European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes Money matters Friday october 14, 1994.today s rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use it British Pound. 1.62 dutch Guilder 1.68 German Mark 1.50 note the rates above apply within lha 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 a austrian Schilling 10.826 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675 belgian franc British Pound 1.583 Canadian Dollar 1.3466 danish Krone 6.0301 dutch Guilder 1.734 French franc 5.2687 German Mark 1.5383 greek drachma 235.45 italian lira 1,563.00 Kuwait Dinar 0.29725 norwegian Krone 6.7055 portuguese escudo 157.41 saudi rial 3.7514 Spanish peseta 127.88 Swiss franc 1.2813 turkish lira 34,940.00 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $398. Is an ounce Silver quote $5 so an  merchants National Bank 4 Trust co. And the associated press z new York Exchange new York a sales the 15 most Acyl to new Vork Nail Nally wednesday. A 4 . Price end net change of Stock Exchange issues trading nit. Velum Latt cd i. And a. A a a a a a 4,168,100 23 i. -1h no event 3,903,800 15 i 14 Fara Hync 3,525,100 814 -214 ism a. 3.226,600 73 114 telex aos 3,175,000 63vk 114 Ford motor s a a a a 3,172,500 29 �?"14 Ranelee s a a 2.833.700 50v. 114 Baskny 1. 2,774,600 29w i Olga tales 2,417,000 28v % Pepsico a 2,365.200 3414 14 Merck 2,304,800 37 14 Motorola s 2,205,100 5414 unch Compaq. Amme hold. 2,194,700 3sy� 1 2.172.700 24h 14 Tucson up. 2,019.600 314 14 american Exchange new Vork a sales Elos Loq Price and net change of the 10 most Active american Stock Exchange issues hiding nationally wednesday. A a a a a name volume last chg. Viacom Al 4.4b3.000 114 a is Lacomb 1,850,700 39�?T/5 h forum rear 843,000 214 14 Alc com a a 6481500 3414 114 Echo Oay a. A 571,500 1314 14 by times. A. 547,600 2214 i Viacom. A 481,200 4.1 i 14 Viacom wic 473,400 3v� 3/16 pc Laid 431,900 114-1/16  415,000 4�?Ts 14 Dow Jones new York apr Dow Jones closing Range of averages on wednesday a. A High Low Cotoia change 30 industrials 3903.07 3844.87 3875.15 Oil 1.68 2q transport 1500.44 1475,99 1490.19 up9.78 15 utilities 181.91 179.48 180,20 off 1.12 85 stocks 1299.71 1280.03 1290.15 up 1.25 3 entertainment moguls join forces in new studio Beverly Hills Calif. A the Trio of Hollywood superstars launching a new studio looks like an unbeatable team a at least until their first Box office tur a key. V a. A a a a a a a a a director Steven Spielberg record Titan David Geffen and former Disney studios chief Jeffrey Katzenberg announced wednesday that they Are joining forces to produce movies to shows music and interactive Media. A the partnership brings together three of show business most talented and wealthiest leaders. But similar ventures in the past have not succeeded on Good names alone a Good product is the key. Sid Sheinberg president of the entertainment conglomerate Mca inc., said the partners make a formidable group. A a there Sho one that has the credibility and the credentials that Steven Spielberg has As a filmmaker. There a no question of the entrepreneurial and business skills that David Geffen has a he said. A and Jeff Katzenberg has enormous amounts of Talent and a kind of superhuman Energy a he said. A i can to think of anything where the skills were at these  a a. A Quot a Katzenberg Spielberg and Geffen said they will be equal financial and managerial partners in the unnamed company expected to open at an undetermined location in Early 1995. They have deep pockets a a combined net Worth close to $2 billion a and a proven track record. As head of the Disney studios Katzen Berg resurrected a moribund animation department and launched a highly profitable live action feature film unit. His Disney legacy includes Aladdin the lion King sister act three men and a Jeffrey Katzenberg Steven Spielberg and David Geffen from left hold a news conference in los Angeles on wednesday to announce that they will form a new entertainment company.1 baby and the no. 1 to show Home improvement. He quit Disney last month after he Wasny to promoted to president of the studios Parent Walt Disney co. Geffen s experience As a movie producer is mixed a the hit risky business and the Flop defending your life a but his Success in the music business is unparalleled. \ building his record Label from scratch in 1980, Geffen has been one of the first to spot such new trends As the Boom in alternative Rock. He signed such acts As guns no roses Aero Smith and nirvana. Spielberg has directed the two highest grossing films Ever . The extra terrestrial and Jurassic Park. Despite their commercial triumphs the three said that they would Welcome Small projects and newcomers and that they hoped to build a company that put Quality ahead of Quantity. A a in a like to find ways to ensure filmmakers have a Home they feel comfortable in a Spielberg said. A i want to create a playground they can play  the new studio unencumbered by tradition and bureaucracy May move More quickly into new forms of entertainment than people expect said Lee Isgur a Jeffries amp co. Analyst. Price War on information Highway erupts As rivals Cut members fees new York a. Computer online rivals Prodigy and America online Are waging a min Price War since Prodigy introduced a cheaper membership option and a reduced hourly rate. The new Prodigy option announced Early wednesday costs $9.95 a month for five hours of on line time and $2.95 for each additional hour. Prodigy previously charged $14.95 a month for unlimited Access to most of the network. By wednesday evening America on line which also charges $9.95 for a Basic five hour service said it would reduce its rate for additional hours from $3.50 to $2.95.  v \ on line services provide a variety of news weather and sports information social Chat forums and bulletin boards shopping and travel planning. Prodigy a $14.95 option which will not be eliminated carries a five hour limit on certain Premium features including its bulletin boards and travel reservations service. The Price for additional Access to those services will be reduced from $3.60 an hour to $2.95 an hour. C the new $9.95 alternative brings Prodigy a pricing More in line Quot with Industry Leader Compuserve which offers unlimited Basic service for $8.95 a month. The move by Prodigy a joint venture of International business machines corp. And Sears Roebuck amp co., comes amid a Boom in on line subscriptions that Prodigy has not shared in. More than 4.7 million people subscribed to on line services As of june 30, an increase of 16 percent from the end of 1993, says digital information group of Stamford Conn. But membership in Prodigy has been nearly Flat at about 1.1 million since the Start of 1994, digital analyst Maureen Fleming said. By contest America online membership has risen from 500,000 Early this year to about 1 million in a gust. Compuserve a unit of a amp a Block inc has boosted its worldwide subscriptions from 1.5 million to 2,3  help russian Ruble rebounds strongly Moscow apr the roller coaster Ruble soared Back against the Dollar thursday erasing the losses suffered in the spectacular Black tuesday plunge and making its strongest one Day showing Ever. Driven by massive Central Bank intervention and new trading rules the Ruble shot up to 2,994 to the Dollar a 742-Point gain from wednesday s 3,736 close on the Moscow Interbank currency Exchange. The russian currency closed tuesday at 3,926 to the Dollar having dropped 27 percent from the previous Day in an alarming fall that threatened to under mine recent Progress toward stabilizing the Post soviet Economy. Bewildered muscovites their Confidence jolted by the currency a wild fluctuations still faced higher prices in stores As the result of frantic markups the previous two Days. A How can anyone be expected to keep up with this inflation i have to go shopping every Day Quot biology teacher Marina Tkachek said while standing in a crowded household goods store. Kiosk dealers began Selling rubles again thursday afternoon after freezing sales in an uneasy wait for the rubles next big move. Traders were unfazed. A it was already Clear wednesday that the government would try to prop by the Ruble so thursdays trading was no Surprise a said Maxim Stolitsky a most Bank dealer. The Central Bank spent about $100 million in trading thursday according to a trader who declined to be identified after it used about $170 million of its precious. Hard currency reserves tuesday and wednesday with reserves having dwindled to an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion it remained unclear How Long the government Bank could continue to bolster the Ruble. The Ruble crisis has threatened to scare. Off Western lenders and investors and put tremendous pressure on the government to bring the recovery Back under control. Moving to halt the crisis and assess blame president Boris Yeltsin fired acting finance minister Sergei Dubinin on wednesday and asked lawmakers to sack Central Bank chairman Viktor Gerash Chenko. Dubinin was replaced by a 33-year-old Deputy and statistics expert Andrei Vavilova on thursday As the Finger pointing continued