European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 5, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes Money matters i monday december 5,1994today�?Ts rates following Are fixed rates at which Community banking and credit Union facilities will sell foreign currencies to . Personnel for personal use British Pound. 1.61 dutch Guilder. 1.71 German Mark. 1.54 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 Cist a a a a. A austrian Schilling .11.0365 Bahrain Dinar 0.37615 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 32.37 British Pound 1.5655 Canadian Dollar a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 1.3777 danish Krone. 6.1315 dutch Guilder. 1.7638 French franc. 5.399 German Mark. 1.576 greek drachma. 242.70 italian lira 1,610.91 Kuwait Dinar. 0.2993 norwegian Krone. 6.8184 portuguese escudo 160.20 saudi Royal. 3.7504 Spanish peseta. 130.75 Swiss franc. 1.3315 turkish lira. 36,450.00 note figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $378.95 an ounce Silver quote $4.91 an ounce sources merchants National Bank amp Trust co. And the associated press expert invents new ways to encourage innovation Check fraud bounces to new level Washington a Check fraud often involving organized thieves using High tech equipment More than doubled from 1991 through 1993, a banking Trade organization reported. The american Bankers association said a Survey revealed that 1.3 million fraudulent checks were passed last year compared with 536,000 in 1991. That Cost Banks $815 million $247 million More than in 1991. Although a majority of Banks across the country reported experiencing fraud in 1993, financial institutions in the Northeast and West were the hardest hit the report said. A Given the increases Over the past two years the Only plausible explanation is that we re facing an organized sustained Effort to pass fraudulent checks a said Bruce Brett chairman of the Aba Check fraud task Force. The task Force attributed the increase in part to the proliferation of desktop publishing which has made computer equipment and software used in Check forgery More affordable. The group also pointed to the availability of laser products to duplicate and print fraudulent checks. In addition it said customers Are More Likely to reveal information about their accounts. And because of Competition among financial institutions Banks tend to avoid inconveniencing customers by verifying their checks. The Bankers association said individuals and corporations wrote 61.1 billion checks in 1993, an average of 244 checks for every Man woman and child in America. The Survey found that on average a fraudulent Check was written for less than $1,000. That relatively Small amount together with the volume of checks made fraud More difficult to detect. _ _ a your attempts to spot a fraudulent Check is like looking for a Needle in a Haystack a Brett said. Amherst mass. Apr a one of the United states top inventors is trying to spread the creativity around. Jerome Lemelson inventor of key parts of the videocassette recorder fax machine and portable cassette player is trying to revive the spirit of invention with the National program in invention innovation and creativity. A a american a greatest natural resource remains american ingenuity a said Lemelson 71, who holds More than 500 patents. A a if you go Back to the turn of the Century the talk of the town was not basketball or Rock stars but invention a he said. A we Learned about inventions. In a Way that is not done  his goal a countless business ventures that produce countless new american products., that will protect the strength of our Economy and our position As a world  americans greatest natural resource remains american  Jerome Lemelson inventor Lemelson has spent about $10 million of his own Money on multidisciplinary classes seminars workshops meetings fellowships and a $500,000 prize. The program includes a network of several dozen colleges around the country. A your culture has tended to look at the inventor As the Odd person a said Gregory Prince president of Hampshire College in Amherst which participates in the program. A we celebrate Westing House. We laugh at the  at Hampshire students tinker with real world problems in a potentially mar passing technology Here a the latest device for motorists who done to want to put on the brakes at Highway Tollbooth. A Driver inserts a personalized card into this German made ant Posch transponder which is attached to the rear View Mirror and toll barriers Rise and automatically debit Highway tolls while allowing the Motorist to drive on through without stopping. The computerized tolling system expected to be operational in 1996, will allow motorists to drive up to nearly 190 Mph through toll Gates and still be debited Keable Way. A a it a just the opposite of traditional learning a said Penina Glazer academic director of the Hampshire program. A first you get the problem. Then you figure out All the things you have to do to get the required  for example a group of students trying to invent a better harness for dogs that pull people in wheelchairs had to study existing harnesses canine Anatomy and genetics and the physics of motion. A a it a not something someone has already figured out a student Micah Jessup said. A we taught ourselves what we need to do this  working without Structure can be Tough said Ellen Siedlecki a Hampshire student working to improve farm technology a i know How to write a paper a she said. A i done to know How to put something  May face punishment for movie piracy Washington api the Clinton administration elevated Greece to its priority watch list that could Lead to sanctions for the governments alleged failure to protect . Movies and recordings from piracy. . Trade representative Mickey Kantor said Friday that a a Large number of unlicensed greek television stations Are broadcasting american movies without paying the . Motion picture Industry for their use. A we note that the greek government has very recently moved against one such station a Kantor said in a statement. A we Hope this is the Start of a sustained Campaign against these unauthorized  a a a a a two other nations a Egypt and the United Arab emirates a were kept on the no priority watch list. Kantor urged Egypt to enact a Strong Patent Law that would protect foreign pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals from piracy. He also said the administration remains concerned about piracy of computer software and other intellectual property in the United Arab emirates. Washington a the North american free Trade agreement has failed so far to deliver on its Promise of More . Jobs and instead has resulted in a net loss of 10,000 jobs according to a congressional  the administration however disputed the findings. A joint economic committee study requested by sen. Byron Dorgan d-n.d., estimated that although Naftal created roughly 127,000 jobs in its first nine months higher imports from. Mexico have Cost 137,000 . Jobs. A while we have Only nine months experience with Naftal its important to note that what Little experience we have confirms the worst fears that some of us had that this was if not a giant sucking sound still a steady Drain of american jobs to Mexico a Dorgan said thursday. Commerce department officiate questioned the findings saying their own analyses show Job gains As a result of increased Trade with Mexico. Costing jobs in ., report says a we Are quite confident that Naftal has been a net plus for jobs in 1994,�?� said the departments chief economist Lewis Alexander. Dorgan issued the study As the Senate last week ratified the 124-nation Accord negotiated under the general agreement on tariffs and Trade president Clinton meanwhile is expected to announce this week his intention to broaden Naftal to include Chile and to Call for a hemispheric Trade agreement. A Una fat and Gatt Are Trade agreements that make it easier for american jobs to go where labor is cheap a Dorgan said. A a it a a bankrupt Trade strategy that weakens our country but strengthens corporations who want of employ cheap labor elsewhere and ship their goods  Commerce officials questioned the study a premise and the Assumption that increased imports necessarily translate into Job loss. A i done to think doing that calculation the Way it was done is really appropriate a one official said speaking on Condi Tion of anonymity. _ a the officials were reluctant to assign specific Job gain numbers from naft which liberalized Trade among the unite states Mexico and Canada. They said it very difficult to separate the Trad agreements effect on jobs from Overa Trade patterns with Mexico. Nine month Naftal figures release by the Commerce department last Mont showed . Exports to Mexico hit Recor Levels rising almost 22 percent Over year  from Mexico were up Almon 23 percent. But opponents contend that Naftz backers Are ignoring the fact that the . Trade surplus with Mexico is shrink ing. 1 after hitting a High of $5.3 billion i 1992, the Trade surplus is expected t reach $2.8 billion this year if Currer trends hold. A