European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters wednesday August 10,1994 re today states 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. 1.74 German mark1.55 note 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 that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign currencies t austrian Schilling. 11.153 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 belgian franc a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 32.63 British Pound .1.5355 Canadian dollar1.3785 danish Krone .6.245 dutch Guilder 1.7832 French franc. 5.4365 German Mark. 1.5867 greek drachma. 239.30 italian lira 1,588.05 Kuwait Dinar .0.2981 norwegian Krone. 6.9277 portuguese escudo. 161.32 saudi rial. 3.75 Spanish peseta. 130.43 Swiss franc. 1.3385 turkish lira a. 31,320.00 note figures Are expressed or it dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $377.40 an ounce Silver quote $5 11 an ounce sources merchants National Bonk amp Trust co. A and the associated press i new York Exchange new York apr sales closing Price and net change of the 15 most Active new York Stock Exchange issues trading nationally on monday.  last chg. To Cimex ads 4,617.000 62% _ 1/4 re Nab 3,778,000 6�?T4 unch Compaq a a it. 3,324,000 34v 14 Merck a 2,459,500 30v4 4 Pepsico. A a. 2,175,500 31v a for motors. It 2,109,400 30v4 Lowes s 2,048,400 32v 1v4 entry wired s 2,005,900 144 4 Chrysler. 1.955,100 46v 4 am Van a Gen motors a a a a a. 1,926,500 91 a 1,725,700 504 1 ism 1,676,600 63v 74 Mcdonalds s 1,625,900 264 a syntax 1,486,800 22v a Sterling chm. 1,361,600 11w 1v r american Exchange new York a sales closing Price and net change of the 10 most Active american Stock Exchange issues. Trading nationally on monday. Name volume lilt chg. Royal Oak g .813,900 4 a a a -.�?T4 Lacomb. 540,600 35% 1 chess it s 385,800 9v to Spur 328,600 45 57/64 �7/64 us Blosl 311,600 54 a Ivan up. 276,200 18 4 it comm. 263,400 84 a Interpol gym 248,100. 24 -1/16 Harken engy. 231,1001 11/16 a Ampf 214,600 26 unch i Dow Jones j new York apr Dow Jones closing Range of aver Ages on monday. A High Low close 3780.68 3732.77 3753.81 30 industrials 120 transports 15 utilities 65 stocks 1605.20 190.81 1313.45 1582.89 188.11 1296.03 1589.56 189.69 1303.22 Cheng 6. -79 �?6.67 0.26 -0.24 Disney phone firms link for futuristic video service Burbank Calif. A a Man Peers at his to where Mickey mouse explains How to Click a Remote control to write a Check buy underwear summon the lion King or buy Disney a Box office Flop Renaissance Man on Home video a All without leaving the sofa. Despite its frequent scorn for a information Highway alliances the Walt Disney co. Said monday that its teaming up with three regional phone companies to deliver video programs and services into Hories. Disney disclosed no financial details and Only the broadest outlines of its venture saying it would devise a business plan with Amer tech corp., Bel South corp. And southwestern Bell corp.,  50 million customer lines in 19 states. A this is More of an agreement to go out on a Date than it is telling us where you Are going a said Jeffrey Logsdon entertainment analyst of Seidler cos. Still the vision was clearly the same that has obsessed such companies As time Warner Viacom and Tele communications which want to go beyond existing to networks to deliver movies on de Mand interactive Home shopping educational shows games travel assistance and the like. The companies said they would develop a a a navigator to help make the services user Friendly raising the Prospect of Mickey As Pathfinder through the video universe. The phone companies would Disney chief Michael Eisner Long a critic of the communications superhighway monday praised the planned venture. Offer Billing and service expertise to complement Disney a storytelling skills. Disney chief executive Michael Eisner had been a vocal septic about entertainment companies getting involved with the hardware that delivers entertainment and information into Homes. Indeed his Lack of interest verged on scorn last year at an a information superhighway Summit called in los Angeles by vice president a1 Gore. Eisner said he understood Content but not delivery and intended to stick with what he understood. But in a statement monday he said Disney Hopes to a use technological breakthroughs and new entertainment delivery systems to provide Consumers with a compelling and creative array of  a a it a the first time since the Summit in . That or. Eisner has actually agreed to play in or. Gores Back Yard a said Christopher p. Dixon a pain Webber analyst. Tom Staggs Disney a vice president for corporate development and acquisitions said the Alliance is really just another Way for Disney to achieve its Core business a getting programming to people. Staggs said Disney would provide much of the Content for the video venture but May buy extensive programming and services from other suppliers. Disney announced last month that it would License several characters to Microsoft corp. To be used in cd rooms another Alliance positioning that allows the entertainment company to Benefit from cutting Edge technology without having to develop it. A this keeps them in the no capital expenditure Mode but in the game for whatever becomes the information superhighway a Logsdon said. Acc moving to hang up abuses of 800 numbers that charge fees Washington a after an Avalanche of complaints Federal regulators have come up with a plan to prevent Consumers from getting billed for Calls they did no to make to information services such As those that provide sports scores or psychic readings. The Federal communications commission unveiled the plan tuesday and is seeking comments from the Public before giving it final approval. It Marks the first step in stemming abuses that largely involve charges for adult oriented services carried on 800 numbers said Richard Metzger Deputy chief of the pc cd a common Carrier Bureau. In the first six months of this year the acc received 2,000 complaints the majority about Calls to sex oriented services. In 1993, the Agency averaged around 100 complaints a month said acc attorney Robert Spangler. The problem involves Only a Small portion of the information services Industry a companies that not Only use 800 numbers to deliver services but also charge for the Call. The vast majority of information services use 900 numbers. And nearly All 800 numbers Are toll free a unless the company taking advantage of an exception in a 1992 Law got permission through an agreement with the caller the Law did not specify How the agreement had to be constructed. That a where the problem has cropped up. In Many cases the individual caller who May have agreed to the charge Wasnuk the one getting the Bill. Rather the Home hotel or school from where the Call was made got stuck with the charges because the local Telephone company sent the Bill there. The proposal is one of those rare regulatory instances in which some local Telephone companies prompted by customer complaints want tougher Federal rules. Under the pc cd a new plan local Telephone companies have to make sure they Are Billing the individual caller. They must verify that a written contract has been made Between the caller and the information service company before it Bills for 800-number Calls. The plan also would require the local phone company to break out charges for these Calls separately from Long distance charges. The phone company also would have to list the name address and number of the information service provider the Type of service offered and the Date time and duration of the Call. Plagued by customer complaints Over 800-number charges Bell Atlantic corp. In june stopped Billing for these Calls said spokesman Michel Daley. Metzger said Many of the pc cd a complaints Are from hotels colleges and universities and parents a All of whom were billed for Calls they did no to make. Parents were particularly frustrated. Unlike 900 numbers which can be blocked by parents 8q0 numbers that charge a fee can to. So there is no safety net for parents whose children might sneak off and make 800-number Calls. Spangler said people routinely end up paying for the Calls for fear of losing their Telephone service a ploy some Iri forma Tion service companies use to get people to pay he said. Job seekers May see chances go up in smoke by Peter Beaumont London observer service London a British smokers already at risk from lung cancer and heart disease Are facing a new threat. Cigarettes it seems can damage their career prospects too. In a Survey of British employers by Reed personnel services Britain a largest employment Agency nearly one third of companies questioned said that a if All else were equal a they would choose a nonsmoker rather than a smoker when recruiting staff members. The questionnaire sent to 731 employers in Nanu factoring retailing and the Public sector discovered that nonsmoking policies at work were easier to enforce in the South of England. But there was a greater degree of resistance from staffs in Northern England and Scotland. Eighty six percent of companies and organizations now operate a no smoking or limited smoking policy. Only three percent opposed no smoking policies on the grounds that smokers were being �?ovictimized.�?�. One company questioned by Reed said some staff members had chosen to resign rather than work under a  policy. Reeds own chairman Alec Reed has insisted on a no smoking policy in his company so offices but with specially allocated smoking Sites in each building. A while i done to like smoking myself what people do in their own time is up to them a Reed said. A however our Survey shows that smokers do risk being discriminated  among other companies that have banned smoking is the Woolwich building society savings and loan which introduced the policy 18jcnonths ago. But it says it would not refuse to employ smokers. Scripps Howard news Syndicate a