News stories from Tuesday November 13, 1979

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

Iran offered new proposals, including a call for a United Nations Security Council meeting, to deal with its dispute with Washington. American officials responded coolly, asserting that priority must be given to the release of the Americans being held hostage in Teheran.Iran made specific demands for a return of the deposed Shah. Teheran said that Washington must "announce publicly and clearly" that the Shah "is a criminal," his assets In the United States must be given to Iran, an international group chosen by Iran would question him and decide what crimes he would be charged with, and he would face trial in Iran with international observers present. [New York Times] Alleged American threats of war were cited by Iran in requesting a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. But authoritative sources said that a clear majority of council members favored postponing any meeting until American hostages were freed. [New York Times] Pessimism about a negotiated release of American hostages in Teheran based on reasoned compromise and flexibility was expressed by several experts who have studied Ayatollah Khomeini. They view him as an absolutist with a fierce belief in his mission who regards the world in stark moral terms and an Iranian patriot who harbors great hatred of foreign influences. [New York Times] Ronald Reagan opened his campaign for the presidency by calling for a new North American economic and military partnership with Mexico and Canada. In a televised speech and at a fundraising dinner in New York City, the former California Governor said that the Republican Party could revitalize the nation. [New York Times] The Educational Testing Service has stirred a debate because of its greatly increased role and influence in American society. The $94-million-a-year operation has reached beyond college admissions testing to include vocational tests in fields ranging from auto mechanics to real estate. In addition, its research and consulting services span the globe, and its huge computer operations contain data on more than 15 million people. [New York Times] Curbing deterioration of cities is the objective of a new policy to be announced soon by President Carter, according to administration officials. The policy would seek to make sure that future federal loans and grants would not "weaken established central business districts in distressed communities" or encourage the construction of outlying shopping centers that draw business away from downtown areas. [New York Times] The crisis in Iran has paralyzed President Carter's travel schedule and political activities. The domestic consequences of the stalemate began to weigh more heavily in the White House and at the President's re-election committee as senior aides acknowledged that Mr. Carter would face continued questioning of policies preceding, as well as during, the crisis. [New York Times] New chemical weapons are sought by the Army, according to Pentagon officials. They said that the Army's $19.3 million request for new nerve-gas arms would be used to begin construction of a $170 million facility to produce 155-millimeter artillery shells filled with the chemicals. The Army has pressed for such weapons for nearly a decade, but has been rebuffed. [New York Times] Dangers eased from the derailment of a train laden with toxic chemicals in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, and the authorities allowed more than half of the 250,000 people evacuated on Sunday to return home. [New York Times] Business optimism about New York was found in a comprehensive survey of small and medium-sized companies in the metropolitan region that reflected an aggressive vitality and a strong commitment to staying and expanding in the region. While 43 percent of executives surveyed said they had once considered moving their concerns from the metropolitan area, only about 12 percent are now considering it, and only 4 percent said they would relocate to the Sun Belt states. [New York Times] Palestinian mayors began resigning in Israeli-occupied territory to protest the jailing and threatened deportation of Mayor Bassam Shaka of Nablus, who has allegedly expressed sympathy for terrorists. But some leading mayors remained in their posts and obtained from Defense Minister Ezer Weizman a pledge that the Israeli government would decide within 24 hours whether to free Mr. Shaka pending a Supreme Court decision on his ordered deportation to Jordan. [New York Times] Phnom Penh is struggling back to life in the wake of the four years of abandonment, desolation, vandalism and mass slayings by the deposed Pol Pol regime. Most of the city's educated people were among those slain and the survivors told in interviews of their desperate efforts to hide their education to stay alive. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 814.08 (-7.85, -0.96%)
S&P Composite: 102.94 (-0.57, -0.55%)
Arms Index: 1.31

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	705	10.57
Declines	766	15.03
Unchanged	416	3.64
Total Volume		29.24

* 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*
November 12, 1979	821.93	103.51	26.66
November 9, 1979	806.48	101.51	30.06
November 8, 1979	797.61	100.30	26.27
November 7, 1979	796.67	99.87	30.83
November 6, 1979	806.48	101.20	21.96
November 5, 1979	812.63	101.82	20.46
November 2, 1979	818.94	102.51	23.68
November 1, 1979	820.14	102.57	25.89
October 31, 1979	815.70	101.82	27.78
October 30, 1979	823.81	102.67	28.89