European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 23, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday november 23,1993 today s rates following arc i cd rates at which v Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark 1.67 British Pound 1.51 dutch Guilder 1.86 greek drachma. 238.816 Antn Tho Ralon above Fly pay within Tho Host enmity. Fiquro1 Iro our Assort in dollars to taif British Pound Olhorn cum pos to the Dollar 1  Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should he regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies italian lira 1,690.50 turkish lira 13,529.00 Spanish peseta. 130.01portuguese escudo 174.12 austrian chilling 12.0375 saudi rival 3.7480 Bahrain Dinar. 0.3767 kuwaiti Dinar 0.2982 norwegian Krone 7.42 danish Krone 6.7910 British Pound 1.4716 German Mark 1.7145 Swiss franc 1.5035 French franc 5.9510 dutch Guilder 1.9253 belgian franc 36.47 Canadian Dollar. 1.3265 Noto i Huron Aro expressed in dollars to the British Pound Otho currencies to Tho Dollar Gold quote $378,15 an ounce Silver quote $4 71 an ounce . Buyouts for civilians run into Snag by the Washington pos Washington buyout offers for Federal civilian workers appear to be grounded for the moment though con Gress had been poised to approve them. The Clinton administration intended to have the buyouts payments of up to $25,000 each to Between 60,000 and 100,000 selected workers off and run Ning by oct. 1 to entice employees to leave government service Early or retire. But the Bill was delayed in going to Ca Pitol Mill and now it is bogged Down in the Senate and House As lawmakers Rush toward adjournment. Some legislators Sec the buyouts As a surgical tool designed to let the Heads of Feder Al agencies reduce staff where they deem necessary. Others see the offers As a first come first served perk for employees. The Senate governmental affairs com Mittee believes buyouts could help the White House meet its goal of trimming the Federal government s Midriff bulge by enticing into retirement employees in grades gs-13 through gs-15. They draw salaries of $47,000 to $86,000 a year. The House Post office and civil service committee would like to see a fair share of the buyouts Given to lower paid employees. Many workers who were panting for buyouts a few months ago have had second thoughts. They have done the math and discovered that after deductions the Maxi mum $25,000 buyouts do not make up for the Early retirement penalties that would Cut into their pensions. Some workers propose adding to the buyout package by eliminating the Early out penalty changing social Security rules and other measures. But members of con Gress Are in no mood to add improvements that would not play Well with their none Deral constituents. Time also is working against the goal of the buyout which is to save Money. Forthe buyouts to be most Cost effective employees need to  the payroll Early in the fiscal year that started oct. 1. Some agencies said that buyouts made after March or april will not generate the hoped for savings. Impasse Over . Partner \ skills Europe airline merger Amsterdam Netherlands a an Effort to merge four european air carriers collapsed sunday after the companies failed to agree on a . Partner. Scandinavian airlines system Kim Royal dutch airlines Swissair and aus Trian airlines announced that they had terminated negotiations to establish one of the world s biggest airline groups. The merger would have helped the four carriers compete at a time of record Industry losses worldwide and As greater airline Competition with less regulation is being fostered in Europe. Fundamentally different views on which . Carrier to choose As a partner scuttled the project begun last january and dubbed Alcazar the airlines said. Kim which owns a Large stake in Northwest airlines wanted to bring the troubled . Arrier into the partnership. Swissair insisted on Atlanta based Delta air lines in which it owns a 5 percent stake As a partner in the consortium. Ultimately however we could not agree on the positioning in the american Market and the consequent Choice of an american partner said Kim s chair Man Pictor Bouw. In Minneapolis Northwest s president John h. Dasburg said other prospective members were not prepared to participate in a partnership in which the Kim Northwest Alliance might provide the Center of  to Borg Gran chairman of the swedish Branch of Sas said the scandinavians had sided initially with Kim which effectively functions with Northwest As a Model airliners Dangle together sunday at the Airport in Zurich Switzerland but the four european companies represented Hare scuttled plans to i single Carrier on the matter of a . Partner. Sas was worried about Northwest airlines economic situation and in the Long run we May have wanted to take Delta Borg Gran said. The idea of bringing two . Carriers into the consortium was considered but rejected executives said. Earlier this year Northwest narrowly averted bankruptcy by securing easier re payment terms with its lenders and labor Cost reductions from employees who now own part of the company. But Many Industry analysts say Northwest s troubles May have been eased Only temporarily. With the negotiations terminated Kim was not planning any major staff reductions and would strengthen its co operation with european partners such As air . And trans via Bouw said. Sas chief executive officer Jan re Inas said the Carrier would sell 17 planes and take Steps to Cut operating costs by10 to 12 percent austrian airlines said it would continue negotiations with Lufthansa German airlines. Swissair said it was considering other partnership offers but declined to  prospective partners. Is the great correction upon us of Doc experts split on prospects of big drop after 37-month Bull Market by Tom Petr Nolos Angeles times the Stock Market is weak and getting weaker. So is this a great time to buy or a Chance to Cash out before a much big Ger decline sweeps Wall Street Many investors Are facing that question now after last week s Broad slide in stocks bolstered fears that something is seriously amiss in the Market. At the very least this could be the Start of the Long awaited correction the gentle sounding term for a Sharp Stock Market pullback usually on the order of 5 percent to 10 percent in Market indexes such As the Standard & poor s 500. At worst some Wall Street veterans fear we Are on the verge of a genuine Bear Market which would mean a 20 per cent or greater decline in the up 500, and much steeper drops in Many individual stocks. Admittedly it seems absurd to worry about a Bear Market at a time when the Economy and corporate profits Are get Ting better. Although interest rates Are inching up with the improving Economy the Stock Market historically has been Able to overcome its fear of higher rates in the Early phase of an economic pickup so Long As corporate profits Are robust. Stephen Poling strategist at the Fortis advisers fund group in St. Paul minn., said there was no talk of a Bear scare at his shop last week. Most of the talk Here is about what a great Opportunity this is for us to buy stocks he said. Even a simple 10 percent correction in the Broad Market is unlikely Here Poling most of the talk Here i about what a great Opportunity this is for unto buy stocks Market strategist Stephen Poling argued. It s just too widely anticipated he said. Indeed that has been the Story for More than three years. Corrections Are supposed to be regular occurrences in Bull markets As investors periodically take profits temporarily driving stocks Down to Levels that lure new buyers. But in the current Bull run now 37 months old the Market Overall has yet to suffer a typical correction even though investors have been constantly looking for one. While individual stocks have plunged from time to time enough Money has continued to flow into the Market to keep it moving up. Result a steady three year Advance in indexes like the up 500. Last week however Many Wall Street pros sensed an ominous change in the Market s tone. The shift was t apparent in the Dow Jones Industrial average which hit an All time High of 3710.77 tuesday and closed the week just slightly lower at 3694.01. But outside the narrow Dow the Bull Market s health is clearly deteriorating Many pros say the Russell 2000 Index of smaller stocks Sank 2.7 percent for the week and is now Down 3.5 percent from its All time High reached oct. 18. Smaller stocks had led the Market since Midsummer but investor interest has cooled markedly in these , some of the highest flying Small growth stocks of 1993 have been in Dee sell offs since late october and the Pace of the Selling accelerated last week. The Market s breadth the number of stocks rising each Day is. The number de Clining turned sharply negative Las week. On the Nash a losers topped win ners for five Days straight by a 3-to-2 mar Gin. The same margin prevailed on the new York Stock Exchange every Day but tuesday. Other technical measures of stocks health also Are flashing red. Rich Ard arms a Veteran Market technician i Albuquerque n.m., said his Oft quoted arms Index indicates that the Market is the most overbought it has been in Al most a  the arms Index relates the count of rising and falling stocks to the level of trading volume in each of those two groups. It s a Way of measuring the buy ing Power behind the winners and the Selling Power pushing Down the losers. An overbought Market is one in which so Many stocks have advanced on such heavy volume that buyers firepower disbelieved to be exhausted. Any hint of bad news then can spark a plunge in prices because there Are so few Able buyers left to step up and intercept tumbling stocks. Wary analysts Point to the almost relentless drop in Utility and Bank stocks since August As a sure sign that the mar Ket is Short of buyers