European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 05, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes Money matters Friday August 5, 1994 today s rates following prefixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound 1.58 dutch Guilder 1.72 German Mark 1.54 a a note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to Tho Dollar following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies austrian Schilling 11.072 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 belgian franc 32.38 British Pound 1.541 Canadian Dollar 1.387 danish Krone 6.182 dutch Guilder 1.7675 French franc 5.3815 German Mark 1.5446 greek drachma. 237.70 italian lira 1,570.00 Kuwait dinar0.29775 norwegian Krone 6.8702 portuguese escudo 160.54 saudi rial 3.75 Spanish peseta 129.50 Swiss franc 1.3305 turkish lira 31,220.00 note figures Aro expressed in dollars tothe British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $377.50 an ounce Silver quote $5,20 an ounce. Sources merchants National Bank & Trust co.  associated press new York Exchange new York a sales 4pm. Price and net tango of the 15 most Active now York Stock Exchange issues trading Natlo Nall Weill cuday. Name _. Volume list chg. A Cyan 7,033,500 90v -2vi Telmo ads 5,443,400 62 a is Clec trouw 4,785,200 it 3h occident fat 3,674,400 21 1 Scheng push _ _ -2,951,400 67 /i--1h Marck " 2,830,300 29tt h Mcdonalds s 2,578,400 26v4 v4 Walm _ _ _. 2,407,600 72i 4v Compaq s 2,401,600 31% i a Plohn 2,361,200 32vi � re Nab 2,089,400 6tt-1/16 Johns nuns 2,056,000 vhf scads 2,031 ,300_ Brest myst 1,1805,200 atom card 1,711,600 48 it 26w i 53 w -1v4 57h h american Exchange list 17v 34h Cha. It /4 new York a sales closing Price and net change of Tho 10 most Active american Stock Exchange issues trading nationally wednesday a me Ivan up Viacom Echo Bay _ Dimacco Elan add Kirby up  pc Ltd _  wic 10w v4 11v unch volume 668,700 613,600 529,400 503,800 449,600 404,900 -17 -t312,100 13 to to 299,300 -15/16 unch 289.700 15v4 to v254.400 i unch Dow Jones new York a Dow Jones closing Range of aver Ages wednesday High Low Cloie change 30industrials -3815,00 3762.88 3792,66 off 3.56 .20 transport 162957 1595.08 1612.33 up 8 51 15 utilities 192.33 189.89 192.00 up 1.25 65 stocks 1327.78 1306.57 1318-70 up 2.75 blacks7 spending Power growing economist says by Marc Rice the associated press Atlanta the spending Power of Black americans is rising at a faster rate than the nation As a whole according to 3 study. The spending Power african Ameri k cans control can be the margin Between Success and failure for Many businesses. So it just makes sense for retailers to try to Appeal to one of the fastest growing segments of the population said University of Georgia economist Jeffrey m. Humphreys author of the study which was released wednesday. Humphreys director of economic fore casting at the University defined buying Power As total personal income after taxes. He said the buying Power of Blacks in the United states should increase to $399 billion by next year up 33.9 percent from $298 billion in 1990. That exceeds the 29.5 percent growth rate estimated for the Overall . Population during the same period and is More than double the 16.4 percent inflation rate for the 1990-95 period Humphreys said. The Market where Black Consumers have the greatest buying Power is new York state with $45.8 billion estimated for 1995, according to Humphreys study. The fastest growing Market for Black buy ing Power is Idaho with a 74 percent in crease expected from 1990 to 1995. Humphreys said reasons for the in crease in Black buying Power arc twofold rising incomes Overall and a growing Lack population. Recent census Bureau statistics Indi Cate that the percentage of Macks in the . Population is growing while the percentage of Whites is shrinking though both groups Are increasing in numbers. By 2020, Whites will make up 78 percent of the population compared with 83 per cent now while Blacks will grow from 12.5 percent to 13.9 percent the Bureau said. Humphreys said businesses Are gradually recognizing the importance of the Black  you have to do is walk through the grocery watch to or read a Magazine. You see Black models Niche products Are More prevalent he said. The trend is positive though most Blacks would agree they businesses could do More particularly in convenient  Ken Smikle publisher of Chicago based target Market news which tracks ethnic consumer trends agreed that Black spending Power is growing though he thought Humphreys numbers were too  a 1993 study Smikle pegged Black buying Power at $282 billion. Retailers in general have made inroads toward More aggressive appeals to Black Consumers he said but there is a Long Way to go. Wall Street crumbling Down stocks Suji trading but neighbourhood s Glamour is fading railroads reportedly holding merger talks by the Washington Post Washington Norfolk Southern corp. And consolidated rail corp. Con rail two of the major rail freight carriers in the was Terry to rioted states Are deep into discussions on a merger Industry sources say. A combination of the two railroads would create a single Carrier with tracks ranging from new Orleans to new eng land and. From the Atlantic Seaboard into the Midwest. " neither. Norfolk Southern nor Conrail would comment on the talks. By Rick Hampson the associated press new York the windows of the proud prewar skyscrapers Are Black their lobbies dead As tombs their for Sale and will Divide signs Yel Low and cracked with age. When another Bank or brokerage moves out it takes the landlord three or four years to find a new tenant. This is Wall Street today. Quietly7 Al most while we weren t looking it became More adjective than noun More of a state of mind than a place. There arc still Wall Street analysts and Waif Street profits but no Wall Street at least not As we knew it. Wall Street the Industry has fled its Birthplace As Hollywood did. Now Wall Street is in Midtown Manhattan and new Jersey and los Angeles in suburban of fice Parks and Home offices. But Wall Street the neighbourhood the Street it self and its immediate envy Rons an area covering a Quarter Square mile in the Core of lower Manhattan is going one Way Down. It has fallen victim to the age and obsolescence of its buildings decentralization and downsizing in the financial serv ices Industry and the lure of other business districts with newer buildings easier commutes better food. In the past year alone plans for a new Stock Exchange building in the heart of the financial District collapsed for Lack of interest y.\. A  one of the tallest buildings in the world located at 40 Wall St., sold for $69 million less than it did four years earlier. Never in the history of commercial real estate had anything so big lost so much value so fast. A third of the District s office space is vacant. A Tower at 55 Broad St. Has been empty since its chief tenant Dree l Burnham Lambert group inc., went ignominiously out of business. Entire building for lease is stencilled on the Glass fagade. A Security Man stands morosely in the dim lobby the Maytag repairman of Manhattan real is  i _ _. A Conway s discount store at 43 Broad St. Advertises a Sale on women s shorts. Above the front door a Bas Relief of an Eagle with an Anchor in its talons hints a grander Days. Luis Alvarez a Security guard leans on the door of 55 Broad St under a sign advertising the building for lease an indication of hard times in new York s financial District fewer people attend Trinity Church weekday services fewer people eat lunch on the Steps of Federal Hall. You Don r have to wait As Long for a restaurant table or a haircut or a cab. Since the 1987 Stock Market crash _ lower Manhattan has lost a fifth of its work Force 100,000 jobs. Most Proba Bly Aren t coming Back. In 92, people still thought it was a cyclical downturn said Elliott Schlar a planning expert at Columbia University to new York. It s becoming Clear it smore than  the computer the fax and sheif ilk have reduced the need for , High Rise office District. At the same time the financial services Industry has become More competitive even As profits in crease firms employ fewer workers arid use less space a  -. " the Industry also has spread out less than a third of the firms in the securities Industry association Are even in manhat-1 Tan. Big Mutual funds like Fidelity and Vanguard Are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. And Many clerical jobs once done on Wall Street can now Bedone elsewhere. The trend is toward an Ever broader definition of Wall Street said  of the real estate firm austrian Roth one that might  on the information  even if they stay in new York Busi Nesses want big open rectangular floors so they can rearrange their offices As needed they want High ceilings so they can raise floors to accommodate computers and wiring they want extra electrical. Capacity efficient air conditioning an fast elevators. But most Wall Street buildings went up before 1940 and were designed with smaller floors so workers would be close to the Best source of Light and air the r window. Many have irregularly shaped floors a legacy of the District s curving old Street slots of columns antiquated wiring arid slow elevators. \ ten years ago businesses settled for anything with four Walls. But now Man Hattan is awash in vacant office space 50.-million Square feet roughly As much As was built in the 80s. These new Tow ers said Schlar sucked the life out of Wall  of -. Midtown is downtown s real Competition Pennsylvania station and  terminal offer Access to the suburbs. Downtown has lots of subway lines to Brooklyn and Queens but strap hang ing secretaries and clerks Don t sign Long term leases. Rents in downtown s older buildings Are now so Low that half make no Money about three dozen Are bankrupt or in foreclosure. After operating costs an taxes there s often not enough to pay the mortgage let alone make the renovations needed to attract prime office tenants