European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters Friday septembers 1994 today s rates following Are fixed Tat fat which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound. 1.59 dutch Guilder. 1.69 German Mark 1.51 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 Curren cies of. Austrian Schilling. 10.91 Bahrain Dinar. 0.377 belgian franc .31,94 British Pound. 1.5453 Canadian Dollar. 1.36s1 danish Krone. 6.13 dutch Guilder. 1.7302 French franc. 5.3165 German Mark. 1.5514 greek drachma. 235.90 italian lira. 1,577.00 Kuwait Dinar .,.,. 0.2975 norwegian Krone. 6.815 portuguese escudo. 158.06 saudi rial. 3.7499 Spanish peseta. 129.12 Swiss franc. 1.2980 turkish lira 33,990.00 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar. Gold quote s391.qq an ounce " Silver quote $5.51 an ounce sources merchants National Bank & Trust  the associated press new York Exchange new York a sales 4 . Pulca and net change of the 15 most Active new York Stock Exchange issues trading wednesday Nairn volume list chg. Hanson ads 20.753,900 19h a Compaq s. 4,102,500 35% h i co 3,667,800 15vi k. Tolm chaos 3,409,800 63 if a am Barrack. 3,387,900 23k h Merck 3.325,300 34 unch  2.952,700 60v4 v4 a express 2,683,200 30 h of motors 2,421,900 29w it go motors. 2367,300 52 i fur Nab. .2,272,400 6 /4 h Crull cloy. 2.253,300 26 1 /4 Glaxo add 2.129,900 19w unch ism 2,000,600 67v4  1,927,200 17vi h american Exchange new York a sales closing Price and net Chang of the 10 most Active american Stock Exchange issues trading nationally wednesday. " Echo Bay Lacomb Chi cysts Twa voting Royal Oak g Viacom it Amdahl Citadel excl Ltd Hasbro volume 1.08g.ooo 866,400. 781.100 693,500 607,000 603,900 578,000 478,100 421,100 410.000 chg. / a. I last 13 33 12 49/16 to a 47/16 unch 5 /4 i. 9h h 3mi-1/16 13/16 unch 31h ,. .-.-. Raise the retirement age from 55 to either 62 or 65. Similar proposals in the past would have raised the retirement age Only for future hires. But a few plans those that would save the most Money would Force nearly everyone age 55 and younger to work extra years until retirement. Put the nearly 2 million Federal an possibly military retirees and survivors on a diet cola plan. The retirees Mostof whom now get full Cost Omi ving adjustments each year would get raises that Are 1 percentage Point less than the Actu Al Rise in inflation. Workers and Retiree who Are under the new Federal employees retirement system already get diet cola adjustments. But 99 percent of Al current retirees and most of the people who will be retiring in the next 15 years Are under the old civil service retire ment system which is indexed to inflation. V. Limit Colas to a portion of each Retiree s pension. Under this plan Long a favorite of House liberals those with the lowest pensions would get full raises. But others would get a raise on Only part of their annuity the first $13,000, for exam pie. Anything can happen in Short session before an election. But the Odds Are against a major change in pension rules. Even if changes Are approved by the House there is Little Chance the Senate would act. The problem is that if the House does anything to pensions this year it could set a precedent for action in the new Congress. Re elected incumbents could be pressured to follow through on the cuts and newcomers might vote for the trims to show their toughness. No Prover the newcomers will have no vested interest in the Federal pension program. A Airt to go technicians at left work on the . Telecommunications satellite Teistar-402 at the european space Center in Kourou French Guiana in northeastern South America. The satellite will be the sole passenger aboard the european rocket ariane 42l that was scheduled for liftoff from Kourou on thursday night. Airbus planning e Jet to carry 850 passengers Farnborough England a the european plane manufacturer Airbus industries has released its most detailed plans yet for a double Decker Long Range Jet carrying up to 850 passengers and maybe even a gym. The Mammoth four engine air planes would cos about $8 billion to develop with a Price tag to custom ers of $200 million apiece Jean Jacques Huber project manager for the jets still dubbed the a3xx, said wednesday. Routes into congested asian airports Are the mos Likely candidates for the big jets. But if airlines rely less on big Hub airports As they have Over the Atlantic critics say the big planes could become a costly Boondoggle. Supersonic jets could provide another form of com petition in the next Century. Boeing and Mcdonnell Douglas corp. Are looking into technology for a big supersonic Jet that could Fly round trip Between los an Geles and Tokyo twice a Day. Speaking to reporters at the Farnborough International 94 air show Huber said the giant jets would weigh More than 1,000,000 pounds when loaded. Buthe said they could take off and land on runways now used by big air planes and use engines now available. Airbus Hopes to Complete a feasibility study by 1995,possibly launching the program around 1998 and put Ting the jets into the air around 2003. The big jets could fit As Many As 10 Economy class passengers in each Row. But the sheer size of the air plane could give airline Freedom to build rooms on the Bottom cargo deck that could be used As fitness centers business areas or lounges the size of a Small apartment Huber suggested. The jets would have a Range of 8,000 Miles or More depending on the number of passengers meaning they could Fly nonstop on most routes excluding such super Long journeys As London to Australia or new zealand. High tech demonstration proves unsound Home shopping buys internet to network St. Petersburg Fla. A Home shopping network inc., which operates the largest to shopping serv ice bought internet shopping network on wednesday in a Deal that will allow Consumers to see what they want on a to screen fid order it on a compute screen. Viewers of its shopping channels now typically place orders by phone. Executives did not disclose the value of the Deal. Washington a the Promise of the communications revolution collided with reality when a video Confer ence Between Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and students hit a temporary glitch no sound. Brown having just finished a speech wednesday on the wonders of new technologies sat Down at a computer for a video conference. Put the sound would Twork. Having failed to establish audio con tact with students in Iowa and Australia Brown managed to talk to students in suburban Arlington a their voices were  sync with their Black and White on screen images and their move ments were delayed. While the Clinton administration is explaining How new communications technologies known collectively As the in formation superhighway will transform the Way people conduct their personal and professional lives Brown s video visit with students is an example of both the Progress that has been made and the things that need to be done to make this vision a reality. Effectively using sophisticated communications networks and information technology can make a difference not just in How people work but in How Well they live Brown said. To this end the Commerce depart ment released its second report on How the information superhighway a col Lection of telecommunications networks capable of carrying voice video and data in two directions can affect the Quality of people s lives. Advanced telecommunications sys tems it said can improve the production consumption and management of electricity increase the safety and efficiency of transportation systems save lives and property in times of Large scale emergencies and natural disasters and expand opportunities for people with disabilities