News stories from Monday June 15, 1981

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

Lower international oil prices were increasingly in prospect as Britain agreed to cut the charge for North Sea petroleum by $4.25 a barrel, more than double its previous intention. The price of the most plentiful grade of oil would drop to $35 a barrel, which is as much as $6 a barrel below the price of comparable oil charged by the highest-priced exporters. [New York Times] A rising death toll was reported after a weekend of torrential rain and tornadoes in the central and eastern parts of the country. Officials listed at least 20 fatalities. [New York Times] Strict strip mining rules were upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court. In affirming the constitutionality of the federal strip mining law, the Justices broadly endorsed the power of Congress to impose stringent environmental regulations on states and property owners. Meanwhile, James Watt, the Secretary of the Interior, is moving to cut back sharply the staff that enforces the statute. [New York Times] Criticism of the Army Engineer Corps came to light in audits conducted at the direction of President Carter. The audits of 44 projects indicate that the corps has overbuilt many water projects and has understated and been slow to recover the costs of both water and water-power facilities. [New York Times] A shortage of good farmland may occur early in the next century. Three million acres of the nation's agricultural land are being converted each year to other uses while farm productivity is declining. A study by the Agriculture Department has urged state and local governments to protect the arable land and divert new develop ment to less productive land. [New York Times] Richard Nixon led the guest list at a Republican fundraising party at Lincoln Center. It was the former President's first public appearance at a New York City political event since he left the White House in 1974, and he was warmly greeted as an old friend. Tanned and amiable, Mr. Nixon stood at the head of a receiving line, thoroughly enjoying the exceptionally friendly reception. [New York Times] Two prisoners may share a cell designed for only one as long as the general conditions at the prison do not violate a "contemporary standard of decency," the Supreme Court ruled. The 8-to-1 decision overturned rulings by two federal courts in Ohio. [New York Times] Ayatollah Khomeini appeared to set a condition for President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr to continue as Iran's President. The Ayatollah demanded that the President broadcast an apology to the Iranian people for urging them last week to resist the clergy-dominated government. [New York Times] Intensive American-Chinese talks on military and intelligence matters were held in Peking in what the Americans said was "a very friendly atmosphere." At the request of the Chinese, the delegation headed by Secretary of State Alexander Haig declined to be more specific. [New York Times] The Ulster hunger strike widened. A sixth member of the Irish Republican Army being held in Maze prison joined the campaign that has taken four lives. The demonstrators were encouraged by the election last week of two prisoners to Ireland's Parliament. [New York Times] Israel was censured by France and Britain in the United Nations Security Council for the air attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor. But the two Western European countries, both permanent council members with veto power, declined to back an Arab demand for an arms embargo. [New York Times] A $3 billion aid program for Pakistan was announced by the State Department. It said that the economic and military assistance would bolster Pakistani defenses against a "serious threat" from Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The Carter administration suspended aid to Pakistan in April 1979 because Pakistan refused to submit its nuclear development program to international inspection. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1011.99 (+5.71, +0.57%)
S&P Composite: 133.61 (+0.12, +0.09%)
Arms Index: 0.78

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,036	39.49
Declines	636	18.86
Unchanged	303	5.00
Total Volume		63.35

* 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*
June 12, 1981	1006.28	133.49	60.79
June 11, 1981	1007.42	133.75	59.53
June 10, 1981	993.88	132.32	53.20
June 9, 1981	994.44	131.97	44.61
June 8, 1981	995.64	132.24	41.57
June 5, 1981	993.79	132.22	47.18
June 4, 1981	986.74	130.96	48.94
June 3, 1981	989.71	130.71	54.70
June 2, 1981	987.48	130.62	53.93
June 1, 1981	997.96	132.41	62.16