European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 2, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters tuesday August 2,1994 today a rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound. 1.58 dutch Guilder. 1.72 German Mark. 1.53 Noto the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar. Following Are Interbank rates a tact fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren austrian Schilling. 11.0720 Bahrain Dinar. 0,37675 belgian franc. 32.77 British Pound 1.544 Canadian Dollar. 1.3864 danish Krone .6.189 dutch Guilder. 1.7625 French franc.5.3778 German Mark. 1.5715 greek drachma .237.80 italian lira. A. 1,592.00 Kuwait Dinar 0.29795 norwegian Krone 6.8663 portuguese escudo .160.03 saudi rial. 3.75 Spanish peseta. 129.48 Swiss franc a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a see 1.3295 turkish lira.31,100.00 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Jcj jul quote unavailable v. Silver quote unavailable a sources merchants National Bank amp Trust co. And the associated press Dollar s slump blamed on overseas glut of Bucks sales of pets at Wal Mart face extinction Bentonville Ark. A to the jubilation of at least one animal rights group Wal Mart stores inc. Said beginning monday it will no longer sell hamsters gerbils and Birds. The nation s largest retailer announced that except for fish it is getting out of the pet business. _ Wal Mart will discontinue orders for pets in its 600 discount stores that carry animals said senior vice president Ray Hobbs. The company began reviewing its pet line in december Hobbs said and decided to discontinue pet sales Independent of any outside influence. But Kim Roberts of people for the ethical treatment of animals a Washington based group claimed Wal Mart responded after lobbying by Peta. Juthe company was alerted to injuries and illness suffered by Small animals sold As merchandise a Roberts said in a statement. A wan Mart a decision reinforces its image As a caring  in february Wal Mart pulled handguns from its stores after complaints front customers and shooting incidents. By Jeffrey Hoffman _ the associated press new York a the currency markets Are having a problem that few individuals would complain about too Many dollars. Frustrated by the currency a weakness in recent months . Officials say the Dollar inevitably should strengthen because the american Economy is healthy. But currency traders disagree and they be got logic on their Side. The world is awash in billions of cheap dollars and at the moment few people want to buy them. A the starting Point is Supply and demand a says economist Nicolles Michas of Josephthal Lyon amp Ross a new York based securities brokerage. He predicted about 200 billion in dollars would leave the United states this year. A a that a the fundamental Case against the  Why the Greenback glut for the past decade America has run Large deficits in its foreign Trade paying for imported goods and services with dollars that must be exchanged for the currencies of the supplier nations. For the Dollar a like any other commodity a oversupply tends to bring prices Down. In most years since 1984, the . Current account a Broad measure of Trade has been More than $100 billion in the red. The deficit is expected to be around $130 billion this year. Japan has run the biggest surpluses a $60 billion last year. Accordingly the yen has appreciated the most markedly climbing from around 250 per Dollar in the mid-1980s to around 100 recently. This year the Dollar is Down about 12 percent against the yen. The Dollar also is off around 10 percent from the years High against the German Mark a Europe a leading currency a although its currently trading at the same level As last fall and is up More than 11 percent from september 1992. While America also runs deficits in Trade with Germany the dollars slump this year against the Mark is due More to higher German interest rates and the recovering european Economy factors that pull investment funds out of dollars than to Trade. The deficit with Germany was less than $10 billion in 1993. When the Dollar weakens it takes More of them to buy the same amount of imported goods and thus some economists and government officials Are warning that the currency a slump ultimately will fuel inflation. But the dollars dip against the yen and the Mark has been partly offset by increases is. The currencies of other . Trade partners such As the mexican peso and the Canadian Dollar making their goods cheaper for americans. Sea of Green the Dollar has been in the doldrums for several months. Market psychology politics and a Host of other factors Nave played a Rofe. But economists say at the Root of the slide is a glut of greenbacks on world currency markets supplied by big . Trade deficits and an outflow of investment capital. America buys More than it Sells shipping out dollars. . Current account while . Investors dump dollars to buy foreign stocks and Bonds. Net . Purchases of foreign securities in billions of dollars figures in billions 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 broadest measure of Trade includes merchandise services and Transfer payments. Source Commerce department securities Industry association a but Trade is just one part of the Story. In past years Many of the exported dollars were slowed Back into the United states As foreigners invested in Treasury Bonds stocks real estate and other assets. That helped buoy demand for dollars but in recent months on top of the deficit generated greenbacks flooding High Speed computer networks a on which perhaps $1 trillion in currency is exchanged each Day a currency traders have contended with declining foreign interest in . Financial markets which have been sluggish. In the years first Quarter foreigners purchased a net of $34.1 billion in american stocks and Bonds Down 42 percent from the fourth Quarter of 1993, according to the securities Industry association. Moreover despite the equally dismal performance of Many overseas markets . Investors bought $28.7 billion in foreign securities Down Only about 9 percent during the period. Importantly japanese investors sold a net $3.4 billion in u a. Securities in the first three months this year is. Net purchases of $13.4 billion in the previous Quarter. At the same time americans slowed $9.6 billion into Japan a Stock Market up from $2.4 billion. A a that put yet More downward pressure on the . Currency As dollars were sold and yen bought notes David g. Strongin director of International finance for the securities Industry association. The dollars slide and the poor performance of . Securities have been mutually reinforcing As the currency weakened fewer investors wanted to hold Dollar denominated securities further eroding demand for dollars. A Quot such fundamentals As Trade and investment flows and interest rates help explain the dollars Long term slide against the yen and the recent weakness is. The Mark. But they done to shed much Light on Why dealers have sold dollars in Masse numerous times this year sparking Sharp daily and weekly drops. A a lot of its psychology a says David Jones economist at Aubrey g. Lanston amp co., a new York based government securities dealer. _ he said the psychological compulsions to sell dollars Stem from what he called the governments misguided policy on Trade. A they have been for some time allowing the foreign Exchange markets to perceive they want a lower Dollar to Force the japanese to open their markets to american goods and services. Its been a total  chafe at threat of . Sanctions Tokyo apr Japan on monday countered a . Threat of Trade sanctions with its own threat to Cut off negotiations on boosting Access for american companies to japanese markets for telecommunications and medical equipment. A a we do not intend to negotiate under the pressure of sanctions a said Kozo Iga Rashi the chief spokesman for the government of prime minister Tomiichi Murayama. Quot a he Clinton administration on sunday gave formal notice that it will move to impose Trade sanctions against Japan if further talks Over the next 60 Days fail to produce an agreement. _ _ three Days of talks on telecommunications and medical equipment failed last week to yield an agreement on a dispute Over . Claims that Japan a government has used Complex strategies to keep Japa Nese markets closed. Igarashi said if the Sanction Are imposed  will break off the telecommunications and medical equipment talks although he and other officials made it Clear that they would do their Best to avoid such a worst Case see Nario. Murayama said he hoped japanese delegates would continue to negotiate1 a tenaciously Quot with Washington during the next two months. . Telecommunications companies say unfair mane vering by the largely government owned Nippon Telephone and Telegraph has cheated them out of a share in the $10 billion japanese markets american medical equipment manufacturers have similar complaints. But Japan says it has already done much to open its  weeks talks were the latest round in so called economic framework talks which began a year ago and have consistently ended in acrimony focusing on the key Issue of How to measure Japan a Progress in opening its markets to . Goods. Washington says Benchmark figures should be used to measure precisely How successfully Japan honors its promises to allow free Trade. But japanese negotiators say those a reference Points will end up being misused As compulsory targets which they will be forced to meet interfering with free Trade. The two sides have already failed to reach Market opening agreements on autos Auto parts insurance and financial services under the framework talks intended to reduce the United states $59 billion Trade deficit with Japan. The next round will be set later through diplomatic channels. Vice foreign minister Sadayuki Hayashi in Washington for the talks returns to Tokyo with most of his delegation this week