News stories from Friday February 10, 1978

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

Angry coal miners broke up a formal vote on a proposed contract to settle their nine-week strike, and it seemed likely that no settlement could come before March. The United Mine Workers bargaining council, meeting in Washington, rejected the proposed contract in a straw vote of 33 to 3. A formal rejection vote which could have permitted renewed bargaining was postponed when a crowd of several hundred miners jammed into the union's headquarters and frightened Arnold Miller, the president, from attending the meeting. [New York Times] Inflation warnings were signaled by a new government index that measures prices received by wholesalers, The Labor Department's index of finished goods prices, representing the last stage before retail, rose 0.6 percent in January. The increase was about the same as monthly increases last fall, as food prices continued a steady climb. Prices, however, rose more sharply in earlier stages of production, indicating that further price increases may be on the way. The Labor Department had depended on an all-commodities wholesale price index but it is being discontinued on the ground that it exaggerated the impact of inflation by counting many price increases more than once. [New York Times] Stock prices declined in a market made cautious by the largest advance in nine months of the government's Wholesale Price Index, a barometer of inflationary trends. The index rose 0.9 percent in January, which was also double its increase in December. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 1.82 points to 775.99, but the average had gained five points over the week. [New York Times] One of Atlanta's promising new downtown rebuilding ventures, sponsored by Omni International, is facing foreclosure proceedings. This is the second time in a year that one of the city rebuilding projects has run into financial trouble, raising questions about Atlanta's ability to continue its dramatic upward surge. Omni, builder of a futuristic office, hotel and entertainment complex, announced that its financial backers, chiefly the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, had taken foreclosure steps. [New York Times] Chief Justice Warren Burger is at the center of a controversy among his fellow lawyers, some of whom feel strongly that his criticism of some aspects of the profession has been more destructive than helpful. At issue are statements attributed to Justice Burger concerning the professional competence of American lawyers. He will be asked to repudiate his contention that half of American lawyers are not qualified for courtroom appearances, or to back it up "conclusively" with facts when he arrives this weekend at the annual mid-year meeting of the American Bar Association in New Orleans. [New York Times] Francisco Mendez, 17 years old, was convicted of 25 counts of murder for his role in setting fire to a neighborhood social club in the Morrisania section of the Bronx in October 1976. The fire, one of the New York City's worst disasters, killed 25 party-goers and injured 24. He faces a maximum of life terms in prison for each of the deaths, but will be eligible for parole after 25 years. Two other defendants have admitted their parts in setting the fire. One is serving a life sentence and the other is to be sentenced Feb. 22. [New York Times] Ohio's economy lost $100 million in the state's worst blizzard in a century, according to an official estimate, and the loss will be more severe if there is not an end to the coal miners' strike soon. Almost all of Ohio's electric power comes from coal-fired power plants and, facing an imminent coal shortage, the state made emergency power curtailment plans. Several utilities would have to begin mandatory power cutbacks this week. A business shutdown with the layoff of many employees is possible. [New York Times] Ethiopia will not invade Somalia if it succeeds in driving Somali forces out of the Ogaden region, according to information Secretary of State Cyrus Vance says the United States has received from the Soviet Union. Mr. Vance nevertheless warned that if Ethiopia, which is receiving substantial Soviet and Cuban military aid, did cross the border, the Carter administration would review its policy of neutrality and its refusal to provide arms for either side. [New York Times] Israel must yield to the eventual dismantling of its civilian settlements in Sinai and the loss of control over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for a period of years if the Middle East peace efforts are to succeed, according to an assessment by the Carter administration. President Carter, Vice President Mondale, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and other officials have held briefings for members of Congress and American Jewish leaders in which the administration's views were presented in advance of talks with Israeli leaders. Mr. Vance indicated to reporters that the United States agreed in full with President Anwar Sadat on the settlements. He reiterated that the settlements are contrary to international law. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 775.99 (-1.82, -0.23%)
S&P Composite: 90.08 (-0.22, -0.24%)
Arms Index: 0.94

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	678	8.29
Declines	690	7.91
Unchanged	461	3.28
Total Volume		19.48

* 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*
February 9, 1978	777.81	90.30	17.94
February 8, 1978	782.66	90.83	21.30
February 7, 1978	778.85	90.33	14.73
February 6, 1978	768.62	89.50	11.63
February 3, 1978	770.96	89.62	19.40
February 2, 1978	775.38	90.13	23.05
February 1, 1978	774.34	89.93	22.24
January 31, 1978	769.92	89.25	19.87
January 30, 1978	772.44	89.34	17.40
January 27, 1978	764.12	88.58	17.60