News stories from Friday May 12, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Carter abandoned his plan for a tax cut On Oct. 1. He said that the cut should be delayed to next Jan. 1 and should be smaller than the $25 billion he has been insisting on. A White House statement indicated that Mr. Carter had been influenced by Congress, where both the House and Senate have voted for smaller tax cuts and smaller budget deficits than the President's January budget message recommended. The statement also hinted broadly that the administration was responding to the Federal Reserve Board chairman's call for fiscal restraint. [New York Times]
- A 15-cent first-class stamp was recommended by the Postal Rate Commission, which also raised the rates for postal cards and second-class mail, subject to the approval of the United States Postal Service's board of governors. The price rise for a first-class stamp would be the fifth since 1968, when the cost was 5 cents. The commission would raise the price of postal cards a penny to 10 cents and set charges for second-class mail, which includes newspapers and magazines, that were five percent higher than those proposed by the Postal Service. The commission rejected, 3 to 1, the administration's proposal that would have kept the first-class rate at 13 cents for private use and raised it to 16 cents for business use. The Postal Service's governors will meet next Friday to decide whether to authorize the increase. [New York Times]
- A smaller deficit in the 1979 federal budget than the $59 billion recently estimated by the administration is anticipated by Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal. He did not, at a news conference in Hot Springs, Va., indicate what the lower figure would be, nor did he specify in what manner the reduction was to be accomplished. However, Charles Schultze, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in Washington that the 1979 budget deficit would be about $53 billion. Mr. Blumenthal was in Hot Springs to address a meeting of the Business Council, whose members are prominent businessmen and bankers, on the responsibilities of the United States as the generator of the world's biggest economy. [New York Times]
- A record trading day was recorded on the stock market, which responded to anti-inflation moves taken by the administration and the Federal Reserve. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange totaled 46.6 million shares, the fourth-highest trading day on record. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.50 points to 840.70. [New York Times]
- Two obstacles impeded New York City's efforts to meet its May 20 deadline for resolving the fiscal issues that have held up renewed federal aid. Officials of municipal pension funds refused to commit themselves to future lending, and the state Attorney General attacked legislation that would increase by $3 billion the Municipal Assistance Corporation's debt limit. Both elements had been considered to be among the easiest parts of a financial plan that has to satisfy Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal and Congress. [New York Times]
- Israel renewed its pledge to the United States not to use American-supplied cluster bombs except under special wartime conditions. The pledge was violated during the Israeli drive into Lebanon in March. The renewal of the pledge was made in an agreement, the terms of which are secret, in the form of notes dated April 10 and 11. The agreement has been transmitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee. [New York Times]
- Members of the Red Brigades shot and wounded an official of the governing Christian Democratic Party in Italy. The terrorist group said the attack was part of a systematic campaign to follow up on the slaying of Aldo Moro. In a leaflet distributed in Turin, the Red Brigades said they would continue striking at the Italian state "to disrupt social peace in town neighborhoods, schools, factories, political parties, and especially the Christian Democratic Party." The victim was Tito Berardini, secretary of a Christian Democratic district office. He was shot outside his home in Milan. [New York Times]
- Refugees from Cambodia report that in their country, in its fourth year under Communist rule, political bloodletting, even among factions of the ruling party, starvation, and forced labor and general regimentation had become the way of life. The refugees were interviewed in various places in Thailand, including the police station in Trat, in southeastern Thailand, where nine who fled last month are being confined in a small cage. [New York Times]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 840.70 (+6.50, +0.78%)
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* |
| May 11, 1978 | 834.20 | 97.20 | 36.64 |
| May 10, 1978 | 822.16 | 95.92 | 33.33 |
| May 9, 1978 | 822.07 | 95.90 | 30.86 |
| May 8, 1978 | 824.58 | 96.19 | 34.68 |
| May 5, 1978 | 829.09 | 96.53 | 42.68 |
| May 4, 1978 | 824.41 | 95.93 | 37.52 |
| May 3, 1978 | 828.83 | 96.26 | 37.60 |
| May 2, 1978 | 840.18 | 97.25 | 41.40 |
| May 1, 1978 | 844.33 | 97.67 | 37.02 |
| April 28, 1978 | 837.32 | 96.83 | 32.85 |