News stories from Wednesday March 22, 1978

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

With a cold exchange of statements, President Carter and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel ended two days of talks that emphasized the differences between the countries on basic issues of Middle East Peace. If there was any narrowing of those differences, it was not evident from the statements, and the six hours of talks were described as "pretty grim." [New York Times] Karl Wallenda fell 100 feet from a wire and was killed during a performance. The founder and patriarch of the Great Wallendas, the most famous troupe of high-wire walkers in circus history, was walking a wire strung between two beachfront hotels in San Juan. He was 73 years old. A strong wind apparently caused him to lose his balance as he tried to walk the 750-foot-long cable to promote the Pan American Circus, in which he and his granddaughter were performing nightly. [New York Times] Bert Lance's diplomatic passport has been turned in. Jody Powell, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Lance gave up the passport because he had no further use for it and because some people were using the issue of Mr. Lance's having such a passport to detract from administration goals. Administration sources said American embassies had complained about Mr. Lance's activities during a recent European tour. [New York Times] The emergency farm bill approved Tuesday by the Senate will drive up food prices and the inflation rate generally, the Carter administration warned. In an unusually strong attack, the Council on Wage and Price Stability declared that the measure would raise retail food prices by 2 to 5 percent. [New York Times] A Teamster official was shot to death in Manhattan's Little Italy. Federal investigators hope the slaying may provide new leads to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, the teamster leader. The victim, Salvatore Briguglio of Westwood, N.J., once a key suspect in the Hoffa case, was a reputed member of the Genovese crime "family." [New York Times] Stock prices continued their decline after an unsuccessful attempt at a rally. Wall Street analysts said uncertainty about steps the Carter administration might take to curb inflation was an inhibiting factor for investors. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 5.28 points to 757.54. [New York Times] Doctors' incomes are rising faster than those of any other occupation and on average their fees are unjustifiably high, according to President Carter's Council on Wage and Price Stability. The inflation watchdog agency said that last year alone, physicians fees rose by 9.3 percent, 50 percent more than other consumer prices, a pattern followed for decades. Since 1950, the council said, the increase in doctor fees nearly doubled the increase of prices generally. [New York Times] Damages totaling nearly $113 million were awarded to Berkey Photo. Inc. from the Eastman Kodak Company by a Manhattan Federal District Court jury that decided Kodak had monopolized much of the amateur photographic business. The jury actually set damages at $37.6 million but under the antitrust laws the amount would be tripled to $112.8 million, according to Berkey's chief lawyer for the case, making it one of the largest damage awards in history. [New York Times] Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada called for strong international measures, such as a revamping of trade relations, to combat inflation and other problems afflicting many countries. In a speech in Manhattan, he told a large group of businessmen that his country would solve its economic problems and that the debate over national unity would make Canada stronger rather than divide it. [New York Times] A United Nations peacekeeping force began entering southern Lebanon, and an Israeli general said Israeli troops might withdraw within a few days. A vanguard of about 100 men, mostly Iranians, crossed the border in the Metulla area and the United Nations force will total 4,000 men. Gen. Mordechai Our, the Israeli Chief of Staff, said that once the entire force was in Lebanon, "we go out." In Jerusalem, the Israeli cabinet met but made no final decision on withdrawal. [New York Times] Rhodesian guerrillas are trying to unite to oppose the settlement worked out by Prime Minister Ian Smith and more moderate blacks for majority rule in the country. The two camps are under pressure from some African countries to shed their enmity. [New York Times] More oil from a supertanker poured Into the sea off France as hope faded for stopping the pollution from the American-owned Amoco Cadiz. The tanker's owner, the Amoco International Oil Company, said that $30 million in insurance money was available for the cleanup and to compensate victims of the massive oil spill. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 757.54 (-5.28, -0.69%)
S&P Composite: 89.47 (-0.32, -0.36%)
Arms Index: 0.97

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	556	7.71
Declines	790	10.66
Unchanged	482	3.58
Total Volume		21.95

* 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 21, 1978	762.82	89.79	24.41
March 20, 1978	773.82	90.82	28.36
March 17, 1978	768.71	90.20	28.47
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