News stories from Wednesday March 5, 1980

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

The controversial United States vote against Israel at the United Nations and its disavowal by President Carter will be the subject of public hearings next Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to Frank Church, the committee chairman. He said key officials would be summoned and all written instructions would be sought to obtain a full accounting of the failure in communications that the White House says led to the vote. Donald McHenry conceded that his ability to deal with other nations as chief U.S. delegate at the U.N. had been impaired by President Carter's disavowal of his vote rebuking Israel for its settlements policy. [New York Times] Rhodesian blacks are exuberant over the prospects of release from subordination to whites as a result of the sweeping election victory of Robert Mugabe, the former rebel leader. The blacks expressed joy over soon being governed by a party pledged to transform the settler society, redistributing wealth and land and ending inequalities in social services. [New York Times] Senator Howard Baker withdrew from the Republican presidential race as scrambled finishes among the three leading contenders brought new pressure for former President Gerald Ford to enter the contest soon. Mr. Ford said that the extremely tight primaries in Massachusetts and Vermont among George Bush, Ronald Reagan and Representative John Anderson had shown it was still "a wide-open ballgame" with "no consensus" behind any current aspirant. In withdrawing from the campaign, Senator Baker said at a news conference that he had regrets but no recriminations. The Tennesseean was the first major casualty of the early primaries and caucuses in the Republican presidential race. [New York Times] John Anderson vowed to press his spectacular progress in the presidential race and channel it into a mainstream success among Republicans and independents. The Illinois Congressman conceded his difficulties, including bypassing much of the South and opening drives in such states as California to get sympathetic Democrats to back his campaign. [New York Times] A split over a balanced budget developed among Democrats as House Speaker Tip O'Neill opposed the plan as "a symbol" that would have little effect in curbing inflation. However, Robert Byrd, the Senate Democratic leader, expressed the dominant mood in announcing support for a balanced budget in the next fiscal year as reflecting the mood of the Senate and the country. [New York Times] A key U.S. economic activity is soaring despite widespread talk about curbing the growth of federal spending. Direct government loans and loan guarantees to the private sector will rise by about $100 billion in the present fiscal year and have increased about 30 percent in the last two years -- to more than $500 billion. Loan guarantees involve no direct government outlays, but many economists are deeply concerned about their impact. [New York Times] Bank depositors would gain under sweeping action approved by House and Senate conferees. They voted to remove limits on savings passbook interest rates over six years and to spur bank regulators to raise rates at least 2.25 percentage points within that span. The conferees also approved a plan to override state-imposed ceilings on mortgage rates. [New York Times] Saccharin use can be blamed for little, if any, cancer of the bladder and urinary tract among Americans, according to data from three major studies in humans. The evidence contrasts sharply with results from studies that have shown increased risk of cancer among animals fed large quantities of the artifical sweetener. [New York Times] A ban against the mining of uranium was approved overwhelmingly at town meetings of poor municipalities in central Vermont, which have been upset for more than a year by reports that newly discovered deposits of the ore may soon be tapped. Only two towns voted against the prohibition after residents argued that present regulations would protect them from possible radioactive contamination. [New York Times] Military registration plans halted as the House Appropriations Committee postponed indefinitely a crucial vote on President Carter's standby draft proposal for young men. [New York Times] The actor who played Tonto died at the age of 62. Jay Silverheels, who co-starred in the long-running "Lone Ranger" television series as the loyal Indian sidekick, was a Mohawk Indian who had been born on the Six Nations reservation in Ontario. [New York Times] Pakistan has declined U.S. arms aid, its Foreign Minister said, and will base its foreign policy on close ties to Islamic and non-aligned nations. Pakistani leaders have said that a proposed American aid package of $400 million was insufficient to bolster security against any Soviet threat. [New York Times] New York City would be seriously hurt in efforts to return to fiscal solvency by several budget-cutting proposals being considered by the Carter administration. Such cuts might cost the city at least $100 million in funds it seeks to help balance its budget. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 844.88 (-11.60, -1.35%)
S&P Composite: 111.13 (-1.65, -1.46%)
Arms Index: 1.06

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	285	7.74
Declines	1,304	37.64
Unchanged	314	3.86
Total Volume		49.24

* 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*
March 4, 1980	856.48	112.78	44.31
March 3, 1980	854.35	112.50	38.68
February 29, 1980	863.14	113.66	38.80
February 28, 1980	854.44	112.35	40.31
February 27, 1980	855.12	112.38	46.43
February 26, 1980	864.25	113.98	40.04
February 25, 1980	859.81	113.33	39.14
February 22, 1980	868.77	115.04	48.21
February 21, 1980	868.52	115.28	51.54
February 20, 1980	886.86	116.47	44.34