European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes Money matters thursday May 19,1994 today a rates following arc fixed rates at which Community. Banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British pound1.54. Dutch Guilder .1.81 German Mark .1.62 greek drachma 240.5567 note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the  following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign currencies. A. A. Austrian Schilling. 11.718 Bahrain Dinar .m., 0.37675 a belgian franc 34,34. British Pound ii 1.5042 a Canadian Dollar 1.3767 a danish Krone 6.53 stitch que floor 1.88 a French franc a a a a a a a a a a 57082 r German Mark 1.6665 italian lira. 1,593.00 Kuwait Dinar. 0.2979 norwegian Krone. 7.229 portuguese escudo 171,70 saudi rial 3.7501 Spanish peseta 137.69 Swiss franc. 1.4155 turkish lira 33,000.00 note figures Ere expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar. Gold quote $379.65 an dunce. Stiver quote $5.49,an ounce a sources merchants National Bank  Trust co a the associated press United press International new York Exchange a new York up a the 15 most Active stocks in new York Stock Exchange composite trading on tuesday. Stock sales last net chg. Wal Mart stores 8,891.200 2334 up a Lom corp 5,396,900. 61vi up2y< corp 5.115.sco 14a up a Telefoni Soomi a 3,371,000 Quot 57 a. Up 134 ban America 1 .3,1.61,800 48y5 up a. General motors 3,139,800. A .5434 up 1% Micron tech inc 3,083,80.0 303k Oft 1v Hewlett Packard 2.824,9007smi off 134 Silicon graphic .2,727,200 Ivy off a Citicorp 21715.200 3834 up 13k Natl  2.520,700 a 17vst ctf34. Occident a petrol. 2,509,20019�?T/ up 34 Cente rior Energy 2,429,600 11 up a Merck 4 co inc 2,428,700 31 up 34 Home depot inc 2.428,400 a 4234 up 134 american Exchange a new York up a the 10 most Active stocks in a american Stock Exchange composite trading tuesday. Stock sales last net chg. Royalo amines a �?~1,213,500 313-16 off3-16 Cheyenne softer. 1.052.400 1 834 off vhf Viacom inc b 848,100 2734 up 34 exploration 669,900 1 a unch Iva corp. .662,900., 18 up 34 expo rate co la. 607,200 1 5-16 up 1-16 tubes Deacero a 570,000 -434 a. Up a a. Hasbro inc. 446.200 3334 up 74 Columbia labs 305,100 4 9-16 Oft 7-16 Little fld Adams 305,000 3 13-16. A a. Off 29-16 r Dow Jones 3 House puts charge in to pay irs with credit card a new York up a Dow Jones dosing Range of averages on tuesday a a. High Low close change 30industrials, 3735.154 3653.70 3720.61 up.49.11. 20 transport a 1566 33 1538.74 1557.50 up 10.81 15 utilities. 182.51 177.76 180.93 up 2.36 65 stocks 1287.00 1260.01 1280.51 up 14.31 Washington a taxpayers confronted with a Bill from the internal Revenue service eventually May be Able to say a charge it a j wide ranging tax legislation approved by the House on tuesday would Autho Riethe irs to collect payments by credit card in addition to the checks and Money orders accepted now. If it happens it would be part of the irs plan to have far More taxpayers paying and filing by Telephone and computer by the turn of the Century. The legislation approved on a voice vote would allow the irs to negotiate arrangements with credit card issuers set up provisions for resolving Billing disputes and prohibit credit card companies from using customers tax information for marketing. However irs spokesman Wilson Fadely cautioned a a it a not something we would go right ahead and do. Wed have to study it.�?�,. A a a a a. And the Senate would have to pass the a Bill. V even if the irs eventually does accept plastic consumer experts said taxpayers would be Wise to consider alternatives. Credit card interest rates average around 16.5 percent while the irs offers instalment payment plans at about 13 percent. The legislation also would change More than 100 provisions affecting individuals pensions partnerships International operations of . Corporations tax exempt Bonds estates gifts and other tax  Quot. It would allow employees of tax exempt organizations to have 401 k retirement accounts. And big time Bingo winners and homeowners who rent to others for fewer than 15 Days a year would be subject to More stringent tax collection than they Are now. The Bill is aimed at making a life easier for taxpayers return preparers tax administrators and the courts without undoing major policy objectives or increasing the deficit a said rep. Dan Rostenkowski d-ill., chairman of the. House ways and Means committee. The Bill would allow tax exempt organizations including Indian tribes to set up 401 k accounts for their employees. The accounts allow employees to contribute part of their salaries before taxes and then withdraw the Money after age 59>/2, when presumably they would be in a lower tax bracket. Another change in pension rules would eliminate current tax provisions that allow people receiving Lump sum payments to average them Over five years for tax purposes. Also the Bill would delete current provisions excluding up to $5,000 in employer provided death benefits. Eastern strikers want Western pay Drivers of Public buses in the Eastern part of Berlin stage a warning strike to protest pay discrimination. The cast bus Drivers who say they re getting Only 80 percent of the salaries handed out to their Western counterparts demand equal pay. I ions in London a. A Lloyd a of London has announced new losses totalling billions but executives at the legendary insurance Market say they will soon Start making Money again. Thousands of investors a who Are called a a names a have gone broke trying to pay off claims from a four year run of earthquakes fires Oil Tanker crashes and Asbestos lawsuits the $3,072 billion loss for 1991, announced tuesday was smaller than some experts had expected although it still brings Lloyd a losses to More than $10.5 billion since 1988. The Market always reports its results three years late. Despite the extra losses Lloyd a chief executive Peter Middleton has predicted that 1993 should prove a very profitable and 1994 is also a shaping up  in a news conference Lloyd a chairman David Row land held out the Prospect of better times ahead. The loss for 1991 at Lloyd a compares with a revised deficit for 1990 of $3,478 billion. Major catastrophes that struck Lloyd a in 1991 included typhoon Mireille the worst to hit Japan in three decades which Cost up to $5 billion and Urban wildfires in Oakland calif., which Cost around $1.2 billion. Some of the names who lost everything complain however that Lloyd a professionals steered the novices into High risk areas while reserving the safer bets for Market insiders. Some Are suing Lloyd a. Since 1990, More than 11,200 of the names have bailed out of Lloyd a leaving 17,526 in the Market this year. Lloyd a said tuesday that it is taking Steps to help some of the struggling name weather the latest losses. For example they can take a 3 percent credit from premiums this year against the 1991 losses. Lloyd a has also begun a new policy of taking Money from corporate investors with limits on their maximum losses. During the first three centuries of Lloyd a operations the unlimited liability of the names was what helped make the Market into a powerful insurance institution because ship owners and others who took out insurance were confident their claims could be paid off. This worked in the Days when the investors had vast fortunes and risks w Ere fairly easy to calculate. But in recent years some of the investors w Ere not fabulously wealthy and their relatively Small fortunes were easily wiped out when claims Over pollution and Asbestos turned out to be far greater than anyone would have envisioned when insurance policies were written