News stories from Friday June 29, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Gasoline allocations will be shifted from rural to needy urban areas more easily under new "clarifications" of national allocation regulations being issued by the Department of Energy. The revised rules are expected to enable oil companies to move 5 percent of existing gasoline supplies destined for rural areas into cities. Governors will also have greater leeway to authorize increased allotments in areas deemed to be in a state of emergency. [New York Times]
- Libya plans to halt oil exports for at least two years, according to an interview with its leader, Col. Muammar Qaddafi, in an Arabic weekly. The report stirred skepticism abroad but nonetheless roiled world financial markets. The United States gets about 10 percent of its oil imports from Libya, which produces a top grade of light crude. [New York Times]
- The administration urged independent truckers to end their strike, in which the price of diesel fuel is a key issue, saying that it had made all possible commitments to them. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission said the strike appeared to be ending and that shipments normally carried by independent truckers were resuming across the country. [New York Times]
- Food shipping seems to be recovering from the effects of the independent truckers' strike. Though the strike is continuing, repeated inquiries in food-producing areas indicate that truck shipments are steadily moving back toward normal. [New York Times]
- The government cut business ties with Uniroyal, the nation's third largest rubber company, charging that it had failed to resolve complaints of race and sex discrimination at one of its plants. Uniroyal is the largest company "debarred" from federal contracts since President Johnson's 1965 order forbidding federal suppliers to discriminate against race and national origin, and, under a later amendment, sex. [New York Times]
- A definite ban on a cattle fattener drug known as DES was announced by the Food and Drug Administration after seven years of scientific, political and legal disputes over the synthetic hormone, which is a known cause of cancer in humans. Under the F.D.A. order, the drug may no longer be shipped after July 13, and it may not be fed to cattle and sheep after July 20. The ban does not affect the prescription use of the drug. [New York Times]
- Federal funds were used to pay the personal bills of Representative Charles Diggs, the Congressman admitted at a hearing of the House Ethics Committee, which had been investigating the Michigan Democrat's finances. Mr. Diggs agreed to repay $40,031.66 to the House and accept censure from his colleagues, and the committee unanimously voted to accept the arrangement and end its investigation. [New York Times]
- Connecticut's electricity rate will be pegged to nuclear output and customers will get a discount if the nuclear plants operate at more than 70 percent capacity. The new pricing system, approved by the Division of Public Utility Control, also allows a record basic rate increase of $86 million, adding 12 percent to electricity bills. [New York Times]
- President Carter went to South Korea for talks with President Park Chung Hee after the economic summit conference in Tokyo, A major issue in Seoul is the future of American troops in South Korea. Before the talks, Mr. Carter paid a visit to G.I.'s near the demilitarized zone, had breakfast with them, and was given a briefing on North Korean deployment just above the demilitarized zone. [New York Times]
- Nicaragua's rebels rejected the United States plan for settling their war against the regime of President Anastasio Somoza and said the special envoy sent by the State Department to negotiate with them had not even told them of the plan.
Moderate Nicaraguan opposition groups turned down the U.S. move to replace President Somoza with an interim government more conservative than the provisional one named by the Sandinist leaders two weeks ago. The moderates reiterated their support for the rebel-backed junta and said they would not be willing to participate in a competing administration.
[New York Times] - A processing center in China for Vietnamese refugees is under. "active and urgent consideration" by the Chinese government, Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, said in Shanghai.
A split grew among the five foreign ministers of non-Communist Southeast Asian nations following President Carter's announcement of a doubling of the admissions quota for refugees.
[New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 841.98 (-1.06, -0.13%)
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* |
| June 28, 1979 | 843.04 | 102.80 | 38.47 |
| June 27, 1979 | 840.52 | 102.27 | 36.72 |
| June 26, 1979 | 837.66 | 101.66 | 34.68 |
| June 25, 1979 | 844.25 | 102.09 | 31.30 |
| June 22, 1979 | 849.10 | 102.64 | 36.41 |
| June 21, 1979 | 843.64 | 102.09 | 37.10 |
| June 20, 1979 | 839.83 | 101.63 | 33.79 |
| June 19, 1979 | 839.40 | 101.58 | 30.78 |
| June 18, 1979 | 839.40 | 101.56 | 30.97 |
| June 15, 1979 | 843.30 | 102.09 | 32.93 |