News stories from Friday March 17, 1978

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

The S.E.C. charged Bert Lance and nine associates, including four influential Arabs, with violating federal securities laws in their recent purchase of stock in Financial General Bank Shares Inc. of Washington, a bank holding company. The S.E.C. charged in a civil complaint that the group failed to disclose that it had bought 28 percent of the company's shares. [New York Times] A federal judge refused to extend the coal miners' back-to-work order obtained by the government last week. Judge Aubrey Robinson, who issued the original order, refused the extension about a half-hour before it expired at 6 P.M., saying that the miners "are not paying attention to what I do anyhow." He said that the government had failed to prove that a continuation of the strike would endanger the nation's health and safety. The miners could end the strike next Friday when they vote on a new contract offer. [New York Times] Inflation has replaced jobs as the nation's chief domestic problem, at least temporarily, according to Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal and Charles Schultze, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. They warned in a joint memorandum to President Carter of a possible acceleration in this year's basic inflation rate. [New York Times] President Carter warned that the Soviet Union's failure to show restraint in its military programs would jeopardize cooperation with the United States. In a speech on defense policy at Wake Forest University, in North Carolina, the President dealt with the recent growth in Soviet military power and what he called Moscow's "ominous inclination" to use this power to intervene in local conflicts. Mr. Carter said the administration was prepared to respond to the Soviet buildup.Moscow accused President Carter of virtually abandoning detente and resorting "to a course of threats and buildup of tension" in Soviet-American relations. The response carried by Tass, the official press agency, was the strongest statement since the decline in Washington's relations with Moscow. [New York Times] A plea of guilty was made by former Representative Richard Hanna to a charge of having conspired with the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and Tongsun Park to defraud the United States. Mr. Hanna, a California Democrat, was the first person convicted since investigations into Korean influence-buying began more than two years ago and the first to admit wrongdoing while in Congress. He faces a possible five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. [New York Times] Atlantic City's first gambling casino will probably be open by the end of May. Governor Byrne signed a measure authorizing temporary casino licenses several hours after the bill was approved by both houses of the state legislature. Resorts International Inc., the only company in a position to take advantage of the new law, said it planned to open the first casino in the nation (aside from Las Vegas) on Memorial Day. [New York Times] Diamond prices have risen to record levels because of international speculation and rapidly increasing demand. Price speculation has intensified in the major diamond centers of Antwerp, London, Haifa, Amsterdam and New York, where rough diamonds in recent days commanded premiums as high as 40 percent. Tiffany, a leading retailer of diamonds, warned prospective buyers that "diamonds are too high." The warning was reiterated by a leading maker of mountings for rings. A weak dollar and sluggish stock prices in New York are believed by diamond dealers to have contributed to the increased speculation. [New York Times] Lower air fares between London and 14 American cities are expected under an accord announced by Britain and the United States. The agreement ends a dispute that began last month when Britain refused to accept Braniff Airways proposed budget and stand-by fares, forcing Braniff to postpone the start of service between Dallas and London. The accord expands cut-rate fares previously confined on an experimental basis to the New York-London route. [New York Times] Generally good economic reports sent stock prices up in the heaviest trading in almost four months. The Dow Jones industrial average, moving ahead throughout the session, closed up 5.89 points at 768.71. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 2 to 1. [New York Times] Israeli forces seized another Palestinian stronghold in southern Lebanon as they continued their offensive against guerrillas, according to reports in Lebanon. The official Beirut radio said Israeli artillery and fighter-bombers attacked on three fronts and that the hilltop guerrilla fortress of Tibnine had been captured. The P.L.O. said the Israelis were "advancing slowly," but insisted that the guerrilla resistance could be continued "indefinitely." [New York Times] A way to replace Israeli forces in Lebanon was sought by American diplomats in Washington, the Middle East and at the United Nations. Alfred Atherton, the administration's principal Middle East envoy, said the United States hoped to bring about Israel's withdrawal "fairly soon." [New York Times] Former Prime Minister Zulfikar All Bhutto was convicted of ordering the murder of a political opponent in 1974 and sentenced to death in a unanimous decision by the High Court in Lahore, Pakistan. Mr. Bhutto was deposed in a military coup last July. He has been under detention since Sept. 17 and also faces several financial and criminal charges in addition to the murder charge. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 768.71 (+5.89, +0.77%)
S&P Composite: 90.20 (+0.69, +0.77%)
Arms Index: 0.59

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,011	20.04
Declines	434	5.10
Unchanged	397	3.33
Total Volume		28.47

* 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*
March 16, 1978	762.82	89.51	25.41
March 15, 1978	758.58	89.12	23.33
March 14, 1978	762.56	89.35	24.30
March 13, 1978	759.96	88.95	24.07
March 10, 1978	758.58	88.88	27.09
March 9, 1978	750.00	87.89	21.82
March 8, 1978	750.87	87.84	22.04
March 7, 1978	746.79	87.36	19.90
March 6, 1978	742.72	86.90	17.23
March 3, 1978	747.31	87.45	20.12