European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes Money matters sunday november 20,1994 shown below ate the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of nov. 14 nov. 18 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. German Mark one Dollar would buy you u1 1.66 1 86 i 1994 i 1993 i 1989 i my i my maj a maj military Exchange rat British Pound one Pound would Cost you 1.65 a 1.59 1994 1.53 1993 1989 belgian franc one Dollar would buy you. 38.97 dutch Guilder one Dollar would buy you 2.10 1.69 French franc one Dollar would buy you 5.30 5.92 6 32 1994 i 1993 i greek drachma one Dollar would buy you 238.23 236.97 166.34 1989 italian lira one Dollar would buy you 1,591 1,671 Spanish peseta one Dollar would buy you 128.89 37.40 11805 1m4 i 1m3 i 1m9 i turkish lira one Dollar would buy you 36,505 1994 13,347 1993 i 2,356 1989 Bentsen hints White House eyeing by James a Rubin the associated press Washington Treasury Secre tary Lloyd Bentsen sending the strongest signal yet of White House plans to pro pose tax Relief next year said Friday that a Middle class tax Cut is desirable so Longas it does t Worsen the Federal deficit. We agree on the desirability of a tax Cut for Middle income americans but something of that nature must be prop Erly paid for said Bentsen the administration s chief spokesman on economic matters. Following the sweeping Victory by re publicans in the nov. 8 elections the administration has been scrambling to re Vise its still developing budget proposal and come up with other ways to Deal witha o egress that will be m Republican hands for the first time in four  s comments to a group of . And european legislators called the North Atlantic Assembly were the administration s strongest indication that Middle class tax Cut is a top option As president Clinton begins in coming weeks to make final Deci Sions on the administration s 1996 budget. Rep. Richard Armey a Texas expected to be the House majority Leader said i Wel come the Clinton administration s be lated support for our 1994 Republican budget Initia Tive. The average Bentsen american family today pays More in taxes than food shelter and clothing combined and we look Forward to work ing with the White House to  .,-/.,during his 1992 election Campaign Clinton promised tax Relief for the mid dle class. But he abandoned the pledge after saying Federal deficits looked worse than he had  said any tax Relief offered by the administration would be offset either tax Cut by spending cuts or higher taxes else where to ensure that the budget deficit does not grow and crowd out private de mands for capital. No one wants higher interest rat Sand slow growth if it s the Price for a slightly smaller tax Burden Bentsen said. V although he did not specify what Type of tax Relief the administration was considering private economists said they viewed Bentsen s comments As an administration signal it is significant said economist David Jones of Aubrey g. Lanston & co., a new York City government Securi ties dealer. But he added that if a bidding War developed Between the administration and republicans Over the size of a tax Cut it could threaten financial stability.  the other possibility is that these tax cuts would be on the More moderate Side Jones said. If that is the direction. It s possible events could unfold along the lines Secretary Bentsen is alludingto."-.-. Investors experts still expecting   new York a despite consid Erable gloom on Wall Street last week Many Stock investors and analysts recounting on a classic year end Holiday rally to bail the Market out of its current slump. I have not Given up Hope of any rally said Hugh Johnson chief Strate Gist at first Albany corp. History is on his Side. In past years the Market has been kind to investors from thanksgiving to the end of the year. The two Days straddling the Harvest Holiday saw an average gain of 9 Points on the Dow Jones Industrial average for 21 straight years without a loss until the 1987 crash according to the 1994 Stock trader s almanac by Yale Hirsch. In 41 years there were Only six losses. December is typically the Best month of the year with the Standard & poor s 500 list posting an average gain of 1.8 percent in december each year since 1950, Hirsch wrote. November and Jan uary Are tied for second with average gains of 1.5 percent. Then there s the so called Santa Claus rally which has failed to appear Only nine times in the past 41 years. It occurs in the last five trading Days of the year and extends to the first two. Days in january and is Good for an average 1.76 percent gain Hirsch s figures show. The Holiday season should com through with a Nice rally again this year r � Hirsch said. Many Stock purchases Are made near year s end for tax purposes. And pension funds huge Stock investors typically get year end Cash distributions from employ ers that have to be invested those fac tors could reverse the current erosion of Dow Jones new York up Dow Jones closing Range of averages Friday High Low Clou chtngt30 industrials 3844.87 3773.21 3815.26 Oft 1279 20 transport 1489.50 1461.08 1468.54 off 6.7515 utilities 176.38 173.68 174.47 off 1.25 65 stocks 1280.72 1257,23 1267.78 off 5.38 i american Exchange new York a of the 10 most Active trading nationally Friday a it Lacomb  vat Echola Samdahl  his heart excl Ltd adv edict sales closing Price and net Chang american Stock Exchange issues volume 987,500 765,800 716,400 615,700 607,200 553.100 533,200 481,000 460.200 452,100 list ckf.397/ ency 4 11/16unch 10 /4 a. 3w tech 23tt -iv12vfc a 1. Uncli2-5/1 6 1 7/1 6 new York exchanged new York a sales 4 . Price and net change of the 15 most Active new York Stock Exchange issues trading Friday. Name sports auth nge motors Walmart  Rwjr Nabat to corp  Wana Geneles i Bank ameriam  volume list ck.7,560,300 24 unch 6,135,600 37h h 4,767.200 22h w 4,262,700 50j4 h 3,410,900 38 1 3,159.100 6v4 to 2.949,600 52w unch 2,549.500 24 unch 2,516,400 43h h 2,396,300 ism w 2.380.200 48v /4 2.270.700 39h a 2.222.600 73vi unch 2.215,600 62h h2.209,700 36h h Cash flows into Stock funds Hirs hadded. But there Are some formidable Obsta cles to this scenario playing out this year. Investors Aren t sure interest rates have stopped rising even after the fed eral Reserve s aggressive 0.75 percentage Point increase in two key Short term rate tuesday. Some analysts Are concerned the fed might have to tighten further to forestall inflation despite evidence last week including a moderate Rise in consumer prices and a drop in housing starts that inflation is under control. Higher rates present a twofold prob Len for the Stock Market they raise Bor rowing costs cutting into consumer Pur chases and corporate profits. And they can lure investors out of stocks and into higher yielding fixed income investments such As Bonds. Concern about rising interest rates sent the Dow Jones industrials Down three sessions out of five last week. On Friday the Blue Chip Index lost 12.79 to close at 3815.26. But it gained 13.79 Forth week. On Friday the nose composite Index fell 1.19 to 252.30, Down 0.95 for the week. The Standard & poor s 500-Stock Index Slid 2.09 to 461.47, Down 0.88 Forth week. The Nash a composite Index lost 1.17 to 764.67, but it added 2.55 for the week. The american Stock Exchange s Market value Index descended 2.09 to444.04, bringing its weekly loss to 4 Points. Jobs interfere with family life Many in poll say a �  Al. Tii i is by the new York times a new Survey of working americans paints a picture of a tired and financially strapped labor Force and one unwilling automatically to put work before family. Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed say they feel very committed to their employers but nearly half report that their jobs interfere with their family commitments. Many employees resolve the conflict in favor of their children three Quarter said that if asked to choose they would pick a child s event Over an important function at work. Two thirds said the Choice would be easy to make. Researchers for the Massachusetts Mutual life insurance co. Randomly surveyed 1,021 adults in september and october. Among the other findings a third of those responding said they have trouble paying their monthly Bills. Three quarters have trouble saving for their children s education. More than half have trouble saving for retirement