News stories from Thursday November 24, 1977

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

If Bert Lance offers to repay two Georgia banks for certain uncollected loans and disallowed business expenses, he might avoid a federal action that could keep him out of the banking business, sources close to the investigation said. They said that representatives of Mr. Lance and the banks had begun talks with Security and Exchange Commission officials to seek such an accord. [New York Times] Aid for the American steel industry is being pressed by the Carter administration. It has prepared a package to try to cut the foreign share of the domestic market from the present 20 percent to 12 to 14 percent, raise the financial resources of American producers and ease antitrust curbs to permit more joint ventures. The program, to begin Feb. 1, awaits final presidential approval. Part of the program calls for setting of minimum prices for 40 to 60 main categories of imported steel at close to domestic prices. [New York Times] A slightly lower dollar surplus from Middle East oil producers is flowing into the United States this year than at any time since the huge oil price rise in 1973, an analysis of official figures shows. The trend is most evident in decreased Arab investments in the stock market. The shift is attributed to higher interest rates in the world credit markets than in the United States, the oil producers' desire for greater diversification of their foreign investments, the recent weakness of the dollar and the dull performance of the American stock market this year. [New York Times] The yen rose sharply against the dollar to a new postwar high of 240 on the Tokyo foreign exchange market. The turnover totaled $622 million, of which 80 percent was said to have been bought by the Bank of Japan. [New York Times] Many hospital patients die not because their illness is incurable, but rather because they are unable to eat or absorb enough nutrients to sustain life. The medical profession has grown increasingly aware of the problem over the last decade largely through the work of Dr. Stanley Dudrick. The problem of severe malnutrition led him to develop a technique for total intravenous feeding, which can help save the lives or vastly improve the health of many patients. [New York Times] Egypt's leaders decided to invite Palestinian leaders from Israel and occupied territories to Cairo to discuss the results of President Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. The invitation was interpreted as part of a strategy to prepare a role for moderate Palestinians in future Arab-Israeli peace talks that would not require the cooperation of the militant Palestine Liberation Organization. [New York Times] Mideastern issues of substance, not just procedure, can be discussed in advance of a formal Geneva conference, Israeli officials said. They said that Israel's position that all substantive issues must be negotiated in Geneva had been revised by the historic visit to Israel by President Sadat and his agreement with Prime Minister Begin to continue a dialogue. [New York Times] Majority rule for Rhodesia, including full voting equality for the nation's black citizens, was accepted in principle by Prime Minister Ian Smith as a starting point for negotiations with resident black leaders. In dropping the government's previous insistence on a qualified franchise, Mr. Smith said the government would seek to negotiate other safeguards for whites. [New York Times] Talks on limiting arms sales by the Soviet Union and the United States are to begin in Washington in mid-December, American officials said. The week-long talks will be the first in a series of meetings between the two superpowers that the officials hope will eventually result in an accord placing mutual curbs on the supply of conventional arms to third world nations. [New York Times] The tomb of King Philip II of Macedon has been found, according to Manolis Andronikos, the archaeologist who uncovered the site near Salonika, Greece, a month ago. He announced that the tomb was "without reservation" the tomb of the father of Alexander the Great. The decisive factor, Professor Andronikos said, was his recent discovery of five small ivory heads, which, he said, represented Philip, his parents, his first wife and Alexander. [New York Times]