i REMEMBER — Registration ends May 4,1990 at 5 p.m. Simply walk in to: Division of Continuing Studies Registration Office - Room 271 Nebraska Center for Continuing Education 33rd and Holdrege For more information contact the Department of Evening Programs and Lifelong Learning Services at 472-1392. n UNL is a nondiscriminatory institution ^ in —--" " ' By the I News Digest Edited by Brandon Loomis I V- ■■■■ ■' ... ■■ ■ ^ 1 West Germany agrees to offer j 1 -to-1 ratio on merging marks EAST BERLIN - West Germany agreed on Monday to give East Ger ij$ mans a bigger share of Western wealth L as their struggling nation is merged | with its rich neighbor. In a surprising concession, West Germany said it would exchange each virtually worthless East German mark paid to workers and pensioners for one strong West German mark. The 1-1 rate would apply to wages and pensions and to savings accounts of up to 4,000 marks ($2,300), said Dieter Vogel, spokesman for West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The East German government had demanded the 1-1 rate to protect workers from higher living costs in a unified Germany and the loss of huge subsidies that existed in the former socialist system. East German political factions applauded the wage concession but criticized the limit on savings ac counts. Kohl made the proposal the day before he was to meet with East Ger man Prime Minister Lothar de Maizi ere in Bonn to discuss their differ ences over reunification. It came amid reports that the number of East Germans fleeing their crum bling economy lor West Germany is continuing at a rate of more than 4,000 a week. U nder the West German cconom ic proposal, announced after Kohl met with his Cabinet, personal savings of more than 4,(XX) marks would be traded at a 2-1 rate. East German private and corpo rate debts also would be converted at a 2-1 rale, Vogel said. The West German government’s proposal is an “important contribu lion” to ending the disagreements between the nations, East German government spokesman Mathias Gehler said. But Wolfgang Ullman, vice presi dent of Parliament, said: “If this is the final decision, there should be sharp protest because a large part of savings will not be considered here.” Both governments say they will “4 4-“ If this is the final decision, there should be sharp protest because a large part of savings wilt not be consid ered here. Wolfgang Ullman vice president of East German parliament -* f merge their economies completely on July 1 as a prelude to full unifica tion, expected next year. The East German mark is offi cially valued at 3-1 against the West mark but is worth almost nothing outside East Germany. West Germany’s central bank had proposed a 2-1 swap, saying a 1-1 exchange would dilute the value of the West German mark and possibly cause high inflation and rising inter est rates. But Vogel said the government run Bundesbank “has fully accepted that this is a decision made by the federal government.” 4 ‘The Bundesbank has also accepted that the economically prettiest solu tion cannot always be taken’ he said. But prices on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange plunged 2,5 percent after the announcement, their steepest decline since January. Social Democrat Oskar Lafontainc, Kohl’s likely opponent, on Monday accused the chancellor of caving in to pressure from the East Germans. But the left-leaning East German Social Democrats, who arc allied with their Western namesakes, called the wage exchange “a step in the right direction.” The currency exchange is a key part of a broader proposal for unifica tion being pul together by the Kohl government. De Mai/.ierc’s govern ment came up with its own proposals two weeks ago. Both sides have embraced quick unification, but differ on how much burden each nation should carry. Talks on the strategic future of a united Germany also arc expected soon with the World II allies that divided Germany: the Soviet Union, the United States, France and Britain. The new democratic government elected on March 18 has not been able to halt mass migration. The East German government news agency ADN said Monday that nearly 20,000 East Germans have migrated in April alone, giving a total of 167,09since the beginning of the year. _ ! 0 g Now the PC you always wanted comes with the money to buy it! [I li III ^}jf M 1 ZENITH INNOVATES AGAIN “ I Aii; Firs/ there was hardware. Then there was _ __^ software. Now there’s Zenith Loanware.'* 1 ^ With Zenith Loanware, you can buy the Zenith ^ ZENITH Data Systems laptop or desktop PC you’ve always ddta SVStems wanted for college. And all it takes is a little teamwork --*■ with your parents. 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