News stories from Monday April 24, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Gen. Alexander Haig, commander of the North Atlantic Treaty forces, reportedly almost resigned over the Carter administration's handling of several defense issues, including the production postponement of the neutron bomb. The administration did not consult him, government sources said. He was persuaded not to quit by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Defense Secretary Harold Brown. [New York Times]
- Aldo Moro's kidnappers demanded the release of 13 prisoners in exchange for the freedom of Italy's former Prime Minister. The government flatly rejected the exchange. Mr. Moro, meanwhile, sent an impassioned plea to colleagues in the Christian Democratic Party to save his life by agreeing to an "exchange of prisoners of war or guerrilla prisoners, if you like." His appeal, published in a Rome newspaper, asserted that "We are almost at zero hour, seconds rather than minutes from the end. We are at the moment of slaughter.'' [New York Times]
- President Carter's tax reforms are under pressure from the Treasury, which is seeking to persuade the White House that its proposals have been unrealistic and should be trimmed to save a tax-reduction bill. Mr. Carter is being advised by his staff that he can and must rally public opinion to offset the influence of business lobbyists and to show Congress that tax reform does have a constituency. White House officials say that they have dug in for a long battle. [New York Times]
- Patricia Hearst's conviction for bank robbery was left standing when the Supreme Court denied an appeal for review. She had been sentenced to seven years in prison and has been free on bail pending the appeal. She will be asked to surrender to the United States marshal in San Francisco in about 10 days. The robbery occurred 10 weeks after she was kidnapped from her Berkeley apartment by a terrorist group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army. The jury that convicted her in March 1976 refused to accept her assertion that she had participated in the robbery because her life had been threatened if she did not. [New York Times]
- David Berkowitz was found mentally competent to stand trial in the murder in Brooklyn last July 31 of 20-year-old Stacy Moskowitz and the attempted murder of her companion, Robert Violante. He is also suspected of having committed the six so-called Son of Sam murders. Justice Joseph Corso in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn scheduled the trial to begin May 8. [New York Times]
- Blue-chip issues rose sharply on the New York Stock Exchange, led by Eastman Kodak. Over the weekend the company had reported a 50 percent increase in first quarter earnings. Kodak stock gained 3 7/8 points to 51½ and was the main impetus in the Dow Jones industrials' gain of 13.26 points to 826.06. [New York Times]
- Richard Hanna was sentenced to a prison term of six to 30 months for conspiring to defraud the United States in the South Korean influence-buying scheme in Washington allegedly directed by Tongsun Park, a South Korean businessman. Mr. Hanna, a former Democratic Representative from California, was the first person sentenced to prison since the investigation of the influence-buying scandal started two years ago. [New York Times]
- Exxon's net earnings overcame curtailment caused by foreign exchange losses and achieved a 5.4 percent rise in first quarter consolidated net income to $680 million, or $1.52 a share, over the same period a year ago. Its report said that this quarter's net was exceeded only by the $1.63 a share earned in 1976's opening quarter. Revenues in the opening quarter also rose 5.4 percent, to a record of $15.3 billion. [New York Times]
- One of the three key issues blocking a new Soviet-American arms treaty has virtually been settled, but only limited progress has been made on the two other difficult issues, according to an account of Secretary of State Cyrus Vance's talks in Moscow given to reporters in Washington. Mr. Vance gave a briefing on the Moscow negotiations to officials of four allied countries in London, and some details were later given to reporters with the provision that they not he attributed. [New York Times]
- West Germany's growth rate in 1978 will be well below government predictions because of significant business instability, the country's five leading independent economic research institutes said in a joint report. The growth rate will probably be 2.5 percent instead of the 3.5 percent the government has counted on. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 826.06 (+13.26, +1.63%)
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* |
| April 21, 1978 | 812.80 | 94.34 | 31.54 |
| April 20, 1978 | 814.54 | 94.54 | 43.23 |
| April 19, 1978 | 808.04 | 93.86 | 35.06 |
| April 18, 1978 | 803.27 | 93.43 | 38.97 |
| April 17, 1978 | 810.12 | 94.45 | 63.49 |
| April 14, 1978 | 795.13 | 92.92 | 52.28 |
| April 13, 1978 | 775.21 | 90.98 | 31.58 |
| April 12, 1978 | 766.29 | 90.11 | 26.22 |
| April 11, 1978 | 770.18 | 90.25 | 24.30 |
| April 10, 1978 | 773.65 | 90.49 | 25.74 |