News stories from Tuesday December 13, 1977

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

A chartered DC-3 carrying the University of Evansville's basketball team crashed and burst into flames soon after takeoff. The plane was carrying 31 persons, including a crew of five, according to a spokesman for the charter service. There was one survivor and he was reported in critical condition. The airplane, chartered from National Jet Service Inc. of Indianapolis, had taken off for Nashville in rain and heavy fog. [New York Times] The dollar suffered its biggest loss in several months on foreign exchange markets when the monthly meeting of central bankers in Basel, Switzerland, ended without any new moves to strengthen it. Its decline was sharpest against the West German mark, Swiss franc and Japanese yen, but it lost more ground also against the Belgian franc, French franc and British pound. This reflected the conclusion that the Carter administration still opposed taking measures to shore up the ailing currency. [New York Times] Stock prices were generally lower in dull trading except for issues in takeover situations. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 815.23 points with a token decline of 0.52. [New York Times] A&P's tailspin continues, despite major surgery in an effort to regain its top place in the supermarket industry, judging from an estimated loss of $5 million for the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 26. The loss on operations was about $2.5 million, and the rest was estimated losses from closing some facilities and other facets of its redevelopment program. [New York Times] Two white-owned companies have been awarded a $37.8 million government contract to make concrete railroad ties for the Northeast Corridor Project, although the contract had been earmarked in the Ford administration for a minority company. The Department of Transportation awarded the contract to the Santa Fe/San Vel Corporation because it was the lowest bidder. The president of a black-owned company among the losing bidders said that, on a straight-bid basis, it "never had a chance against the giants." [New York Times] The loss of corporate headquarters by New York City, which showed a net decline of 38 leading companies between 1965 and 1975, has been more than compensated by the continued expansion of businesses serving them, according to a new study. It found that concerns such as banks, law and accounting firms in the city were still used by the corporations that have moved away. [New York Times] Israel's Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, said in Jerusalem that when the Cairo negotiations opened, Egypt and Israel would each present drafts of a proposed peace treaty. He said an agenda had been worked out that would not deal with the most sensitive issues of territory and the problem of Palestinian Arabs. After a Christmas recess the talks would then be reconvened, probably at the level of foreign ministers, in Cairo or wherever else President Anwar Sadat of Egypt proposes. He said it had been agreed that the foreign ministers would handle territorial issues. [New York Times] Menachem Begin will meet President Carter on Friday to discuss efforts to reach a Middle East peace settlement. Administration sources said the Israeli Prime Minister had requested the meeting and would arrive Thursday evening. The White House believes he is not bringing a specific diplomatic proposal. One official said it would be a general review of developments, which the administration welcomes. [New York Times] Cairo is festooned with banners as the Egyptians go all out to accommodate Israelis who have arrived for the peace talks starting tomorrow. Israeli journalists have received a warm welcome and found their passports a distinct advantage. They also have burly Egyptian bodyguards. [New York Times] The "post-Sadat" syndrome in Israel reflects both enthusiasm about the Egyptian leader's visit and awareness that the divisions between the Arabs and Israel are deep and angry. But there is an aura of expectation that an end to wars and skirmishes may be nearer than at any time in Israel's 30-year existence. [New York Times] Soviet airlift of arms to Ethiopia is flying over some countries without permission and filing misleading flight plans at refueling stations, according to State Department officials in Washington. Government officials believe it may be part of a buildup for an Ethiopian counteroffensive in the Ogaden region, now largely in Somali hands. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 815.23 (-0.52, -0.06%)
S&P Composite: 93.56 (-0.07, -0.07%)
Arms Index: 0.88

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	628	7.31
Declines	776	7.95
Unchanged	514	3.93
Total Volume		19.19

* in millions of shares

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*
December 12, 1977	815.75	93.63	18.16
December 9, 1977	815.23	93.65	19.21
December 8, 1977	806.91	92.96	20.40
December 7, 1977	807.43	92.78	21.05
December 6, 1977	806.91	92.83	23.77
December 5, 1977	821.03	94.27	19.16
December 2, 1977	823.98	94.67	21.16
December 1, 1977	825.71	94.69	24.22
November 30, 1977	829.70	94.83	22.67
November 29, 1977	827.27	94.55	22.95