News stories from Wednesday October 11, 1978

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

Senate negotiators compromised on the tax portion of President Carter's long-stalled energy program, agreeing to tax fuel-inefficient cars and provide tax credits to homeowners who insulate their houses. The agreement resolved the last remaining difference between the Senate and House on the energy plan the President submitted to Congress in April. [Chicago Tribune] President Carter has threatened to veto the Senate's $29.3 billion tax cut bill -- but that does not seem to disturb the bill's architect and shepherd, Sen. Russell Long [D., La.]. He told reporters he hoped a House-Senate conference committee could compromise on a measure the President would sign. He appeared to acknowledge that his chamber had approved what is largely a political charade, a bill the Senators knew would be vetoed but which they passed to please voters. [Chicago Tribune] The stock market posted a strong gain on the strength of a rally in blue chip issues. Brokers said investors apparently ignored a new drop in the U.S. dollar to all-time lows on foreign exchange markets, The Dow Jones industrial average closed 9.79 higher at 901.42. [Chicago Tribune] Roman Catholic rebels plastered walls in Rome with bright orange posters demanding a traditionalist "Pope Who is a Pope." The rebels, followers of suspended French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, favor reinstitution of the Latin mass and hardening of church policy toward Communist countries. Their posters, referring to the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, assert, "It doesn't seem as though God ratified the choice of the conclave." [Chicago Tribune] The 30th game of the World Chess Championship matches ended in a draw -- the 21st draw of the series. World champion Anatoly Karpov -- who on Tuesday had rejected challenger Viktor Korchnoi's offer of a draw -- changed his mind and had his chief second telephone the draw offer to the referee, who passed it on to Korchnoi. Korchnoi accepted. Karpov still leads, 5 victories to 4, and needs only one more victory to retain his championship. [Chicago Tribune] Syrian forces fired rocket-propelled grenades into Christian areas of Beirut. Spreading violations of the cease-fire threatened to scuttle the tenuous truce in Lebanon. Former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun charged that Syria is trying to use Palestinian troops to "start a new war in Lebanon" and that there can be no solution to the Lebanese crisis until Syrian troops withdraw. [Chicago Tribune] Robert Griffin, fired in July as deputy administrator of the General Services Administration, has threatened to sue that agency if it allows fraud investigators to examine notes, diaries and telephone logs he left behind. Several government agencies are investigating charges of widespread fraud in the G.S.A. When Griffin was fired, G.S.A. administrator Jay Solomon said the action wasn't based on any charge of wrongdoing by Griffin; "he is a man of high moral character." [Chicago Tribune] Israel and Egypt already had a draft treaty prepared today, the eve of formal peace negotiations in Blair House in Washington. The draft covers such matters as demilitarized zones and border lines, and many details have been worked out, an American official said. President Carter will open Thursday's session with remarks from the White House. The talks are expected to take two to three weeks. [Chicago Tribune] If you're a civil servant and get four complaints in one year for being rude or discourteous to citizens, you could wind up looking for another job. This could happen under the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which President Carter is to sign soon. In general, the new law is aimed at producing a "leaner," more efficient federal bureaucracy. The legislation fulfills one of Carter's prime campaign pledges. His biggest setback was retention of the military veterans preference in federal hiring. [Chicago Tribune] Authoritative sources in Bahrain said that the Arab world's conservative oil nations, led by Saudi Arabia, are afraid that a separate Israeli-Egyptian peace may push Syria and other Middle East countries into the arms of the Soviet Union. The Persian Gulf states reportedly are resentful over what they consider the United States' "ungrateful" role in pushing for a Middle East peace settlement, but are believed to have ruled out anti-American action because they fear Washington's power rivals in the Kremlin. [Chicago Tribune] Aristides Royo, 38, a lawyer who helped negotiate the Panama Canal treaties, was sworn in as president of Panama, formally ending the 10-year reign of strongman Omar Torrijos. But Torrijos, 49, was expected to remain the major political power. Royo took the oath of office at the New Panama Gymnasium. He replaced Demetrio Lakas, a figurehead president during Torrijos' reign as head of government.Actor John Wayne attended the inauguration in Panama City, Wayne is a personal friend of Panamanian strongman Omar Torrijos. [Chicago Tribune] An American rod and gun club in Bonn, West Germany, is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division in an effort to pin down the suppliers of guns and ammunition to Baader-Meinhof terrorists. A military spokesman confirmed the investigation. One witness interviewed by West German customs and criminal police and by the American C.I.D. said he believes thousands of rounds of ammunition were sold to West Germans not authorized to buy it. [Chicago Tribune] Terrorist gunmen killed a Naples University professor of criminology in an ambush outside his home. Police said two men and a woman shot Prof. Alfredo Paolella as he left home to drive to work, An ultra-left guerrilla organization, Frontline, which has close links with the infamous Red Brigades, subsequently claimed responsibility for the slaying. Paolella was an associate of Girolamo Tartaglione, a Justice Ministry official shot and killed in Rome Tuesday. [Chicago Tribune] Belgian Premier Leo Tindemans resigned citing his belief that portions of a political program to "regionalize" the country may violate the Constitution. The regionalization program was agreed to last year, but last week the Christian Democrats -- one of four parties in Tindemans' coalition -- said they could not accept the entire plan because some of its articles violated the Constitution. Others in the coalition, notably the Socialists, disagreed and said the regionalization agreement, which gives some areas of Belgium greater autonomy, could not be renegotiated. [Chicago Tribune] Troops and police fired on student demonstrators in downtown Tehran as rioting erupted in several parts of the Iranian city and strikes shut down government offices for the fifth day. Three persons were reported killed and 85 others injured. Several thousand students reportedly participated in the protest march next to Tehran University. Some chanted, "What happened to the oil money?" echoing growing bitterness over the country's mounting economic problems despite a $20-billion-a-year oil income. [Chicago Tribune]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 901.42 (+9.79, +1.10%)
S&P Composite: 105.39 (+0.93, +0.89%)
Arms Index: 0.61

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	802	12.50
Declines	592	5.61
Unchanged	459	3.63
Total Volume		21.74

* 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*
October 10, 1978	891.63	104.46	25.47
October 9, 1978	893.19	104.59	19.72
October 6, 1978	880.02	103.52	27.39
October 5, 1978	876.47	103.27	27.81
October 4, 1978	873.96	103.06	25.10
October 3, 1978	867.90	102.60	22.54
October 2, 1978	871.36	102.96	18.52
September 29, 1978	865.82	102.54	23.62
September 28, 1978	861.31	101.96	24.33
September 27, 1978	860.19	101.66	28.37