News stories from Thursday October 12, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Carter opened the Egyptian-Israeli peace talks by promising to work "hand in hand" with Middle East nations for final resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. All parties indicated they were eager to move quickly toward a peace treaty as the talks began at Blair House on Pennsylvania Avenue. [Chicago Tribune]
- The Senate Ethics Committee has voted to give the Justice Department evidence against Sen. Birch. Bayh [D, Ind.] in its investigation of Korean influence buying. The committee asked the Justice Department to determine whether Bayh violated the law by receiving a campaign contribution on federal property. The committee also said Bayh was in "neglect of his duties" and that he twice failed to disclose an offer of a large cash contribution from South Korean businessman Tongsun Park. [Chicago Tribune]
- Punk rock performer Sid Vicious, who was a member of the defunct British band the Sex Pistols, was arrested and charged with the stabbing murder of his American girlfriend in a Manhattan hotel, police said. Vicious, 21, whose real name is John Simon Ritchie, was arrested shortly after noon and was charged with the murder of Nancy Laura Spungen, 20, at the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street. [Chicago Tribune]
- The House threw its support behind a four-year, $142 billion tax cut proposal and subsequently threw congressional tax conferees into a dilemma. It had been assumed the tax plan -- first voted by the Senate -- would be abandoned in a House-Senate conference committee session, but Sen. Russell Long [D., La.] said some version of the plan now must be included in the final bill. [Chicago Tribune]
- President Carter's energy policy encountered a Senate filibuster threat and a House Rules Committee roadblock, putting his top domestic priority in deep jeopardy. Carter's supporters in the House Rules Committee failed narrowly to get his five major energy bills put into one package and Sen. James Abourezk [D., S.D.] mounted a temporary filibuster against the energy tax bill. The maneuvers threatened to force Congress into a lame-duck session after the November elections. [Chicago Tribune]
- In its first public comment the Vatican denounced rumors that foul play might have been involved in the death of Pope John Paul I. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Remo Panciroli, told reporters that contrary to the rumors, John Paul died of a heart attack. His comments coincided with new changes that American and West German cardinals were putting financial pressure on their Third World and Vatican-based colleagues to elect a conservative Pope. [Chicago Tribune]
- World champion Anatoly Karpov sealed his 47th move and adjourned the 31st world chess match against challenger Viktor Korchnoi in what experts agreed was "very bad chess" and an almost certain draw. Karpov, the Soviet whiz kid who holds the world title he won by default from U.S. chess genius Bobby Fischer, apparently was convinced he still had a chance to win his 6th game and retain the world crown. [Chicago Tribune]
- The stock market fell back late today after attempting to stage a midsession rally in the face of news that the nation's third largest bank raised its prime rate to 10 percent. But the news enabled the dollar to rally from a new low, while gold dropped back from an all-time high of $227.60 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 4.68 points lower at 896.79.
Chase Manhattan Bank raised its prime rate to 10 percent from 9¾ percent, the first time the rate has been in double digits since January, 1975. Analysts expect other major banks to follow within the next few days.
Ford Motor Co. said It is switching back to conventional steel in its car frames because high-strength low-alloy steel that was being used for '79 LTDs and Marquis had a tendency to spring out of shape or crack during the stamping process.
[Chicago Tribune] - Actress Elizabeth Taylor was in a hospital in Big Stone Gap, Va., after a chicken bone lodged in her throat during a political rally for her husband, Republican senatorial nominee John Warner. Warner and Miss Taylor reportedly were greeting guests at a local restaurant, and Miss Taylor went to the kitchen to thank the cooks. One of them offered her a piece of fried chicken, and as Miss Taylor ate it, the bone lodged in her throat. [Chicago Tribune]
- Roman Catholic Spain has legalized the sale of birth control pills. Previously, the Spanish penal code had provided punishment of up to six months in jail for prescribing, selling or advertising birth control devices. [Chicago Tribune]
- Police questioned Lance Kenton, 20, the son of bandleader Stan Kenton, a member of the Synanon drug-rehabilitation center, about an attempt to kill a lawyer with a large rattlesnake hidden in a mailbox. A second man also was arrested. Police said Kenton had not yet been charged with the attempted murder of Paul Morantz, a lawyer who won a $300,000 judgment against the controversial group last month. [Chicago Tribune]
- The American dream of earning a million dollars might be a dream come true by the year 2050, The Social Security Administration projects that in the 21st century, the average worker will be raking in $656,000 a year. However, they warn, don't expect to be getting much for your dollar. Along with the 62-fold increase in wages, expect to pay $37.50 for a loaf of bread and $9.40 for a newspaper. [Chicago Tribune]
- The 1978 Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded to two Americans and a Swiss for the discovery of "restriction enzymes" and their application to problems of molecular genetics. The American winners are Drs. Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Smith, both of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; the Swiss winner is Dr. Wernher Arber of the University of Basel. They will share a $165,000 prize. [Chicago Tribune]
- An explosion rocked a Greek oil tanker under repair in a Singapore shipyard after about 150 workers climbed aboard from their lunch break, killing at least 57 persons and injuring 80. Hospital sources said that many of those injured in the explosion and fire were in critical condition and they feared the death toll would go higher. [Chicago Tribune]
- Four bombs exploded on a crowded Dublin-to-Belfast train, killing at least one woman and injuring another 33 persons. A group calling itself the Irish Freedom Fighters and claiming to be a splinter group of the Irish Republican Army took responsibility for the attack. However, police sources said they think the attack was the direct work of the provisional wing of the I.R.A. [Chicago Tribune]
- Sporadic explosions and sniper fire further strained Beirut's five-day cease-fire, and shelling near Lebanon's southern border with Israel forced an alert for United Nations troops in the area. In Damascus, Lebanon's President Elias Sarkis reportedly reached a tentative compromise with Syria on a plan to end the carnage in Beirut. [Chicago Tribune]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 896.74 (-4.68, -0.52%)
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 11, 1978 | 901.42 | 105.39 | 21.74 |
| 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 |