European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters ii monday june 20, 1994today�?Ts rates a a following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound. 1.56 dutch Guilder. 1.78 German Mark 1.60 greek drachma .242.4542 note Tho Raies above apply within the Host country Quot. Figures Are expressed in dollars to Tho British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the  Dollar to foreign currencies austrian Schilling .11.5145 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 belgian franc. 33.73 British Pound. 1.5107 Canadian Dollar. 1.387 danish Krone. 6.408 dutch Guilder. 1.8305 French franc a. 5,586 German Mark. 1.6386 italian lira. 1,606.50 Kuwait Dinar. 0.297 norwegian Krone a a a a a a a 7.1115 portuguese escudo.170.14 saudi rial. 3.75 Spanish peseta 135.38 Swiss franc. 1.379 turkish lira. 31,000.00 note flour of Oto expressed in dollars to Tho British Pound Othor currencies to the Dollar / Gold quote $385.75 an ounce Quot Sliver quote $5-46 an ounce sources merchants National Bank amp Trust , the associated press null of press International retailers urged to mature in step with baby Boomers Ell Atlantic seeks to sell Cable service Washington a Many East coast residents could soon have a Choice Between their local Cable or Telephone companies when buying video services. Bell Atlantic corp. Asked Federal regulators last week for permission to provide video services in six metropolitan areas on the East coast. Depending on How quickly regulators act some areas could get service As Early As 1995, said Shannon Fioravonti a spokeswoman for the regional Telephone company. The plan must be approved by the Federal communications commission before Bell Atlantic can begin building the networks to offer Consumers broadcast channels Cable programs shopping services and movies on demand. The areas covered by the plan Are Baltimore Northern new Jersey the Phila Delphia Delaware Valley Pittsburgh Hampton roads a. And Washington  the company plans to build facilities in each of these areas at the same time but could not specify which communities in those areas would be the first to receive service. Bell Atlantic customers would be charged $8 to $12 a month for a a Basic video connection Quot a coaxial Cable line into the Home a the same line that will carry Telephone service. On top of that Consumers would pay fees for programs with the exception of local broadcast channels said Edward Young Bell Atlantic vice president and associate general counsel. The fees i Judd be set by companies providing programs Over the network Young said. The systems will have a capacity of at least 497 channels As Bell Atlantic and other phone companies seek to provide video services consumer groups Are worried that Only prosperous areas will be wired for service. Neighbourhoods with Large minority populations and poor communities May be left out they contend. By Jay Hancock Baltimore Sun the 76 million people who brought you or. Spock anti War protests soaring Home prices and Blu jeans at. Work Are about to become grandparents and Start shopping for retirement condos in Florida. Baby Boomers Start turning 50 in two years. Surprised so apparently Are Many merchants who depend on the Boomers numbers and wallets. Many retailers still seem to think of the older consumer As somebody who was born when William Mckinley was president and whose pocketbook instincts were folded by the depression. The International mass retail association has a message for you store operators Wake up and smell the geritol. Not Only will older Consumers be increasingly numerous in coming decades but those Consumers shopping preferences and buying habits Arentt what you think they arc. A recent study sponsored by the association shows a wide Gap Between the Industry View of older shoppers and How the shoppers see themselves. The report illustrated with Gray haired people parasailing and operating computers suggests that Many retailers Arena to when you move into that bracket you still think of yourself As a 30-year-old consumer even though you re a 50-plus  a Stephen Sibert International mass retail association ready for the a tidal wave of Boomers that is about to flood into the senior citizen category said Stephen Sibert vice president of retail affairs and Industry research for the Washington ,-based group. A a 1 think there Are some people that seem to be a Little farther ahead on this a Sibert said. A but As a whole the Industry has an Opportunity in front of  store operators and suppliers tend to think of 50-plus Consumers As being penurious a indulgent and keen for seniors Only discounts. Its not always so said the Survey done by san Francisco Market research firm age wave inc. Majorities or near majorities of older Consumers told age wave that they often spend Money on themselves make impulse purchases prefer established brands Over generic goods and spend extra for Quality merchandise. Nearly half done to find age based discounts very important. They Are Richer than is commonly believed. Americans Over 50 own 77 percent of the country a financial assets the mass retail association reported. And they done to see themselves As old. A when you move into that bracket you still think of yourself As a 30-year-old consumer even though you re a 50-plus consumer a Sibert said. That a not to say you can sell to older folks by treating them As if they Are still in Bobby socks. Some things about senior shoppers done to change. Safety is still a an unbelievable Issue a Sibert said. Some seniors wont shop after dark. They like Bright stores. If your floors look Slippery they might not enter. Merchants who want to attract seniors should consider adding bathrooms installing rest benches making signs and labels bigger and improving customer service Sibert said. But they also need to. Stop thinking of All senior shoppers As coming out of a Grant Wood painting. The county a new old Consumers the mass retailers group said Are coming to a store near you. Senator nets bundle in Stock Washington a sen. Al Fonsec do Amato says a $37,000, one Day profit he made on Wall Street resulted from a Stock Deal that was arranged without his knowledge by the son in Law of a close Friend. A the made a lot of Money on one investment. He lost some on others a do Amato said of stockbroker David Beall. Do Amato r-n.y., the Senate a most persistent critic of the investment practices of president Clinton and his wife in the 1970s, was responding to a report in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call that he was himself the beneficiary of a lucrative transaction. The Stock Purchase an initial Public offering of 4,500 shares of a Little known California company computer marketplace was made for do Amato by a new York brokerage firm with a Check ered history. Do Amato said last week that he has done nothing improper but that his investments were now in a Blind Trust controlled by a conservative investment firm. The 1993 Stock Deal was included in do amatos personal financial statement made Public last week. Do Amato said that in april 1993, he sen. Altonso let a Amato denies wrongdoing Over stocks took his entire retirement savings Worth $19,324, from an Ira invested with pain Webber and handed the sum Over to Beall the son in Law of a close Friend to invest As he wished. The computer marketplace stocks were offered through Stratton Oak Mont a company closely watched by the securities and Exchange commis Sion. Principals of the firm were accused in 1992 of manipulating Stock prices and other wrongdoing. Federal election commission records cited by Roll Call show Stratton Oakmont officials contributed at least $11,000 in Early 1992 to do amatos reelection. The senators office said $8,000 was returned in March 1992 after allegations were made against the firms executives. Do am Ato is t he top r an Kin g Republican on the Senate banking committee which oversees financial markets the Sec and the securities industries. In the profitable june 29, 1993, Deal Beall purchased 4,500 shares of computer marketplace at $4 a share for the senator. The $18,000 Price was nearly All of do amatos savings. Later that same Day the shares sold for $55,125, earning the lawmaker a one Day profit of $37,125, do Amato said a David in my name traded stocks made a few successful trades one very successful Trade where i made $37,000in one Day and a number of unsuccessful trades a do Amato said. A in All my Ira trades netted $10,837 for the year. Eight of the 13 trades lost  mortgage rates curb Home construction Washington a builders seeing Home sales slowed by higher mortgage rates Cut Back construction of single family houses in May for the second straight month. 1 Many analysts said higher rates will curb activity for the remainder of the year although they predict single family housing starts in 1994 will total More than the previous year. A the single family sector is the bulk of the Industry and. We re starting to see it taper off a said economist David la Reah of the mortgage Bankers association the Commerce department said late last week that Overall housing starts Rose 2.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted 1.51 million annual rate. Increases in the South and West offset declines in the Northeast and Midwest. But the growth was entirely in construction of apartment buildings. Single family housing starts which represent 80 percent of housing construction and Are most affected by mortgage rate changes slipped 0.5 percent to a 1.20 million rate. They had fallen 5 percent in april to 1.21 million. And although multifamily starts jumped 16.7 percent to a 308,000 rate Many analysts said the increase was unsustainable and predicted construction would decline in june