News stories from Thursday April 9, 1981

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

The space shuttle was reported ready to embark on its maiden voyage in earth orbit in a test flight culminating a program that has cost nearly $10 billion over the last decade. Barring last-minute technical or weather problems, the launching was set for 6:50 A.M. tomorrow. The shuttle's flight has been delayed for three years by a series of mishaps that have been attributed, in part, to efforts to keep the budget of the advanced program low enough for initial approval by Congress. [New York Times] Atlanta's anguish mounted as the body of a missing 20-year-old black man was found in an abandoned building. Twenty-three young blacks have been found slain in the last 20 months, and two others are missing. The police have established no motives or solid evidence in the crimes. [New York Times] President Reagan's recovery from the bullet wound in his left lung is proceeding at a "highly satisfactory" rate, according to a White House bulletin. It said that his doctors had discontinued the use of one of the two antibiotics he had been receiving. [New York Times] A setback for budget-cutting was marked as the Senate Budget Committee rejected the plan it had crafted. The rejection, by a 12-to-8 vote, occurred because three conservative Republicans who opposed projected high deficits joined with the Democrats who opposed the administration's tax plan and some cuts in social programs. The two-week Easter recess begins Monday, and administration officials feared that the delay could halt the budget-cutting momentum. [New York Times] A data bank on public-aid recipients has been proposed by the Reagan administration in an effort to reduce welfare cheating. Under the plan, the names and other information identifying about 25 million Americans on public assistance would be listed for the first time, and the data would be made available to all federal, state and local agencies. The proposal is subject to congressional approval. [New York Times] Politicians won a bonanza as the Federal Election Commission eased a maximum annual-income restriction to help the Americans who were held hostage in Iran. The action opened the way for all federal employees, including politicians seeking re-election, to receive almost unlimited sums of money from speeches and articles. [New York Times] A "slightly" radioactive water spill was reported by Consolidated Edison. The utility said that an undetermined amount of water had accidentally leaked from the closed Indian Point 2 nuclear plant at Buchanan, N.Y., and that some of the water had drained into the Hudson River. Federal and county officials said that the spill posed no health danger. [New York Times] An inquiry by the Polish prosecutor against Piotr Jaroszewicz, a former Prime Minister, is underway, and a similar case may be prepared against Edward Gierek, the former Communist Party leader, according to a Warsaw newspaper. No specific charges were mentioned, but many party members have demanded a trial for what they regard as Mr. Jaroszewicz's mismanagement of the nation's economy. [New York Times] Bonn stepped up criticism of Moscow. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt said that the Soviet Union's military and political expansionism and its buildup of missiles represented "a massive" danger and constituted a potential source of blackmail. [New York Times] Abuses attributed to Salvadoran forces prompted concern on the part of the Reagan administration. The State Department deplored the killing of unarmed civilians. The department said that political violence, such as the killing of more than 20 civilians Tuesday in a poor suburb of San Salvador, threatened the government. [New York Times] A lag in filling ambassadorial posts by the Reagan administration has prompted comment in Washington. Only six nominations have been announced to fill 43 vacancies, including the key posts in Moscow and Bonn. New disclosure requirements, particularly the 1978 Ethics in Government Act, are said to have slowed the administration's ability to fill senior positions in all areas of the government. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 998.83 (+5.40, +0.54%)
S&P Composite: 133.92 (-0.39, -0.29%)
Arms Index: 0.75

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	901	35.59
Declines	637	18.83
Unchanged	374	5.10
Total Volume		59.52

* 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*
April 8, 1981	993.43	134.31	48.04
April 7, 1981	992.89	133.91	44.54
April 6, 1981	994.24	133.93	43.11
April 3, 1981	1007.11	135.49	48.68
April 2, 1981	1009.01	136.32	52.57
April 1, 1981	1014.14	136.57	54.89
March 31, 1981	1003.87	136.00	50.97
March 30, 1981	992.16	134.28	33.49
March 27, 1981	994.78	134.65	46.93
March 26, 1981	1005.76	136.27	60.37