \ credit card Check or Money order in Advance in order to collect the prize or were lured into buying an item much More expensive. A the most popular offers involved discount coupons vacation packages credit and debit cards automotive service Small business Loans investment and employ Rnecht opportunities skin care products and vitamins. A in reality these deals Are too Good to be True a sessions said. A in the end the cases items ordered or promised Are never delivered or Are far less valuable than the telemarketers  he said the a professional services such As distributorships and Job or investment offers usually were priced at $750 to $2,000 but that a couple of required Advance fees were As High As $50,000. The products such As jewelry skin care items and pen and Pencil sets ranged in Price from-529.95 to $1,500. For example sessions displayed a Sapphire and Diamond necklace that an undercover agent purchased for $380 after being told it was Worth $1,200. A some bargain a he said. A the diamonds and sapphires Are poor Quality the Chain Isnit the 14 Carat Gold it was claimed to be and its Worth far less than the $380 we  meanwhile the Federal Trade commission said it had received a court order from a Federal judge in san Diego directing a telemarketing company there can do workplace inc., to halt false promises of Cash prizes and free vacations in return for purchases of cosmetics and other items. The commission said the order was obtained As part of a complaint it filed under Seal in the san Diego court tuesday. A hearing on that Case is scheduled for March 11. February employment up sharply Washington a the nations unemployment rate dropped a notch to 7.0 percent in february and the recovering Economy produced the biggest one month gain in jobs in four years the government reported Friday. The 0.1 percentage Point in it prove mint which exceeded the expectation of private economists who closely Monitor the labor Market stemmed from employment gains in construction retail trades and services the labor department said. In All payroll employment jumped by 365.000 last month More than three times the previous month s increase and the biggest gain since january 1989, the report said. The february jobless rate is the lowest since november 1991 when it was 6.9 percent. The rate peaked at 7.7 percent in june last year and has declined gradually since then. A a it is Clear that the Job Market strengthened considerably in february a William g. Barron jr., Deputy commissioner of the department s Bureau of labor statistics said in testimony prepared for delivery Friday before the joint economic committee it is Clear that the Job Market strengthened considerably in february. A William g. Barron jr., Deputy commissioner. Bureau of labor statistics Barron urged caution in assessing the february improvement noting that it Marks an unusually Large variation from the labor Market pattern of recent months. While the recession officially ended in March 1991, the recovery up to now has been the weakest on record and until mid-1992 business activity was not Strong enough to keep the jobless rate from rising. Amid recent signs of weakness in the labor Market president Clinton on thursday signed into Law a Bill that was rushed through Congress to extend an emergency unemployment insurance pro Gram for jobless people whose Standard 26-week benefits Nave expired. A in the end what we have to do is extend jobs and not unemployment a Clinton said during a Bill signing ceremony at the White House on thursday. A that is our next great test a the recent sluggish rate of Job creation is at the Core of the administration s argument that Congress should quickly pass its $31 billion package of business tax credits and Public works spending to stimulate Job growth and reinforce the recovery. Fridays report could give republicans who oppose the stimulus program More ammunition against the White House. The labor department s household Survey on which the unemployment rate is based said the total civilian labor Force in february grew by 244,000, following a decline of More than twice that amount in january. Employment As measured by this Survey Rose by 380,000. A separate Survey of business establishments said construction jobs grew by 96,000 in february retail jobs increased by 131,000, and service jobs Crew by an identical 131,000. Tax returns coming in slower than last year Chiquita declares Large loss for 92 Cincinnati a Chiquita brands International inc. Said thursday that it lost $284 million or $5.48 per share last year largely because of increased banana costs and expenses. Chiquita said it lost $146 million or $2.91 per share for the year ended dec. 31, before taking into account one time charges including restructuring of its fresh foods operations and a loss resulting from the Sale of its meat division. Sales were $2.7 billion. In 1991, Chiquita earned $128.5 million or $2.52 per share on sales of $2.6 billion. By Jim Luther a tax writer Washington two months into the tax season americans Are filing returns at the slowest Pace in five years and fewer of them Are getting refunds. Although the average refund is bigger than at this time last year the internal Revenue service guesses that Many taxpayers Are delaying filing because they be done a rough draft and figure to get Back less or pay More than they had expected. Through feb. 26, the irs had received 37.4 million returns Down 8.1 percent from the 40.7 million received during the comparable period last year. In its weekly report thursday the irs noted that most taxpayers stand to get smaller refunds this year because president Bush last year reduced withholding in an Effort to Spur consumer spending by up to $2 billion a month. The permanent withholding change did no to raise tax liability it simply Cave taxpayers part of their refund in each paycheck. Nevertheless average refunds Are larger than a year ago As they have been throughout the filing season. Thursdays report said the average this year is $1,078, or 2.8 percent above last years $1,048 level. The irs attributed that to an increase in the number of electronically filed returns which typically have higher average refunds than paper returns. An electronic return does not produce a larger refund but a taxpayer who expects a big refund is More Likely to file Early and use the faster electronic system. Through feb. 26, the irs had received nearly 9.2 million electronic returns up 12.1 percent from 8.2 million at that time in 1992. Almost 16 million returns had been certified for refunds Down 6.1 percent from the 17 million during the same period a year earlier. In making its weekly report the irs recommended that any taxpayer expecting a refund not delay filing because the closer it gets to the april 15 filing deadline the longer it takes to process a return. The Agency said its taking an average of four weeks although electronic filing can Cut that time in half. Those who will owe taxes when they u cannot pay the full amount an instalment agreement the irs said. I hat will result in added interest and penalties but not As much As if no return were filed. An instalment arrangement can be requested by filing form 9465 with a return or by attaching a note to the return