Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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USC economist sa Doll Dollar devaluation ma altract foreign industries t Carolina as well as help p sell better overseas, I economist said. "What dollar devaluation is Ihat foreign buyers can r more U.S. dollars witt curreney," Dr. Donald M. ( USC -prefessor of interr economies, said. "This, in turn, means foreign buyer can purchas U.S. products with the amount of his currency." "If a foreign industr Malta has I USC prof Business, o state's eco South Carolina's economy ap proached the end of 1971 with considerable strength and should be able to outperform the national economy in 1972, the USC Bureau of Business and Economic Research said. A USC report, "South Carolina Economic Indicators," reveals significant improvements occured in South Carolina's economy during the month of November. Fifteen of the 20 economic in dicators improved for the state, two remained unchanged and three declined. The report states that most economic forecasters are projecting a rather vigorous rate of real growth for the U.S. economy during 1972 with the growth expected to be at the rate of 5.5 per cent for the year. However, the report says favorable developments in South Carolina during recent months indicate the state should be able to out perform this expected national growth rate for 1972. Improvements found in South Carolina's economy during the month of November, according to t he report, include a sharp in crease in nonfarm job placements and desirable decreases in the rate of insured unemployment and in manufacturing layoffs . The report also reveals nonfarm wage and salary employment surged ahead to new highs as more BK ar devalua y help example, come o South 1hat industry roducts things in Soul I USC going," he sai( "But now, means devaluation, ti low buy Ihese things wil i their own currency.' 1affee, lational "Thus the would save mo that a in the United S e more the devaluati same them to comc Dollar dev y, for continued, mz cey position essors say .conomic bi nomy gaini ihan 4,000 workers were added during the month of November. This increase brought the number of workers to total 26,000 more than the level prevailing one year ago. The number of new car regist rations, the report says, was found to be the highest in the siaie's history for the second month, "emphasizing the success of Phase I stabilization policies in stimulating automobile sales." Residential construction permits for November rose above $50 million. The dollar value of such permits for the past four months, ihe report observes, was the highest in history and reflects the federal government's policies designed to improve family housing. Meanwhile, nonresidential construction permits are begin ning to show sustained im provements. "Concern for future profitability apparently inhibited nonresidential construction for the past t wo years," the report says," but the confidence of businessmen seems to be increasing at the present." Nonfarm job openings unfilled also increased during November while estimated retail sales, just in for the month of October , cllmbed to the highest level on record. $100 RITTON' Ltion may s to South Carolina, overse has to buy many South 4 h Carolina to get "Tht 1. devalui because of the buyers e industry can buy "South h less amount of its examp] foreign soybeai foreign industries ney now by locating tates, and hopefully Mea n will encourage United here," he said. now aluation, Chaffee Ameri, ty also make the impro, In past times the island of Malt a's key geographic position in the Mediterranean attracted Roman, Arab and Norman conquerors. treau says rig strength New business telephones and new business incorporations also increased to new high levels during November and commercial electric power sales reached a peak level--13 per cec! higher than that of the same period last year. Other improvements in the state's economy for November include increases in textile related manufacturing employment and durable manufacturing em ployment. The average weekly manhours in manufacturing establishments also continued to rise, the report says, but still has not recovered to iis peak level of late 1969. Undesirable developments during the month of November included an increase in initial claims for unemployment in surance benefits for the second month, an increase in .unem ployment insurance benefits and a decrease in total manufacturing accessions. Economic indicators that remained unchanged during November include the manufac turing workweek which stayed at an acceptable level of 41.1 hours per week. Manufacturing quits, the report says, also remained un changed. 'S benefit S as market brighter for arolina's own goods. intent of the whole it ion is to encourage foreign Io buy U.S. goods," he said. Carolina soybeans, for e, are now cheaper to buyers who purchase the is with their own curren awhile, he said, in the States, foreign goods will be more expensive to :an buyers and this may re the domestic market for Today, according to two USC professors, Malta is using this geographic location to bargain with the great powers. The island's left-wing Premier Dom Mintoff has been waging a campaign to gain more money from Britain and other NATO countries that use Malta's ex cellent bases. Britain refused to increase payments, and the island's government ordered the British to be off the island by Jan. 15 but extended the deadline. "Malta was a British colony for 169 years and, became an in dependent member of the British commonwealth in 1964," USC international studies Prof. James G. Holland said. Holland, who toured Malta in 1964 while serving with NATO, explained that the island's natural harbors and position between Sicily and Africa make it a key base for the British and for NATO. "The two deep water routes in the Mediterranean are the route from Malta to Sicily and the route from Malta to the coast of Africa," Holland said. "But while Malta has such a good geographic location, it's central problem today is one of economy," he continued. "The island has almost no raw materials and their Gross National Product is centered around service industries such as dry dock repairs." Evidently, Holland said, Malta's Campus ece South Carolina goods such as coton and textiles. "However, the price of foreign goods such as Japanese textiles," he added "may not go up too much, because along with doll. devaluation President Nixon removing the 10 per cent im charg.ft foreign goods." For routh Caroninians pl to travel abroad Chaffee expl their doAars will have less chasing power. This means ho and restaurant prices will, in ef fect, be higher. premier hopes to improve the island's economy by raising tie price paid for the use of her bases. While Premier Mintoff has been demanding more money from the British, he also has been courting the Soviet Union. "I'm sure the Russians are very much interested in Malta," Holland said. "They have been increasing their Mediterranean fleet tremendously although it is still no match for either the NATO or the U.S. fleet. "At this time when the Soviet Union is following a moving out ward policy, it would seem that it would be a good strategy if NATO made some effort to maintain use of the bases on Malta," he added. Another USC professor, Dr. H. Henry Lumpkin, who served from 1955 to 1967 as U.S. European Command Historian, also feels that "at the least it would be a serious nuisance for NATO and the United States if we could not use bases at Malta." "And at the most, if we could not use the facilities in the case of war, it could be a grave danger," Lumpkin said. "Of course, in this modern missile age, perhaps seapower is not as important as it was in the past.." Lumpkin, a history professor, noted Malta's geographic position made her an important port for the Cart haginians, the Romans and for the Byzantine Empire. The island's history, he said, also includes conquests by the Arabs, the Normans and Napoleon.