European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 28, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday december 28, 1993�? today a rates 1�? following arc fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German mark.1.66 British Pound. 1.53 dutch Guilder. 1.85greek drachma. 238.3262 note the rates above apply it shirt 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 . Dollar to foreign Curren pics italian lira .1,682 turkish lira 14,195.70 Spanish peseta 139.64 portuguese escudo 173.45 austrian Schilling .11.9505 saudi Royal. 3.7510 bahraini Dinar 0,3767 kuwaiti Dinar 0.2981 norwegian Krone 7.3770 danish Krona. 6.6410 British Pound. 1.5006 German Mark .1.7033 .1.4360 Swiss franc French franc. 5.8010 dutch Guilder. 1.9012 belgian franc 35.35 Canadian Dollar. 1.3267 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar. Gold quote $366.35 an ounce. Silver quote $5.03 an ounce . Firms reportedly Dodge Cuba Libya Trade sanctions by Dean bad Jet the new York time seizing on porous taws and lax enforcement of . Sanctions american corporations have used foreign subsidiaries to openly conduct business with Cuba and Libya according to documents and interviews. The rules governing sanctions Are so loosely drawn that Law enforcement officials have had to abandon or Back away from several investigations of american companies suspected of doing illegal business abroad an examination of some cases shows. The most striking example involves Cargill inc., one of the world s largest agricultural companies. Three years ago a team of government agents opened an investigation into charges that Cargill brokered ships loaded with sugar for the cuban government in apparent violation of the Trad ing with the enemies act. In the ensuing months investigators found hundreds of messages Between Cargill and shippers overseas evidence that executives at the company a Headquarters in Minnetonka minn., had been involved. And last year senior Justice department officials predicted in internal Mem Oran Durn that an indictment of Cargill which could Cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal subsidies and contracts was imminent. Today however government officials acknowledge that Cargill May never be charged even though internal company records leave no doubt that its . Executives helped arrange some financing a the firm had seized on a loophole in the Law that has made it virtually impossible to enforce the . Sanctions against multinational corporations it traded with Cuba through a foreign subsidiary beyond the reach of american Law. Cargill is one of numerous american companies that have used foreign subsidiaries to Trade with countries under . Sanctions with the profits flowing Back Home raising questions about the effectiveness of one of the most visible tools of . Foreign policy. In january 1986, for example when president Reagan ordered sweeping sanctions against Libya Brown amp Root inc., a Houston engineering concern pulled out of Libya s $20 billion great Man made River project which was intended to tap water beneath the desert and create an agricultural Oasis. But the company immediately shifted its work which Trade journals valued at an estimated $100 million to its British subsidiary Brown amp Root Ltd. Asked if this was done because of the sanctions Duncan Guy head of government operations for the British company said Quot presumably  the Price Brothers co. Of Dayton Ohio a consulting and machinery company also walked away fron the fiver project when Reagan announced sanctions but some of the work was picked up by Price Brothers  company a Small British subsidiary. Brad Evers general counsel for Price Brothers said the British operation got the work on its own and was working on the water project even before sanctions were imposed. Still he acknowledged the enforcement on . Companies in Libya has been Loose. Quot a lot of people created of eign subsidiaries in the one month Between the time the Reagan administration declared sanctions and the time they went into  coastal corp., a Houston Oil exploration company has used a subsidiary based in Bermuda to go into business with the libyan government in an Oil refinery in Germany. Officials said they do not believe they Are violating the spirit of sanctions. Issues mama record 622 companies generate $36 billion so far in 93 new York a from Vermont Teddy Bear co. To China tire holdings Ltd., 1993 has been a blockbuster year for new Stock offerings on Wall Street. From Jan. 1 through nov. 30, the brokerage firm of Lehman Bros. Inc. Tallied 622 companies that went Public not counting a Tosca and funds. That easily broke the record of 513 set for All of 1992 indeed the $36 billion raised in initial Public offerings ipos so far this year approached the $40 billion total for the two previous years combined. A no matter How you slice it this has been a big year for ipos a said Susan  Lehman Bros analyst. All this has been a source of Delight and unprecedented revenues for Wall streets investment Bankers. In textbook economics it is also a big plus for the Economy in the sense that it provides capital for use in building and sustaining business enterprises. A a it san undersold Story that this is creating a powerful base for Long term economic expansion a says Richard Hoey chief economist at Dreyfus corp. But the frenzied Pace of the ipod business has also unsettled Many analysts As they try to assess the Outlook for the Stock Market. A the new issues mania is a Long term threat to Stock prices Quot declares Martin Zweig an investment adviser in Wantagh . A along with the burst of initial Public offerings has come a Bevy of secondary offerings in which existing Public companies Issue Storc Stock or where larger shareholders bail out a Zweig Points out. Taken together these developments provide Strong evidence that a the a smart Money is Selling Quot says Norman Fosback editor of the advisory letter Market logic in fort Lauderdale Fla. A when smart Money Sells its usually time to exit the . Smart Money is Money invested by those in the Best position to know what might be advantageous. A High level of Stock offerings is a negative for two reasons Fosback says. A first since it represents new shares put on the Market that somebody must Purchase it burdens the markets Supply demand equilibrium a . A to the extent that Stock offerings increase dramatically either new Money must enter the Market to absorb the Supply or investors must sell other publicly traded stocks first thereby putting downward pressure on their  secondly Fosback says when Stock is offered for Sale it makes sense to consider How knowledgeable the Sellers might be. A corporate financial officers representing smart Money sell a lot of Stock when prices Are High and Little when prices Are Low Quot he says. A for companies that pay dividends to shareholders Low Cost Means a Low dividend yield on their Stock and that occurs when the Stock Price is particularly High. A for growth companies whose shares Are valued on the basis of current and prospective earnings the Cost of capital is Low when the Stock Price is very High relative to  recently Fosback says the value of current Stock offerings has been running at a Little More than 2 percent of Gross Domestic product a the highest that ratio has stood in modern times. 1 High Lee promoted a 76-foot-Long pair of Lee Blu jeans is draped on the Side of a department store in Taipei Taiwan As a promotion gimmick dreamed up for clothing manufacturer Lee. The pants have been recorded by the guinness Book of records As the world s largest jeans. Japan s Economy lagging report says Tokyo up a relatively Strong performing overseas economies Are leaving the floundering japanese Economy behind and the nations economic health shows no signs of recovery the Bank of Japan said monday in its monthly report. The Central Bank cited relatively Strong performances in the United states parts of Europe and other asian countries compared to Japan a stagnant record. The . Economy was in a moderate expansion phase on the Back of a steady Domestic demand including personal spending and capital spending with continued stable prices Quot the report said. The june september quarters 2.9-percent real growth was chiefly a reaction to the weak performance in the previous Quarter a Boj official said. The report said that As a whole the Economy of the european Union formerly known As the european Community had slopped falling. It is Loo Early however to describe the status As a recovery because of uncertainties Over the French and German economies the report said. The european Community changed its name to the european Union when the maastricht treaty Oit european Unity took effect in november. The report went on to say that the British Economy maintained a a moderate recovery led by Persona  but in Germany and France there were no Clear indications of a recovery Quot with labor conditions  to seek cutbacks Muscat Oman apr Oman soil minister say id Al Shahfari left sunday on a tour of other non open countries to Campaign for Oil production cuts. The. Official Oman news Agency said Shahfari will visit Yemen Egypt Syria Russia Norway and Britain. The organization of Petroleum exporting countries base crude Price has nose dive to a five year Low of around $13 per barrel $8 below the cartels $21 target in part due to overproduction. A we Are All in the same boat and we must steer the boat together. To improve the situation in the Oil markets a the news Agency quoted Shahfari As saying