News stories from Thursday June 1, 1978

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

Gerald Ford has hired an aide who will coordinate his political activities, making it easier for him to start a campaign for the presidency, if he decides to. But his aides insisted that the hiring of Charles Greenleaf, an aide to Mr. Ford in his 1976 campaign, did not mean that he had made up his mind about the 1980 race. [New York Times] The Senate ethics committee began a preliminary investigation into charges that Senator Edward Brooke made a false statement in a court deposition and may have failed to comply fully with the Senate's financial disclosure regulations. [New York Times] Restoration of the death penalty in New Jersey was voted by the State Senate, 26 to 13. The penalty would apply to first-degree murders. The bill now goes to the Assembly, where passage is almost certain if leaders allow it to come to a vote. But Governor Byrne has indicated that he will not sign the bill. [New York Times] A tuition tax-credit bill was passed by the House, allowing parents of students in private schools and in public and private colleges to deduct a portion of tuition payments on income tax returns. It passed by a vote of 237 to 158, and goes to the Senate. [New York Times] Tradition is being honored again in this college commencement season. Protests at graduations like those against the Vietnam War or Watergate have died, and the government is back in favor again. Bare feet and denim at commencements are considered as being in poor taste now. At Smith College, which had its share of student demonstrations, the seniors wore white dresses and carried roses before putting on caps and gowns. [New York Times] The F.B.I. gave information to the late Representative John Rooney, Brooklyn Democrat, that he had requested about a New York lawyer who ran against him in the 1968 primary, according to F.B.I. records that were made public. The material concerning Mr. Rooney's opponent, Peter Eikenberry, was not derogatory, but it shows that the agency was willing to give personal aid to a powerful Congressman. Mr. Rooney was chairman of a key House subcommittee in charge of F.B.I. appropriations. [New York Times] Saudi Arabia would provide weapons it has obtained from the United States to an African defense force, if one can be organized to relieve French and Belgian troops in Zaire's Shaba Province, knowledgeable officials in Paris said. [New York Times] Lifting the embargo on arms for Turkey is the administration's highest foreign policy priority, President Carter said. He has organized a campaign to bring it about in Congress. [New York Times] Electronic intelligence devices were discovered in the American Embassy in Moscow, administration officials in Washington said. The devices were not microphones, they said, and specialists had not been able to determine their purpose. [New York Times] A "new era of devastation" threatens the Middle East because of arms build-up in Arab countries, Israeli's chief delegate to the United Nations said at the General Assembly's special session on disarmament. Chaim Herzog estimated that the Arab countries had purchased $35 billion in arms since 1977. In addition, he said, Saudi Arabia has ordered $24 billion in arms to be delivered by 1980 and has become the world's principal arms buyer. [New York Times] Lebanon and Syria agreed on new measures toward restoring Lebanese authority in South Lebanon, which is to be fully evacuated by Israeli forces by June 13. The agreement was reached between President Elias Sarkis of Lebanon, and the Syrian President, Hafez al-Assad, at a meeting in Latakia where the situation in south Lebanon and general security in the rest of the country were the main issues. [New York Times] Airlines that bump passengers who hold a confirmed reservation will have to pay them up to $400 in compensation under revised rules of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Effective Sept. 3, a passenger who will not reach his destination within two hours of his original schedule -- four hours on international flights -- can immediately collect twice the value of his fare, including the cost of connecting flights, up to a maximum of $400. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 840.70 (+0.09, +0.01%)
S&P Composite: 97.35 (+0.11, +0.11%)
Arms Index: 0.79

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	715	13.52
Declines	722	10.83
Unchanged	461	4.40
Total Volume		28.75

* 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*
May 31, 1978	840.61	97.24	29.07
May 30, 1978	834.20	96.86	21.04
May 26, 1978	831.69	96.58	21.41
May 25, 1978	835.41	96.80	28.41
May 24, 1978	837.92	97.08	31.46
May 23, 1978	845.29	98.05	33.23
May 22, 1978	855.42	99.09	28.68
May 19, 1978	846.85	98.12	34.36
May 18, 1978	850.92	98.62	42.27
May 17, 1978	858.37	99.60	45.49