News stories from Monday July 16, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Energy spending of $140 billion in the next decade was announced by President Carter to end United States dependence on foreign oil. He said that the entire cost would be covered by a "windfall" profits tax on oil companies now before Congress. The President took his new energy program and a newly invigorated campaign style on the road, speaking in Kansas City, Mo., and Detroit and pledging new plans in coming months. [New York Times]
- Congressional action on energy before the summer recess will apparently result from President Carter's proposals, but the final legislation may not closely resemble his plans. House Democratic leaders confidently prepared to take to the floor next week a bill to give the President standby authority to impose gasoline rationing, which the members rejected two months ago.
Republicans said that energy goals proposed by President Carter might be acceptable but that a lack of leadership on his part remained a critical obstacle to achieving them. Democrats praised Mr. Carter for seeking to rally the nation on the energy problem.
[New York Times] - Curbing oil imports is attainable, but not easy, according to oil company officials. They praised President Carter's general call Sunday for action on energy, but they objected to his addresses today because of what they termed a new round of unwarranted attacks on their industry.
Some business leaders expressed doubt that President Carter's energy program could be successfully implemented without significant participation of private industry. But others praised his initiative.
[New York Times] - Hardship for the metropolitan region of New York City is likely to result from the administration's energy program because of the projected high cost of shifting from imported oil, on which the area depends, local energy officials said. Meanwhile, new changes in national gasoline allocations drew criticism from officials in the Northeast, who said that they continued discrimination against the region.
Coal would replace oil in six plants in New York state under a plan set to be advanced this week by the state's Public Service Commission. According to a staff study, converting the electric generating plants would save about 20 million barrels of oil a year -- about 23 percent of the oil used by the state's utilities -- and could save up to $1.6 billion in future years.
[New York Times] - The murders of President Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "likely" resulted from conspiracies, according to the House assassinations committee, which also concluded that neither the Warren Commission nor the F.B.I. adequately explored the possibilities of plots. The final report of the panel, which is to be made public on Wednesday, concludes that elements of organized crime "probably" conspired to have President Kennedy slain and that Dr. King's death "probably" evolved from a plot by right-wing businessmen. [New York Times]
- A ban on amphetamines as diet aids was proposed by the Food and Drug Administration because of what it termed their widespread misuse as pep pills. If the ban wins final government approval, production of the pills could be reduced by 80 to 90 percent. [New York Times]
- No new Social Security benefits, except for cost-of-living increases, are likely, Stanford Ross, the Social Security commissioner, said. He added that a long era of rising benefits had ended and that the next decade must be one of reform in which Congress mandates "painful adjustments." [New York Times]
- James Francis Cardinal McIntyre died at the age of 93. He was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, when he retired. He was a leading conservative and one of the most prominent, dynamic and controversial Catholic prelates in the United States. [New York Times]
- A change in Nicaragua's government and a cease-fire in the civil war were reported to be imminent. President Somoza retired nearly 100 senior National Guard officers. Opposition sources said that he was expected to fly to Miami -- and exile -- early tomorrow and that a rebel-backed provisional junta was set to arrive in Nicaragua from Costa Rica hours later. [New York Times]
- The leadership battle in India appeared to be wide open as various political groups sought coalition partners to form a new government. Charan Singh, a Deputy Prime Minister in the ousted government of Morarji Desai joined the opposition and contended that he had broad support to become Prime Minister. [New York Times]
- Five Arabs were executed in Iran by Islamic Revolutionary Guards as tension rose between the Arab ethnic minority and the forces of Ayatollah Khomeini in the oil-producing province of Khuzistan. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 834.90 (+1.37, +0.16%)
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 13, 1979 | 833.53 | 102.32 | 33.07 |
| July 12, 1979 | 836.86 | 102.69 | 31.77 |
| July 11, 1979 | 843.86 | 103.64 | 36.64 |
| July 10, 1979 | 850.34 | 104.20 | 39.73 |
| July 9, 1979 | 852.99 | 104.47 | 42.46 |
| July 6, 1979 | 846.16 | 103.62 | 38.57 |
| July 5, 1979 | 835.75 | 102.43 | 30.29 |
| July 3, 1979 | 835.58 | 102.09 | 31.67 |
| July 2, 1979 | 834.04 | 101.99 | 32.06 |
| June 29, 1979 | 841.98 | 102.91 | 34.68 |