News stories from Friday September 1, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The nation's unemployment rate fell last month, the government reported, but the economy created few new jobs and analysts said the overall job picture was little changed. The Labor Department said the jobless rate dropped to 5.9 percent in August -- essentially holding its own after bouncing from 5.7 percent in June to 6.2 percent in July. But the dip came primarily because the number of persons entering the job market increased less than normal in August.
The total number of jobs in the economy rose by only 156,000, a little more than half of what is regarded as good performance, and industry payroll jobs increased by only 113,000.
[Washington Post] - Hurricane Ella, the small but powerful storm chugging toward Cape Hatteras, N.C., was expected to veer harmlessly out to sea on Saturday and pose little threat to the East Coast. A hurricane watch remained in effect, however, for early Saturday for the outer banks of North Carolina. [Washington Post]
- President Carter and his chief foreign policy advisers pushed ahead with final preparations for next week's Camp David summit conference on the Middle East despite fresh Israeli concern that continued fighting in Lebanon could seriously affect the summit's prospects. Israel's concern is so acute that Prime Minister Menachem Begin has been considering leaving Defense Minister Ezer Weizman at home rather than bringing him to Camp David, as planned. [Washington Post]
- Postal Service and union officials went back to the bargaining table to launch a tense and difficult search for a contract that could end the threat of a nationwide mail strike. As the countdown began toward a Sept. 16 deadline for settlement, a special mediator-arbitrator predicted "tough" negotiations and ruled out any quick progress. [Washington Post]
- Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau surprised the country by hinting strongly that there will be no general election this fall. Trudeau said his government "intends to proceed determinedly with the development and implementation of new economic programs." The five-year term of Trudeau's Liberal Party government expires in July. [Washington Post]
- Gen. Omar Torrijos announced that he was stepping down as chief of government of Panama but will remain as commander of the National Guard, the country's powerful military force. Special constitutional powers under which Torrijos has been acting expire Oct. 11. [Washington Post]
- Nicaraguan National Guard troops tore aside makeshift barricades and moved into Matagalpa, held five days by youthful rebels whose resistance had become a symbol of the popular uprising against President Anastasio Somoza. It was reported that 50 persons had died in the fighting since it began last week and more than 200 others were wounded. [Washington Post]
- The West German parliament, called back from summer recess into emergency session, voted unanimously to strip immunity from a prominent member suspected of involvement in a spy ring. Minutes after the vote, police searched the office of Uwe Holtz, 34, one of the fastest-rising politicians in the ruling Social Democratic Party. The investigation is fast becoming the biggest political sensation in Bonn since Chancellor Willy Brandt resigned upon discovering his aide was a spy four years ago. [Washington Post]
- The Soviet Union completed an airlift of men and military supplies to Vietnam, the first such concentrated resupply since the fall of Saigon three years ago. The flurry of unusual and unscheduled flights to Hanoi began in mid-August and ended several days ago. The Soviet demonstration of support for Hanoi is likely to increase Chinese apprehensions about encirclement and add new fuel to the Sino-Soviet conflict in Asia. [Washington Post]
- Colombia, worried its $2 billion-a-year cocaine and marijuana industry will start affecting its own people, said it will sign a new anti-drug pact with Washington. The pact was a continuation of existing agreements that provide for exchanges of drug intelligence and U.S. help in training and equipping Colombian narcotics agents. [Washington Post]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 879.33 (+2.51, +0.29%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| August 31, 1978 | 876.82 | 103.29 | 33.85 |
| August 30, 1978 | 880.72 | 103.50 | 37.76 |
| August 29, 1978 | 880.20 | 103.39 | 33.78 |
| August 28, 1978 | 884.88 | 103.96 | 31.76 |
| August 25, 1978 | 895.53 | 104.90 | 36.19 |
| August 24, 1978 | 897.35 | 105.08 | 38.50 |
| August 23, 1978 | 897.00 | 104.91 | 39.63 |
| August 22, 1978 | 892.41 | 104.31 | 29.62 |
| August 21, 1978 | 888.95 | 103.89 | 29.44 |
| August 18, 1978 | 896.83 | 104.73 | 34.66 |