European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters saturday january 22,1994 today s rates following Are fixed rates a which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark. 1.69 British Pound 1.54 dutch Guilder. 1.89 greek drachma. 243.3217 note the Ratos above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following Are Interbank rate that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies italian lira .1,696.50 turkish lira 14,979.20 Spanish peseta 142.62 portuguese escudo 175.85 austrian Schilling 12.2175 saudi Royal 3.748 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 kuwaiti Dinar. 0.2979 norwegian Krone 7.491 danish Krone. 6.7635 British Pound 1.4989 German Mark 1.738 Swiss franc 1.4575 French franc .5.9145 dutch Guilder 1.9452 belgian franc 36.26 Canadian Dollar. 1.3127 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $387.85 an ounce Silver quote $5.21 an ounce new York Exchange new York up the 15 most Active stocks in Newyork Stock Exchange composite trading on thursday. Stock Rwjr Nabisco hid Tel Fonos de my computer Assoc Eastman Kodak Pelzer inc Merck & co inc Chrysler corp tandem computer general motor Sim corp circus circus at to company Conner perish re equity Reid not Citicorp sate 6,156,500 4.717,9004,662,400 3,434,600 2,967,500 2,923,300 2.915,200 2,474,700 2,408,700 2,278,5.00 2,269,3002,265,200. 2,240,000 2.151,900 2,062,500 lilt 41 -42v4. 3sv4 61 13v4 60 i. 55 a 56 /4 16 39%. Nat chg. Unc i up Toff 3 a off i olp/4oft i unc Huplett offv4orfv off 2 /4uptt Unchur it Oft Vic american Exchange new York up the 10 most Active stocks i american Stock Exchange composite trading thursday. Stock Echo Bay mines Royal Oak mine Cheyenne softer Gaylord cont Winter Tel common Chambers Dev a Marine Harvest headmaster ind Beta Well sri Gaylord Contr sales 1,551,400 1,263.300 941.100 936,400670,900 293,400 275,400 274,000 240,000223,400 lilt 32v 5 5va 6% 49-16 12 up3 /4 off i up 3 /4 on up /4up f-16 up Giunch Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones closing Range of a Eranos on thursday Hightow close cningi30 industrials 3915.603857.91 3891.96 up 7 59 20 transport 1830.73 1802.42 1814.00 Oft 128715 utilities 221.53 218.17 220.41 up 0.33 65 stocks 1423.79 1402.39 1413.92 off 1 54 Wal Mart announces wide expansion Bentonville Ark. A Wal Mart stores inc., the nation s largest re Tailer said thursday that it plans to open expand or relocate 255 to 275 Dis count stores and super enters in 1994. Wal Mart said it will have 2,022 store Sand super enters As of Jan. 31, the end of the company s fiscal year. That figure includes 142 opened during the past year. An additional 130 stores were expanded or relocated in 1993. J the company also said it plans to open20 to 25 new Sam s clubs stores in 1994, adding to the 419 already open. Administration eyes changes in rules governing layoffs by Mike Causey the Washington Post Washington Clinton administration officials Hope to revise Uncle Sam s Layoff policy of last hired first fired. Instead it wants to give More weight to performance and reduce the importance of seniority or military service in Job Protection. _. Unions that opposed such changes inthe past Are now quietly working with the White House on the Issue. The administration wants to trim the work Force through attrition rather than layoffs. But Given the Low turnover rate of the past couple of years some official said they think layoffs Are inevitable. That could change if Congress provides funding for government wide buyouts Al lowing agencies to pay up to $25,000 to selected workers who quit or retire. Given the economics of buyouts an the pension penalty for Early retirement most buyouts Are Likely to be taken by people who Are already old enough to re tire on unreduced pensions. For them 55-year-Olds with 30 years of service 60 year Olds with 20 years of service an anyone 62 with five years of service buyouts Are an unexpected Bonus. For Early retirees whose pensions Are Cut 2 percent for each year they Are under age 55, the buyouts Aren t such a Good Deal after taxes. Policy makers would like to have a car rot and stick mechanism perhaps buyouts coupled with the threat of Chang ing the retirement age to nudge older workers. Changing reduction in Force rules by devaluing seniority could Send another Subtle hit the Road message to Long time employees. Government wide buyouts would make it easier to sell a if rules change. Most buyouts would be directed at older work ers in the Middle and upper grades who have the seniority and veterans prefer ence and who Benefit most from current rules. If buyouts Aren t approved and Majorr ifs become a certainty senior employees and veterans would fight harder for the status quo. That Means workers hirudin the last 10 years most them not vet Erans would be at the top of Layoff lists. A Day anniversary Coin Britain s Dame Vcra Lynn holds the commemorative 50-Pence Coin launched tuesday. The Coin was minted to Mark the 50th anniversary of the a Day invasion of Europe. Sculptor John Mills created the de sign depicting operation overlord which began just after midnightjunc6, w44. Music giants testing mtg rival by new Day they want More than their mtg. Frustrated by mtg s lock on the music video business several of the world s biggest record labels have formed a partnership to launch a rival service overseas and eventually make it available to . Viewers via local Cable systems. The Effort which is now being tested in Germany is being spearheaded by Sony corp s Sony music and Warner music group a division of time Warner inc. That owns several Cable operators. The project also includes Emi music and poly ram according to published reports. Although the project is Likely to Cost hundreds of millions of dollars the labels would Benefit by creating a new forum for their artists videos which Are a key promotional tool for new music. Mtg s limited playlist precludes Many new releases from gaining the exposure needed to boost sales. Grueling weather Likely to affect Economy by the Washington pos the harsh Winter weather covering most of the East Ern half of the country and the earthquake in los an Geles will leave their Mark on the nation s economic statistics this month but most of those numbers should ounce Back quickly analysts say. Analysts said the weather will have a much bigger Impact on National statistics than the earthquake be cause a much larger portion of the country has been affected. Retail sales Industrial production housing starts and sales other types of construction personal income and unemployment claims figures Are expected to be lower than they would have been with Normal january weather. But economists said that once the weather returns to Normal sales housing income and employment will Bounce Back. Forecasters have been predicting that the Pace of economic growth would slow Early this year from the torrid inflation adjusted rate of around 6 percent inthe final three months of 1993. Now they Are concerned that it will be difficult to know the extent of that slowdown until the numbers Settle Down in the Spring. The weather s Impact on retail sales was demonstrated last March when a major snowstorm hit the East coast. That storm disrupted consumer shopping to the Point that it caused a 1 percent drop in retail sales for the month. Spending bounced Back in april however As sales shot up.2 percent. The National weather service on thursday forecast that the East s temperatures will be above Normal next week with highs of 50 or More in the Washington will quickly Clear icy roads and parking lots and Consumers can again begin to make up for any Pur chases they postponed. The cold and Snow have had an Impact on production too. Ford motor co., for example closed 12 . Facto Ries including two in Louisville ky., which has been virtually immobilized by deep Snow and severe companies plants were closed or production was reduced because parts were not with the frigid weather the earthquake s effect was relatively 9 million people live in los Angeles county roughly 3.6 percent of the nation s population said Joseph Wahed chief economist at Wells Fargo Bank in san Francisco. However a Large part of the count was not affected he said. The Impact will be Short lived for a great part of the of the damage done by the quake to Public and private property Range from $7 billion to $30 Bil lion. That loss however will not show up directly in most economic statistics which measure current activity and income. Wahed ventured a guess that initially perhaps 2 per cent of the county s 3.7 million workers or about 70,000 people May have lost their jobs at least temporarily. Such a drop in employment compares with National monthly gains of close to 200,000
