News stories from Tuesday September 21, 1982

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

Voters prefer Democrats over Republicans by a wide margin, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. If the large Democratic edge persists through the November elections, it would end President Reagan's working control of the House. The survey found economic concerns the dominant issue. [New York Times] Senators moved to end the rail strike affecting most parts of the country by adopting, at President Reagan's request, a resolution directing the striking locomotive engineers to accept a wage increase recommended by an emergency fact-finding board. The issue became snagged in a House committee, but a strike-ending resolution was expected to be approved by the House tomorrow. [New York Times] The rail strike closed auto plants and threatened more shutdowns in the coalfields. Supplies were running short at the nation's factories, and food processors were seeking alternative ways to transport their products. There were more massive traffic jams in major cities heavily dependent on commuter trains. [New York Times] School prayer advocates lost an apparently decisive vote in the Senate. For the second consecutive day, the Senate refused to halt a filibuster mounted by opponents of the prayer bill. With all 100 Senators present, only 53, seven fewer than needed, voted to end the filibuster. [New York Times] Scholastic Aptitude Test scores rose this year for the first time in 19 years. The slight upturn in both the verbal and mathematics scores in what has become a leading barometer of American education standards was hailed by the College Entrance Examination Board, which sponsors the testing program. [New York Times] A major Teamster pension fund would be subject to new federal controls under an agreement reached by the Labor Department and the teamster union's Central States Pension Fund. The accord covering the scandal-plagued $3.5 billion fund is to be submitted tomorrow to a federal district judge in Chicago. [New York Times] Cable cars will vanish from the streets of San Francisco for 20 months while their propulsion system is totally rebuilt. The last run was set for early Wednesday, and service between downtown and Fisherman's Wharf will be provided by diesel-powered buses. The three cable car lines are to be reopened June 1, 1984. [New York Times] Israel agreed to the return of the three-nation peace force to Beirut as proposed by President Reagan. At a five-hour meeting, Prime Minister Menachem Begin's cabinet decided to accept the American, French and Italian peacekeeping force. But the ministers rejected a call by the parliamentary opposition to set up an independent commission of inquiry into the massacre of Palestinians by Christian militiamen. [New York Times] The new President-elect of Lebanon is Amin Gemayel, a 40-year-old Maronite Christian. He was elected by a nearly unanimous vote of Parliament in an unusual display of Christian and Moslem unity. Mr. Gemayel replaces his brother, Bashir, who was chosen by Parliament Aug. 23 and killed in a bomb explosion Sept. 14. [New York Times] American officials were irritated at Israel's apparent refusal to agree to President Reagan's demand for an immediate withdrawal of its troops from Beirut. Nonetheless, plans proceeded for the landing of the multinational force, including up to 1,000 American Marines, in the Lebanese capital later this week. [New York Times] Congressional criticism of Israel rose as a result of the cabinet's decision against creating a special inquiry into the Beirut massacre. The mounting disillusionment with the Israeli government dimmed prospects for approval of proposed increases in United States aid. [New York Times] American Jews had a broad range of responses to Israel's involvement in Lebanon and the killings of Palestinian civilians by Christian militiamen. In interviews, some specialists in the cultural, political and theological worlds criticized Israel's top leadership while some declined to pass judgment until more information was available, but all said their support for Israel remained firm. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 934.79 (+18.49, +2.02%)
S&P Composite: 124.88 (+2.37, +1.93%)
Arms Index: 0.61

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,208	64.22
Declines	380	12.26
Unchanged	340	6.44
Total Volume		82.92

* 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*
September 20, 1982	916.30	122.51	58.52
September 17, 1982	916.94	122.55	63.94
September 16, 1982	927.80	123.77	78.89
September 15, 1982	930.46	124.29	69.67
September 14, 1982	923.01	123.10	83.06
September 13, 1982	918.69	122.24	59.51
September 10, 1982	906.82	120.97	71.07
September 9, 1982	912.53	121.97	73.08
September 8, 1982	915.75	122.20	77.95
September 7, 1982	914.28	121.37	68.96