News stories from Wednesday December 20, 1978

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

A projected arms pact was defended by the Carter administration, which stressed that the new accord with the Soviet Union, which may be near completion, would never be allowed to weaken Washington's ability to deter a nuclear war. [New York Times] The administration's budget plan, which would pare domestic programs to cut the deficit to $30 billion, was sharply criticized by the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. But it won qualified support from the National Governors Association. The mayors, after a one-hour meeting with President Carter at the White House, warned that they might take their case to Congress if necessary. [New York Times] The N.A.A.C.P. has a fiscal crisis that threatens to limit its activities. Knowledgeable officials say that the official deficit, now listed at $680,000, may reach $1 million by the end of the year. Causes of the crisis include inflation, recent salary rises, ambitious expansion plans that were not matched by sufficient fundraising efforts and competition from other civil rights groups and leaders. [New York Times] The Ku Klux Klan took responsibility for whipping a black minister who had publicly denounced the conviction of a mentally retarded black man in the rape of a white woman in Decatur, Ala. The Justice Department ordered the F.B.I. to investigate the incident, which took place after Manuel Whitfield of Columbus, Ga., spoke from the steps of the Cullman County Courthouse. The preacher was abducted on an interstate highway. [New York Times] To curb illegal aliens from entering the United States, a House committee has proposed major changes in immigration policies. Calling the situation potentially explosive, the panel recommended, among other proposals, allocation of funds for stricter enforcement efforts along the United States-Mexican border. [New York Times] Wives are joining the work force by the millions, swelling the numbers of middle-income families with more than one breadwinner to combat inflation. From 1973 to 1978, the number of wives in the paid labor force rose to 53.5 percent from 45.8 percent. [New York Times] The power to pardon prisoners was illegally delegated to aides by Gov. Ray Blanton of Tennessee, according to a judge whose ruling could lead to the re-arrest of convicts set free in a parole-selling scheme allegedly conducted by the Governor's key aides. [New York Times] Testimony about the People's Temple was given before a federal grand jury in San Francisco by Terri Buford, a former top aide to the cult's leader, the Rev. Jim Jones. Mark Lane, Miss Buford's lawyer, said that she was telling "everything she knows" about unspecified "crimes" committed by the cult. The grand jury is looking into the murder of Representative Leo Ryan and the finances of the cult. [New York Times] Mideast peace efforts will resume. The United States announced that Secretary of State Vance would meet in Brussels this weekend with Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Khalil to try to revive the deadlocked negotiations. Only a week ago, President Carter suspended Secretary Vance's mediation efforts in frustration over Israel's objections to new Egyptian terms for agreeing to a peace treaty with Israel.Israeli jets attacked Palestinian positions in and around the southern Lebanese port of Tyre. Israeli military spokesmen described the targets as bases of terrorists who took part in recent attacks in Israel. [New York Times] Criticism of the Shah was barred by key presidential aides, according to responses by State Department and C.I.A. officials to White House complaints about an intelligence failure over the weakening of the Iranian regime. Intelligence officials say that a ban on State Department and C.I.A. contacts with Iranian opposition movements was imposed in the mid-1960's after the Shah expressed anxiety about such contacts. [New York Times] The jailing of Indira Gandhi apparently led two armed men to hijack an airliner flying across northern India. The hijacking followed violent protests against the Parliament's jailing of the former Prime Minister. A passenger who escaped from the craft told officials that the occupants were being held hostage for her release. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 793.66 (+3.81, +0.48%)
S&P Composite: 94.68 (+0.44, +0.47%)
Arms Index: 0.77

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	818	13.43
Declines	662	8.37
Unchanged	471	3.72
Total Volume		25.52

* 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*
December 19, 1978	789.85	94.24	25.96
December 18, 1978	787.51	93.44	32.90
December 15, 1978	805.35	95.33	23.64
December 14, 1978	812.54	96.04	20.85
December 13, 1978	809.86	96.06	22.48
December 12, 1978	814.97	96.59	22.21
December 11, 1978	817.65	97.11	21.01
December 8, 1978	811.85	96.63	18.56
December 7, 1978	816.09	97.08	21.18
December 6, 1978	821.90	97.49	29.68