News stories from Thursday January 4, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Efforts to change the minimum wage law and another wage proposal that the Carter administration had been considering as part of its anti-inflation program have been scrapped, administration officials reported. They said officials had agreed that the proposed changes would evoke vehement opposition, have relatively little impact on inflation and had little chance of being approved by Congress. [New York Times]
- The Democrats' "historic mission" of helping the poor, the unemployed and minority groups must be revised because of "new realities," said Stuart Eizenstat, President Carter's chief adviser on domestic policy. As examples of the "new realities," he cited a $66 billion budget deficit, high inflation coupled with high unemployment, and widespread public cynicism toward government. [New York Times]
- A new land conservation battle was signaled by the Forest Service when it recommended that an additional 36 million acres of wilderness land within the national forests be opened for timber cutting, mining and motorized recreation and called for 15 million acres of new wilderness areas. [New York Times]
- The Kent State damage suit was resolved out of court. The Ohio authorities agreed to pay $675,000 to the victims and families of victims in the university shootings in 1970. Gov. James Rhodes and 27 National Guardsmen also signed a statement of regret for the incident that killed four youths and wounded nine in a protest against the invasion of Cambodia. [New York Times]
- A new fiscal austerity measure called "interagency zero-based budgeting" was ordered this year for federal agencies. Previously, each agency had to rank its own programs by priority for funds in the next budget. Under the new procedure, fiscal officers of each agency and department had to rank their programs against those of other government departments. [New York Times]
- The Worldwide Church of God was placed in temporary receivership after California officials charged in a law suit that church leaders were "pilfering" its assets. [New York Times]
- Conrad Hilton, one of the world's leading hotel operators, died of pneumonia in Santa Monica, Calif., at the age of 91. Mr. Hilton was a self-made millionaire. [New York Times]
- A historic treasure was destroyed as the domed concrete facade of the Blenheim Hotel in Atlantic City was dynamited for casino construction. [New York Times]
- The United States pledged cooperation with Iran's new civilian government, whether or not the Shah remained in Iran. After intensive talks, the Carter administration decided to endorse the new regime in advance. It expects the Shah to take a temporary "vacation" abroad, leaving several days after the civilian regime is installed on Saturday.
The Shah left Teheran with his family for what an aide said would be a brief rest at a resort 40 miles from the capital. He signed a decree naming Shahpur Bakhtiar as Prime Minister and was due to return to receive Iran's new civilian cabinet.
[New York Times] - The Cambodian-Vietnamese conflict is increasingly becoming a major power issue, with Moscow backing Vietnam and Peking supporting Cambodia with tacit American support. Moscow reported Vietnamese victories in the offensive against Cambodia and charged that the American-Chinese rapprochement would serve "Peking's expansionist aims." The Vietnamese onslaught in Cambodia has intensified apprehension over Vietnam's ultimate aims. The country is suspected of ambitions of regional dominance. [New York Times]
- A Chinese leader was elevated in a major political move. Hu Yao-pang, a close associate of Deputy Prime Minister Teng Hsiao-ping, has been appointed to the recreated post of secretary general of the Communist Party. He was also named head of the party's propaganda branch. [New York Times]
- A Western summit conference is beginning on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. President Carter and the leaders of France, Britain and West Germany arrived for two days of informal talks on common problems. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 826.14 (+8.75, +1.07%)
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* |
| January 3, 1979 | 817.39 | 97.80 | 29.17 |
| January 2, 1979 | 811.42 | 96.73 | 18.35 |
| December 29, 1978 | 805.01 | 96.11 | 30.03 |
| December 28, 1978 | 805.96 | 96.28 | 25.44 |
| December 27, 1978 | 808.56 | 96.66 | 23.58 |
| December 26, 1978 | 816.01 | 97.52 | 21.47 |
| December 22, 1978 | 808.47 | 96.31 | 23.79 |
| December 21, 1978 | 794.79 | 94.71 | 28.68 |
| December 20, 1978 | 793.66 | 94.68 | 26.52 |
| December 19, 1978 | 789.85 | 94.24 | 25.96 |