European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday August 8, 1993 fish Dollar watch shown below Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of August 2 6 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. German Mark one Dollar would buy you 1.70 44 1993 i 1992 i 1988 a military Exchange rate British Pound one Pound would Cost you 1.96 1.52 1.69 1988 belgian franc one Dollar would buy you 40.48 37.45 30.48 1993 1992 1988 dutch Guilder one Dollar would buy you 1.90 1993 2.13 French franc one Dollar would buy you 6il 4.99 635 1988 1992 of  one Dollar would buy you 232.56 177.52 1992 1993. Italian Ura one Dollar would buy you 1,624 1993 Spanish peseta one Dollar would buy you 146.70 123.85 94.33j9sjtprklsh lira one Dollar would buy you 11,516 j 7,063 1992 j 1,449 1988 Money matters the stars and stripes Page 19 rate dips go unabated by new Day the National unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 percent in july a further indication the recovery slow though it May be is taking hold. Some 162,000 new jobs were added with the largest gains in services construction and wholesale and retail Trade. The White House described the report As showing that the United states is moving in the right direction. But Quot we re not anywhere near there a a said Dee Dee Myers White House press Secretary. The drop from the 7 percent unemployment rate in june was not actually As Large As it appeared the labor department noted. Taking into account the rounding of numbers up and Down Over the months Quot unemployment has shown hardly any movement since february a the department said. Moreover layoffs continue unabated. According to the challenger employment report july was the second largest Layoff month of the year contributing to total layoffs so far in 1993 of 350,000. William g. Barron Deputy commissioner of the Bureau of labor statistics said the government had been Able to find Little effect on employment from the severe flooding in the Midwest. A while there is no question that Many workers in devastated communities were at least temporarily displaced from their jobs in july our assessment is that the Overall Impact of the disaster on the National employment and unemployment for july was quite Small a he said. The number of people employed nationally is now nearly 1.6 million his than it was a year ago. Higher while higher paying jobs have increased substantially skilled production jobs have remained Flat and Low level production jobs have decreased. Vow backs embattled executive espionage Wolfsburg Germany a Volkswagen a supervisory Board declared its support Friday for embattled pm defector Josd Ignacio l6pez de Arr Ortua after quizzing him on Industrial espionage allegations. The chairman Klaus Liesen told reporters after a 416-hour closed door meeting that the Board stood behind Lopez who denies general motors allegations that he took secret pm documents with him to the German automaker when he jumped ship with seven associates in the Spring. L6pez, a purchasing specialist left pm in a High profile defection. Vow had presented German prosecutors Friday with the results of an internal investigation and a statement from l6pez, Liesen paid. He maintained that Europe a no. 1 automaker Quot has no espionage  company chairman Ferdinand pitch appearing before reporters with Liesen also expressed full support for l6pez. He praised the spaniards Cost cutting and restructuring efforts saying they had been so effective despite trying times in the Auto Industry that vow expects to be Back in the Black by the third Quarter. One Board member had suggested earlier last week that he might support Calls for Lopez a a resignation if criminal charges appeared Likely to be filed against the Man Piech took on As his Deputy in March. German and . Prosecutors Are investigating the alleged theft of secrets which pm claims was systematic and thorough. Vow officials Ferdinand Plech Center and Klaus Liesen speak at a news conference Friday during which they backed an employee accused of Industrial espionage. The dispute intensified a week earlier when Piech accused pm of Shady a Neuv rings As part of a personal vendetta against Lopez formerly the Detroit automakers purchasing chief. He suggested that the pm documents found by Darmstadt prosecutors in the apartment of a confidant who jumped snip with l6pcz had been planted by Adam opel Gmys German subsidiary. Piechu a Bellico sity was criticized by Many in German Industry politics and Media As Overly nationalistic and damaging to Germany a image. Piech and Lopez have been praised by financial analysts for Cost cutting measures deemed essential if vow is to weather trying economic times. Kodak dumps chief focuses on new blood a amps Rochester . Apr Eastman Kodak co. On Friday became the latest big Industrial company to Boot out the Boss announcing that an outside executive will replace chairman Kay r. Whitmore. The Best known name in photography products struggling with High inefficiencies for years said its Independent directors have asked Whitmore to step Down and have hired an executive search firm to find his replacement. Whitmore who has been under increasing pressure from shareholders and Board members to Cut costs and boost earnings will remain at Kodak until a successor is named. Quot this action follows and is a logical Extension of our previous commitment. To ensure that the performance of the company is significantly improved a the directors said in a statement. Quot we believe there is a Clear need to move faster and further on operating Cost efficiencies and enhanced earnings. Kodak thus joined the ranks of other big . Companies that have looked outside for new leadership. The boards at such leading companies As general motors corp., International business machines corp. And Westinghouse electric corp. Have done the same thing. The company a Stock surged on the news Friday. Kodak shares were trading at $58, up 2.62v6 on the new York Stock Exchange. Kodak spokesman Paul Allen said the decision to replace Whitmore was made at a july 23 Board meeting. The search will be led by director Roberto c. Goizueta chairman of coca cola. Whitmore a successor will come from outside the company. The directors have emphasized that Quot we need to get some new blood injected into our management team a Allen said. Whitmore 61, became chief executive of Kodak in june 1990. He joined the Rochester based company As an Engineer in 1957. He had planned to announce a program in september to reverse Kodak s flagging fortunes. That announcement will be postponed Kodak said Friday. Kodak a second Quarter earnings announced last week were slightly better than expected up 3 percent to $371 million or $1.13 per share. Sales were Down slightly to $4.27 billion. Kodak had sales of $20.18 billion and earnings of $1.15 billion or $3.53 per share in 1992