Rampant demand for gold marks was more than an expression of nostalgia for a currency which will disappear when the euro hits the streets on 1 January.

The Deutschmark, like the pound in your pocket, is not just a method of paying for a lunchtime sandwich or the bus fare home. It is also an expression of national identity. Just look at the importance the public attaches to the Queen’s head on Britain’s notes and coins or at Americans’ affection for the “greenback”.

No surprise, therefore, that euro-zone leaders are so anxious to try to ensure its 300 million citizens come to trust, even love, the new notes and coins. A successful euro roll-out next year would help to promote closer European integration. A botched launch would further damage a currency whose weakness on foreign exchanges over the past two years has not endeared it to traders or citizens.

Today sees the public debut of euro notes and coins. They will be unveiled at a Press conference at the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, an event which will trigger a four-month, UKpound 49 million advertising and information campaign designed in part to begin to try to invest the euro with at least a touch of the emotional appeal of national currencies.

This is no easy task. Surveys show continental Europeans, particularly Germans, are no less attached to their old currencies, and wary of the international one about to be foisted upon them, than those Britons who want to cling on to a pound whose diminished global stature mirrors the relative fortunes of the nation.

Even the superficially routine task of getting the currency to banks and stores is a logistical nightmare which, if it goes wrong, will produce negative publicity.

The ECB and national finance ministries have printed 14 billion euro notes and minted coins weighing 250,000 tons which have to be carted around Europe and other parts of the world and delivered to the right places without being hijacked or lost.

The scope for passing-off forgeries on users who have never seen euros before has led to enormous efforts being put into designing the new notes.

Authorities are even worried that they may see a flood of forgeries of the old national notes from criminals hoping to exchange wads of them for legitimate new ones.

The changeover will present drug dealers with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launder their ill-gotten gains. Tax evaders, in Spain and Italy in particular, are reportedly buying new properties and putting lavish swimming pools in them rather than risk declaring just how much black economy cash they have been salting away.

Then there is concern that legitimate retailers will round up prices, so giving inflation a fillip — this too could chip away at the single currency’s reputation. There are worries that people outside the euro-zone, particularly central Europeans who have traditionally kept wads of non-interest-bearing Deutschmarks in their piggy banks, may shift into US dollars. Billions could be at stake here and such a flight to the dollar would be seen as another vote of no-confidence in the euro.

Finally, there is the question of what impact a poorly performing euro-zone economy, and perhaps rising unemployment, would have on attitudes to the euro.

The coincidence of an economic slowdown with the appearance of the new currency is now unavoidable, another hurdle which has to be cleared as the euro struggles to gain street cred.

“Hopefully, it might go lower,” the economics major from Buffalo said of the interest rate.

Homeowners aren’t the only borrowers who can benefit from today’s rate environment. Thanks to Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve, the time may be right to consolidate federal student loans — and “PLUS” education loans taken out by parents — in order to lock in rates that have plunged to record lows under 6 percent, experts say.

Holders of multiple loans or even a single loan, like Sicignano, can take advantage of consolidation to lock in a permanent rate. Eligible for consolidation are both of the two main types of student loans, Direct Loans from the Education Department and Federal Family Education Loans, which are issued by banks. Both are called Stafford loans, but the repayment options can differ from lender to lender.

On July 1, the variable rate on student loans issued after 1998 fell to 5.99 percent, (less for borrowers still in school or less than six months past their graduation.) That’s almost 3 percentage points less than the previous rate, adjusted annually by the Education Department. Rates on Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS loans) fell as well, to 6.79 percent from 8.99 percent.

Variable student loans taken out before July 1, 1998, carry rates somewhat higher, but at less than 7 percent, still an attractive point to lock in.

“This is the lowest it’s been,” said Michael Woodruff, associate director of financial aid at Buffalo State College. More than half of Buffalo State students take out Stafford loans to help pay annual attendance costs of $11,000.

“When I was in school in the late 1960s it was 7 percent, then it went to 8 percent — right now is a good time for students to borrow,” he said.

It’s also a good time to think about consolidating to make the current rate permanent. Application can be made over the phone in some cases, although PLUS consolidation Loans: New rates save $136 per $1,000 over 10 years loans require a credit check. Applications usually take three to six weeks to process, lenders say, either through the Education Department program or Federal Family program lenders like NELnet and Sallie Mae.

“The activity has definitely boomed in the consolidation area,” said Anne Frye, senior vice president of the National Education Loan Network or NELnet, holder of $4.2 billion of student loans. “It’s not just recent graduates, it’s people who have graduated in the last two or three years.”

But because of a confusing welter of loan rules and cut-off dates — this is a federal program, after all — grads will have to do some cramming to determine if consolidation will save them money.

“Some borrowers are choosing not to consolidate because they already enjoy rate benefits for on-time payment,” said Patricia Scherschel, head of consolidation loans for Sallie Mae in Reston, Va., the largest provider of student loans. Unlike some other lenders, Sallie Mae doesn’t offer on-time payment incentives on consolidation loans.

Rates on federally subsidized student loans are reset each year on July 1, based on the rate of the 91-day Treasury bill plus an added amount defined by statute. About 15 million people in the U.S. owe money on student loans.

The exceptions are loans issued before 1993, which carry fixed rates. Those loans are also eligible to be rolled into consolidation, but don’t expect a big break. For people with a mix of loans at different rates, the rate on a consolidation loan is the weighted average of the loans being consolidated, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent. Consolidation loans are also capped at 8.25 percent, but most borrowers will end up paying all the interest they would have anyway on the fixed-rate loan.

The opportunity to lock in relatively low rates comes just in time for graduates caught in the economic slowdown, Frye said. “It’s not just about interest rates — they might be people who were caught in the economic downturn and need more money in their pocket.”

According to the U.S. Education Department, a borrower who repays a standard 10-year loan at the new rates will save $136 in interest for every $1,000 in loans outstanding, compared to the previous 8.19 percent rate. That means the average borrower, with $19,000 outstanding, would save $2,584 a year.

For professionals carrying large loans the savings can run much higher, according to the Student Loan Consolidation Center in Delmar, Calif. Doctors, engineers and other professionals often leave school with over $100,000 in total student debt.

Another benefit of consolidation is that it gives borrowers an option to shop around for better terms, without having to pay an origination fee. Unlike refinancing your mortgage, consolidating a student loan is free of fees — no matter whether the consolidation is under the Federal Direct program of FFEL.

For example, the Federal Direct program offers borrowers an up-front 0.8 percent rate reduction for on-time repayment. Private sector lenders may or may not offer similar discounts.

Under many circumstances, a graduate paying off FFEL loans can consolidate them with a Federal Direct consolidation loan, essentially switching programs.

In the past, consolidation loans have been more of a fallback for borrowers than an opportunity to save, Scherschel said.

“The original purpose of it was debt relief,” she said. With consolidation, “you can extend payments from 10 years to 30 years (and) lower monthly payment 45 percent.”

But stretching out the term of repayment can double or even triple the total interest costs on the loan, she added.

That’s just one of the cautions that grads and parents should be wary of.

Another is the status of special Perkins Loans, which can be erased for grads in certain jobs. For example, grads who teach in inner cities can have their Perkins debt canceled over five years. But once the Perkins Loan is rolled into a consolidation, that option vanishes.

The six-month grace period for repayment of student loans presents a special case for recent grads. They can benefit by locking in a lower rate that’s effective during the grace period.

It’s even possible to consolidate loans while still in school under the Federal Direct program, but there’s a big drawback. Instead of being deferred until after graduation, payments on the consolidation loan start to come due in six months. For many students, having to pay off loans while still in school cancels one of the Stafford program’s big advantages.

For graduates, there’s plenty of time to study the options. Unlike with home loans, there’s no rush to lock in now, since the current rate will remain in effect until next July 1. Lenders say one strategy would be to wait until next spring and decide whether to file a consolidation loan application six to eight weeks before July 1, to allow for processing time.

After all, rates might even sink further.

Although it closed better than the days’ lows, the Dow Jones Industrials had it’s third straight day of triple-digit losses. With curbs set in place, the Dow closed down 171.32 to 9919.58. The index has not seen trading below 10,000 since April. The S & P 500 was off 19.53 to 1131.12.

Microsoft helped to pull the Dow lower, finishing the day down 5% to $57.20. The software giant is facing new charges from the European commission that it was improperly tying its media player in with its Windows Operating System which would violate anti-trust laws.

Corning announced that it would be cutting a thousand jobs which has analysts concerned about earnings for the fiber optic company. Corning ended the day off over $2 to $12.21.

Although volume was heavy the Nasdaq was still under 2000 and closed down 51.57 to 1791.60.

Sun-Microsystems was the most traded stock on the Nasdaq today on word they would miss revenue estimates. That news sent that stock plummeting over $2 to $11.07. Analysts were expecting Sun to bring in 3.7 billion dollars, or 2 cents a share. In the mid-quarter conference call, Sun’s CFO Michael Lehman says hitting the 3.7 billion dollar mark would be a real stretch.

The Nasdaq’s most active include Oracle dropping over a dollar to $12. Cisco Systems lost over a dollar to $16.01. Intel fell almost a dollar to $27.16.

Some positives for the Nasdaq were Modem Media which was up over a dollar to $5.30. Tech Data rose over $5 to $38.52.

Consumers seem to be tightening the grip on their wallets. The Commerce Department has released numbers showing consumer spending rose the smallest amount in 9 months. Spending was up just one-tenth of one percent. The small increase came as no surprise to analysts. Though some might have anticipated a bigger increase with personal income up and tax rebate checks arriving in the mail. Personal income climbed to it highest point since December, up one-half of one percent.

Capriati, who won the Australian and French Opens earlier this year and lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon, needed just 51 minutes to beat Australian Evie Dominikovic, 6-2, 6-0. Capriati has never made it past the semifinals at the USTA National Tennis Center and that came in 1991 at her second U.S. Open appearance.

Capriati pushed her Grand Slam record for the season to 21-1.

Next up for Capriati is Spain’s Virginia Ruano Pascual, a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 winner over Austria’s Evelyn Fauth Thursday.

Fifth seed Kim Clijsters, eighth seed Amelie Mauresmo, ninth seed Nathalie Tauziat and 11th seed Elena Dementieva also won their second-round matches Thursday.

Defending champion and fourth seed Venus Williams plays her second-round match tonight against American Meilen Tu.

Clijsters needed just 45 minutes to pull off a 6-3, 6-2 win over American Allison Bradshaw. She will next face 25th seed Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia. Nagyova downed Nathalie Dechy of France, 6-2, 6-1.

This year has been a rather successful one for the emerging Clijsters. The 18- year-old Belgian lost to Capriati in the final of the French Open and was ousted by Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

It’s the second time Clijsters has reached the third round at the U.S. Open. She made it to round three in 1999 before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. Clijsters played with her right thigh tightly wrapped following an injury that forced her to withdraw from last week’s Open warmup in New Haven, and shortly after eliminating Bradshaw, she withdrew from doubles because of the injury.

“I use my legs a lot, and I’ve got strong legs,” said Clijsters. “In tennis, you use your arms and your legs. It’s a bit of a stupid injury to have at this stage. When I play as well, I’m very explosive. That’s what makes it tough at the moment. That’s what maybe scares me also at the moment.”

Mauresmo downed Janette Husarova, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, while Tauziat beat Katarina Srebotnik, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 and Dementieva got by Karina Habsudova, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-0.

There were two minor upsets as Australian Alicia Molik ousted 15th seed Magdalena Maleeva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and Iroda Tulyaganova, the 22nd seed, was beaten by Jana Nejedly, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Also Thursday, 17th seed Anke Huber beat Sarah Taylor, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4; 18th seed Sandrine Testud upended Gala Leon Garcia, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; and 19th seed Barbara Schett eased past Selima Sfar, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Chanda Rubin, the 28th seed, got by Adriana Gersi, 6-4, 6-1 and 30th seed Lisa Raymond moved into round three by defeating Jennifer Hopkins, 6-2, 6-1.

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The fourth-seeded and 1999 champion Agassi hopefully will play his first-round match against French qualifier Eric Prodon, as the highly-anticipated encounter was among the many that were rained out on Day 2.

Second-seeded Marat Safin and American teen sensation Andy Roddick also have to play their first-round matches on Day 3, as Safin will take on Frenchman Michael Llodra and the 13th-seeded Roddick will meet Aussie Wayne Arthurs.

Weather permitting, second-round action will get underway in both the men’s and women’s draw Wednesday.

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt, two-time defending and three-time overall champion Gustavo Kuerten, 1998 titlist Carlos Moya, and 1996 champ Yevgeny Kafelnikov will take to the courts in the round of 64 among the men, while second-seeded Venus Williams, 2001 French Open runner-up Kim Clijsters and three-time champion Monica Seles will play second-rounders among the women.

The reigning U.S.

Open champion Hewitt will meet Russian Andrei Stoliarov, while the seventh-seeded Kuerten will battle Italian Davide Sanguinetti.

Another interesting men’s second-rounder will pit two-time French Open runner- up Alex Corretja against gritty American Todd Martin.

Corretja was last year’s Roland Garros runner-up to Kuerten.

Venus, the reigning two-time Wimbledon and U.S.

Open titlist, will be opposed by Indonesia’s Wynne Prakusya; Clijsters will tangle with rising Greek Eleni Daniilidou; and Seles will face German Barbara Rittner.

In first-round action on the ladies’ side, Capriati will resume her match against fellow American Marissa Irvin, with the reigning two-time Australian Open champion holding a 4-2 first-set lead.

The 1999 U.S.

Open champion Serena will face Slovakian Martina Sucha with a second-round berth on the line.

Other first-rounders will call for 2000 French Open champion Mary Pierce to lock horns with Kazakhstan’s Irina Selyutina and Russian beauty Anna Kournikova to oppose Aussie Christina Wheeler.

Last Thursday in Milwaukee, Green tied a major league record by becoming the 14th player to hit four homers in a game.

He tied another major league mark by scoring six times and his 19 total bases broke Joe Adcock’s major league record set in 1954.

Green hit another homer on Friday in Arizona and two more against the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

He became the first player to hit seven home runs over three consecutive games.

Green batted .593 (16-for-27) and drove in 17 runs and scored 14 for the week.

He also had a slugging percentage of 1.741.

The nine homers were the most ever in the National League, breaking the mark of eight shared by Ralph Kiner, Ted Kluszewski and Nate Colbert.

Brian Giles of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the runner-up for the award after hitting .652 with five homers and 12 RBI during the week.

Todd Walker of the Cincinnati Reds, Fred McGriff of the Chicago Cubs, Jose Jimenez and Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies, Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins, Jose Vidro of the Montreal Expos, Julio Lugo of the Houston Astros, and Woody Williams and Jason Simontacchi of the St.

Louis Cardinals were other players nominated for the honor.

In an exclusive report by Sports Illustrated, Caminiti says he used the steroids the year he hit a career-best .326 with 40 home runs and drove in 130 runs for the San Diego Padres.

Caminiti, who turned 39 in April, told the magazine at least half of the major league players use the performance-enhancing drugs. However, he defended his use of steroids.

“I’ve made a ton of mistakes,” Caminiti told the magazine. “I don’t think using steroids is one of them.”

He told the magazine he started using steroids midway through the 1996 season after hurting his shoulder. Up to that season he had never hit more than 26 homers in a single year, but in 1996 he hit 28 after the All-Star break and followed that up with 26 homers in 1997 and 29 in 1998.

It was earlier this year that Caminiti pleaded guilty to drug possession charges and was sentenced to three years probation. He had previously admitted that he also faced alcohol abuse in 1993.

While the NBA and NFL both have rules against steroid use, the NHL and Major League Baseball do not prohibit players from using them. The players use the steroids even though they are illegal in the United States, unless prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition.

The International Olympic Committee has a stringent rule against steroids and has suspended several athletes over the years and has taken away Olympic medals because of the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

According to a report by National Institute on Drug Abuse, it’s estimated that since the 1950s, some athletes have been taking anabolic steroids to build muscle and boost their athletic performance. The report says studies show that, over time, anabolic steroids can take a heavy toll on a person’s health. The abuse of oral or injectable steroids is associated with higher risks for heart attacks and strokes, and the abuse of most oral steroids is associated with increased risk for liver problems.

Last season Caminiti played with the Texas Rangers where he hit .232 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. After the Rangers released him in July, he was picked up by the Atlanta Braves where he batted .222 with six homers and 16 RBI.

In 1987, Caminiti made his major league debut with the Houston Astros after coming up in their farm system. He was traded to San Diego in 1994.