News stories from Monday July 13, 1981

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

Plans to spray the pesticide malathion over a densely populated area in Santa Clara County in California were pressed by state officials amid a rapidly expanding infestation of the Mediterranean fruit fly. The California Supreme Court and a Superior Court judge rejected motions to halt the controversial spraying. [New York Times] Decisions on two major arms systems that will go far toward setting United States military policy and spending for the rest of this decade are awaited from Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. He is under increasing pressure to select a new long-range bomber to replace the B-52 and to determine where to base the MX nuclear missile system. [New York Times] Newark's water crisis was worsened by a major new break on the main supply aqueduct. The blowout occurred about a mile above the site where construction crews have worked around the clock since Wednesday to rebuild a ruptured 825-foot section of the conduit. [New York Times] Seeking to ease federal regulation, Interior Secretary James Watt has proposed canceling a presidential executive order that restricts the use of motorcycles, snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles on federal property. The 1972 order bars the use of such vehicles when they cause damage to national resources. [New York Times] A multibillion-dollar takeover battle for Conoco Inc. apparently spread to the Mobil Corporation. Banking sources disclosed that Mobil was negotiating to borrow some $5 billion to make a bid for Conoco. Reports continued on Wall Street that Texaco Inc. and the Standard Oil Company of California might also soon make bids. Texaco has already lined up loans totaling $5.5 billion, according to banking sources, amid indications that it might bid for either Conoco or the Cities Service Company. [New York Times] The illegal export of weapons and sophisticated technology from the United States to countries such as Libya and the Soviet Union is of increasing concern to federal investigators and prosecutors. They cite the theft of military equipment from the Navy Weapons Center in China Lakes, Calif., and the involvement of former arms specialists there in training Libyan terrorists. [New York Times] The first U.S. athlete was barred indefinitely from competition because of positive drug tests. The International Amateur Athletic Federation announced the action against Ben Plucknett, who broke the world record for the discuss throw twice in the last two months, and it annulled both world records. [New York Times] Margaret Thatcher called for unity among Britons during a visit to Liverpool, saying that the people of the riot-ravaged city should join with the police to help end the urban disorders sweeping England. Tomatoes and rolls of toilet paper were hurled at the Prime Minister by protesters demanding jobs. [New York Times] An economic and monetary policy rift was underscored in a joint announcement by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and President Francois Mitterrand that they would oppose the policies of Washington at the Western economic conference in Ottawa next week. West Germany and France fear that the continued high interest rates in the United States will increase Europe's troubling inflation and unemployment. [New York Times] Iran extended its crackdown to the business community. Two figures in Teheran's bazaar were among 22 people put to death on charges of anti-state activities. [New York Times] An Israeli-American accord on arms appeared likely. In a possible effort to clear the way for a resumption of F-16 deliveries to Israel, Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Robert McFarlane, a State Department counselor, issued a declaration in Jerusalem. It said that "misunderstandings" arising from Israel's bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor on June 7 had been "clarified to the satisfaction of both sides." [New York Times] A noncommittal approach by Moscow was suggested by its assignment of a middle-ranking delegation to attend the emergency congress of the Polish Communist Party, which opens tomorrow. An expert in Soviet affairs said the delegation's leader "is high enough for it not to be a snub and low enough not to be threatening." [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 954.34 (-1.33, -0.14%)
S&P Composite: 129.64 (+0.27, +0.21%)
Arms Index: 0.66

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	767	19.82
Declines	708	12.09
Unchanged	399	6.19
Total Volume		38.10

* 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 10, 1981	955.67	129.37	39.95
July 9, 1981	959.00	129.30	45.51
July 8, 1981	953.48	128.32	46.00
July 7, 1981	954.15	128.24	53.55
July 6, 1981	949.30	127.37	44.59
July 2, 1981	959.19	128.64	45.09
July 1, 1981	967.66	129.77	49.07
June 30, 1981	976.88	131.25	41.55
June 29, 1981	984.59	131.89	37.93
June 26, 1981	992.87	132.56	39.24