European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 08, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes Money matters sunday. January 8, 1995 Dollar watch shown Benovy Are the highest Dollar Exchange rates for the week of Jan. 1 Jan. 6 compared with Dollar rates for the same period one year and five years ago. German Mark one Dollar would buy you 1.52 1-70 1-72 1995 i 1994 i 1990 i a i my Mil military Char tag rat British Pound one Pound would Cost you 1.60 1995 1.53 belgian franc one Dollar would buy you 36.15 36.07 i i1994 i 1990 i dutch Guilder one Dollar would buy you 1.74 i-89 i i i 1995 i 1994 i 1990 French franc one Dollar would buy you 5.38 5.92 5.90 1995 i 1994 1990 i greek drachma one Dollar would buy you 242 243 160 italian lira one Dollar would buy you 1,627 1.689 Spanish peseta one Dollar would buy you 132 145 turkish lira one Dollar would buy you 39,000 1995 is new Honda engine fogs protests on emissions rules by he Washington Post Washington Honda motor co. On Friday announced it has developed the first gasoline engine that cuts current Auto emissions by 90 percent and meets the next generation of California air pol Lution standards. The Honda announcement puts More pressure on the rest of the Industry to quickly meet National environmental goals because hondas equipped with the new engines will be available late in 1997.Honda would not say what the cars will Cost but said its new engine will be economically feasible because a version i already in production. California state environmental officials hailed the development As a signal that the state s Tough environmental Stan Dards were achievable something the . Automobile Industry has contested. The California standards Are scheduled to go into effect there in 1997 and in Maryland Virginia and the District of Columbia in 1999. James m. Strock California Secretary for environmental Protection said no doubt Honda s leadership will assist other automakers in achieving califor Nia s air Quality  the big three Domestic automakers Chrysler corp., Ford motor co. And general motors corp. Had Little to say publicly about the Honda announcement. Privately however they acknowledged that it strips away Industry arguments about the feasibility of meeting Tough anti pollution standards. All the Auto makers Are currently working on technology to meet the California standards. It s a significant development because the . Industry has maintained a Posi Tion that meeting the Standard would put so much extra Cost on the vehicle that it would be economically unfeasible said an Industry official who asked not to be identified. The american automobile manufacturers association which represents the big three companies would not com ment on the Honda announcement a prototype Honda engine has passed California s 100,000-mile test but the engine must still go through a lengthy a certification process involving Road tests and other real life driving conditions before it can be certified As meeting the states standards a " a ail automakers must have what Are known As ult alow emission vehicles lev As part of their Fleet by 1997 to meet the California standards. These vehicles effectively eliminate 98 percent of the Auto emissions and arc seen by both Honda s new ult alow emissions vehicle is shown Friday at the los Angeles Auto  equipped with the new emissions cutting engines will be available in 1997. Hiroyuki Yoshino left president of research and development for Honda and Tom Cackette chief of the California air resources Board discuss the automaker s new engine government and Industry As the key to meeting anti pollution standards. At least 2 percent of the cars sold in California in 1997 by the big three Corn panics must be levs. California Law also requires the companies to have at least 2 percent of their Fleet be Zero emission vehicles by 1998. Work on Zero emission vehicles has focused on development of an affordable electric car but Progress has been slow awaiting a break through in Battery technology. But the key to meeting the Overall air Standard requirements is the lev. Government and Industry officials agreed Friday that the bulk of the pollution control Effort will be getting such vehicles on the Road in Quantity. _ economic momentum pares Washington a the number of working americans increased by More than a Quarter million last month push ing the jobless rate to its lowest level in four years and fueling speculation that interest rates Are headed still higher. The labor department reported Fri Day that the december unemployment rate dropped to 5.4 percent the lowest since july 1990, after 256,000 workers were added to the nation s nonfarm pay Rolls. The rate Down from 5.6 percent i november dropped 1.3 percentage Points in 1994. There is apparently unstoppable momentum in this Economy said Eugene Sherman an analyst with the new York brokerage firm . Shapiro. The Pri vate sector is just blasting  the Clinton administration quickly sought to showcase the news with presi Dent Clinton himself a announcing the figures during a White House photo ses " son. Have grown the private Economy As we have Cut government Clinton declared. That a real recovery and a real bargain for the american people labor Secretary Robert Reich said the report showed that Clinton s economic strategy had been a roaring  on Wall Street stocks closed higher but were off their Best Levels of the Day As the Bond Market trimmed its gains. Stocks and Bonds initially fell after re lease of the report. Investors often react negatively to a Strong employment report out of concern that increased hiring might fuel inflation and lower the value of their holdings. Most economists expected the report to prompt the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates even further in an attempt to slow economic momentum and head off any inflationary spiral this report might add a Little urgency to that move said Laurence h. Mctyer head of a St. Louis economic forecasting service. Robust Job growth in 1994 helped prompt the fed to Force up Short term interest rates six times by a total of 2.5 percentage Points. Inflation has remained Low but economists say the rate of Job growth is. Strong enough to push up labor costs resulting in higher prices for goods and services. The problem with inflation is that once it. Starts to accelerate,., it keeps going. It s driven most by momentum and when momentum increases it s very difficult to reverse Sherman said