News stories from Wednesday February 24, 1982

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

A budget appeal to business was issued by Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate. They asked the financial community to give President Reagan the same message it has given to members of Congress: The President's budget proposals are unacceptable because the projected deficits are too high. Treasury Secretary Donald Regan said the President was inclined to disregard the advise of congressional Republican leaders, who have said his plan is dead. [New York Times] Sweeping "work disincentives" are included in President Reagan's proposed budget, according to a new study by the University of Chicago. The study found that most poor people who choose to work would lose so much in welfare and food stamp benefits that they would have less disposable income than if they quit their jobs and depended entirely on federal assistance. [New York Times] A sharp drop in drug abuse by American high school students since the practice reached record levels in the late 1970's was reported in a major federally sponsored study. The most dramatic finding of the survey of 17,000 seniors around the country is a significant decline in the number who say they regularly smoke marijuana, which is by far the most widely used illicit drug. [New York Times] The Census Bureau was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Justices held unanimously that the bureau did not have to release its master address lists to officials who have filed lawsuits contending undercounts in the 1980 census. The decision held that Congress intended census data to be confidential so that people would respond to questions without fear of invasion of their privacy. [New York Times] Potential tenants were championed in a second unanimous decision by the Supreme Court. The Justices upheld a broad definition of access to federal courts for individuals who seek to sue landlords for violations of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. [New York Times] Wayne Williams rested his case at his trial in the murders of two of Atlanta's 28 missing and murdered young blacks. Then, a string of prosecution rebuttal witnesses disputed major parts of his testimony. [New York Times] Mayor Edward Koch defended his assertions in a published interview that the suburbs were "sterile" and that rural life was "a joke." The Mayor, who declared his candidacy for Governor this week with a pledge to represent the urban, rural and suburban constituencies of New York State with evenhandedness, said that, in the interview prepared for the April issue of Playboy magazine, he was only trying to "defend New York City." [New York Times] An extension of martial law in Poland was announced by Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski at the first meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee since military rule was imposed Dec. 13. The nation's leader warned that adversaries should not "count on lenience" and he accused the United States of trying to incite resistance and of waging a "propaganda and economic war" against Poland. [New York Times] Greenlanders backed withdrawal from the European Economic Community in a national referendum. The government of Greenland, which is a part of Denmark, said it would move at once to withdraw. [New York Times] A U.S. destroyer has been stationed off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and El Salvador for two months to gather intelligence, according to Pentagon officials. They said the vessel's mission was to monitor shipments of arms from Nicaragua to insurgents in El Salvador and to listen to radio traffic in the region. [New York Times] A broad aid plan for the Caribbean calling for trade and investment incentives and technical assistance was proposed by President Reagan. He outlined the six-point economic program in a 40-minute address before the Organization of American States. The President warned Cuba that the United States would do "whatever is prudent and necessary" to prevent the overthrow of governments in the region. [New York Times] Caribbean governments welcomed with caution President Reagan's plan to assist the region. But several representatives questioned whether the Reagan administration's free-enterprise formula was too rigid for an area with mixed economies and major development problems. [New York Times] Congressional support for the plan to aid Caribbean nations was generally reflected by leaders from both parties. However, some predicted that the $350 million package would face significant opposition at a time of tight budgets and rising deficits. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 826.77 (+13.79, +1.70%)
S&P Composite: 113.47 (+1.96, +1.76%)
Arms Index: 0.47

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,037	49.96
Declines	477	10.90
Unchanged	359	3.94
Total Volume		64.80

* 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*
February 23, 1982	812.98	111.51	60.20
February 22, 1982	811.26	111.59	58.31
February 19, 1982	824.30	113.22	51.34
February 18, 1982	828.96	113.82	60.80
February 17, 1982	827.63	113.69	47.65
February 16, 1982	831.34	114.06	48.88
February 12, 1982	833.81	114.38	37.08
February 11, 1982	834.67	114.43	46.62
February 10, 1982	836.66	114.66	46.60
February 9, 1982	830.57	113.68	54.42