News stories from Monday July 7, 1980

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

Republicans split over equal rights as their convention delegates began drafting the party's national platform. Ronald Reagan, the prospective presidential nominee, is opposed to writing a ban on discrimination based on sex into the Constitution, but his supporters have drafted what they term a "compromise" plank that acknowledges past Republican endorsement of such an amendment but stops short of calling for its ratification now. [New York Times] "Good news" for the auto industry will be announced tomorrow by President Carter, according to Vice President Mondale. Mr. Carter is to meet in Detroit with automobile executives and union officials to disclose the results of a two-month study of the plight of the domestic industry. But industry leaders and Michigan Congressmen said that the recommendations would probably fall short of the import curbs on Japanese cars that the industry and its union have sought. [New York Times] A desert ordeal of horror was related by survivors in a group of aliens from El Salvador. Smugglers had promised to fly the middle-class group from Mexico to Los Angeles, but instead abandoned them in an Arizona desert. With money hidden away but no water in the 115-degree heat, 13 of the Salvadorans died after drinking cologne, after-shave lotion, deodorant and, finally, their own urine. [New York Times] An economic crisis in Central America fueled by rising political violence is aggravating tensions and hardships among the poor. Leftist terrorism in Guatemala and El Salvador has prompted an exodus of businessmen and a flight of capital. Production has slumped and prices and unemployment have soared. [New York Times] Proposals to prevent deaths in crowds were made in a report by the City Council of Cincinnati, where 11 persons were killed at a rock concert last December. The deaths occurred when the waiting throngs began rushing for choice seats. The report makes more than 100 recommendations on seating, police services, emergency planning and other areas of crowd control. [New York Times] A report on Abscam leaks was ordered by a federal judge, who instructed the Justice Department to provide him with a summary by next Monday of its findings on who had given information to news organizations on the federal investigation of political corruption. Meanwhile, he said, reporters subpoenaed to disclose their sources of information need not testify. [New York Times] The Pope deplored property inequities in an address to 400,000 people in Recife, Brazil. John Paul II said that land should not be denied to those who depend on it for their living. [New York Times] A threat to Moscow's Embassy in Iran was cited by the Soviet Union. It said that the building might be seized by "hostile" elements and it demanded that the Iranian authorities act to prevent such a takeover. Iran's Foreign Minister said he had assured the Soviet Embassy that all necessary security measures had been taken. [New York Times] France's commitment to NATO was reaffirmed, but Paris urged a stronger and more independent role for Europe in world affairs. The statement was made by President Valery Giscard d'Estaing on the first state visit by a French leader to West Germany in 18 years. [New York Times] U.S. foreign aid was pressed strongly by Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, who criticized congressional delays and cuts as damaging to Washington's credibility and influence abroad at a time of Soviet expansionism. He warned that decreases in proposed aid programs would "help the Soviets exploit internal instability" in Nicaragua, El Salvador and many other countries. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 898.21 (+9.30, +1.05%)
S&P Composite: 118.29 (+0.83, +0.71%)
Arms Index: 0.86

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,035	26.64
Declines	501	11.03
Unchanged	370	4.87
Total Volume		42.54

* 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*
July 3, 1980	888.91	117.46	47.23
July 2, 1980	876.02	115.68	42.85
July 1, 1980	872.27	114.93	34.34
June 30, 1980	867.92	114.24	29.90
June 27, 1980	881.83	116.00	33.11
June 26, 1980	883.45	116.19	45.10
June 25, 1980	887.54	116.72	46.50
June 24, 1980	877.30	115.14	37.73
June 23, 1980	873.81	114.51	34.18
June 20, 1980	869.71	114.06	36.52