News stories from Monday October 20, 1980

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

American concern over Iran's stability and a fear that Iraq might try to "dismember" Iran was indicated by Secretary of State Muskie. Asserting that Iraq's "invasion" of Iran was threatening peace in the entire Persian Gulf region, he offered a peace proposal based on two principles: that territory must not be seized by force and that neither side should interfere in the affairs of the other. [New York Times] Iraq's siege of Abadan intensified as Ayatollah Khomeini rejected a new mediation offer made by other Moslem countries. The Iranian state radio conceded that Iraqi forces had reached the bridge leading into the oil refinery city, that Abadan was threatened from three directions, and that the city center was being pounded by artillery fire. [New York Times] A Carter lead in New York is comfortable though not insurmountable, according to political leaders and a New York Times/CBS News Poll. Ronald Reagan's campaign in the state is being hindered by doubts among Republicans and countered by an all-out effort by President Carter to hold Democratic voters, especially in New York City. The poll showed Mr. Carter leading with 38 percent of probable voters to 29 percent for Mr. Reagan, 10 percent for John Anderson and 23 percent undecided. [New York Times] New federal aid for New York City was promised by President Carter, who campaigned in the city with Senator Edward Kennedy. White House aides said that Washington would provide perhaps $250 million to help the city balance its budget in the next few years. [New York Times] A formula for a debate was agreed on by representatives of President Carter and Mr. Reagan. In more than four hours of talks the negotiators failed to agree on a place and date, but both sides predicted that the remaining differences would be resolved and that the two candidates would meet in a televised confrontation. [New York Times] Ronald Reagan stressed peace in a continuing effort to counter the view that he would be a bellicose President. Addressing backers in Ohio and Kentucky, he asserted that President Carter "seems determined to have me start a nuclear war. Well, I'm just as determined not to." [New York Times] Elizabeth Holtzman has a wide appeal among the spectrum of New York voters -- in geography, ideology, politics and religion -- in the race for the Senate, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll. She is backed by moderates and liberals, is running very strongly in New York City and is even doing well in the traditionally Republican suburbs. [New York Times] Mandatory labels for tampon packages warning of their association with toxic shock syndrome were proposed by the Food and Drug Administration. Major tampon manufacturers have already agreed voluntarily to put warning labels on the products in advance of a mandatory notice, which could take effect in under four months. [New York Times] A U.S.-Cuban anti-narcotics action was disclosed in the wake of Havana's general pardon for American prisoners. The United States Coast Guard and Cuban border authorities worked closely together in the apprehension and prosecution of at least one American drug-smuggling suspect, Coast Guard logs revealed. [New York Times] An average life span of 85 years is projected in the not too distant future by some specialists on aging. They believe there will be few deaths from natural causes in youth or middle age and that most of the elderly will enjoy vigorous health almost to their deaths in the mid-eighties. [New York Times] Poland's leaders were under pressure to try to resolve a dispute with the new independent trade unions as the foreign ministers of the Soviet bloc were meeting in Warsaw. The leaders faced a dilemma over how to satisfy the demands of the unions without appearing weak to the other countries. [New York Times] NATO's southeast flank was bolstered as Greece returned to the military wing of the Atlantic alliance. Greece left the wing in 1974 to protest Turkey's invasion of Cyprus. The reintegration was approved unanimously by the Greek cabinet and was hailed by NATO leaders as a major defense gain. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 960.84 (+4.70, +0.49%)
S&P Composite: 132.61 (+1.09, +0.83%)
Arms Index: 0.74

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	744	21.04
Declines	774	16.14
Unchanged	411	3.73
Total Volume		40.91

* 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*
October 17, 1980	956.14	131.52	43.96
October 16, 1980	958.70	132.22	65.45
October 15, 1980	972.44	133.70	48.28
October 14, 1980	962.20	132.02	48.79
October 13, 1980	959.90	132.03	31.41
October 10, 1980	950.68	130.29	44.03
October 9, 1980	958.96	131.04	43.98
October 8, 1980	963.99	131.65	46.58
October 7, 1980	960.67	131.00	50.31
October 6, 1980	965.70	131.73	50.12